34
Mollusca:
The Historical Background
Cerastoderma glaucum ( = Cardium edule)
Pirenella conica ( = P. cailliaudi)
M actra olorina?
Brachidontes variabilis ?
Pis ces :
Aphanius dispar
Liza carina ta ?
Liza aurata?
Another addition to this list may eventually be the serranide fish Crenidens
crenidens, known from saline lagoons on both sides of the Isthmus. A comparison
of the parasitofauna in the Mediterranean and Red Sea populations of this fish
(Papema, 1972d) has shown it to be complete1y different. The two populations were
thus probably isolated for aperiod longer than one century and therefore C.
crenidens might also be considered as a pre-Lessepsian migrant from the Red Sea.
It was already reported in 1882 from Lake Menzaleh by Keller.
It seems thus fairly convincing that the pre-Lessepsian movements across the
Isthmus were restricted to euryhaline lagoon species which, even if they emerged
on the other side, remained more or less restricted to the neighboring shores and
lagoons.
There is, of course, also the possibility that Egyptian or Greek craft of classical
times, crossing from one sea into the other, may have carried some fouling organisms or other adventives. The cases of Halophila, Pinctada, Metrocarpa (see p. 31)
might perhaps be explained in this mann er. Lipkin (1972a, 1975) upholds a
different view: Halophila could easily be transported by ships through the modern
Suez Canal, but he excludes for some reason the possibility of a pre-Lessepsian
event.
Last but not least, the sea cow Dugong dugon was a cultic animal; as for
instance, ofthe Philistine goddess Derketo. An artificial colonization of this animal in the Mediterranean cannot be entire1y ruled out.
1.6 The Sirbonic Lagoon (Sabkhat el Bardawil)
M uch of the northern coast of Sinai is occupied by a large lagoon known to
the classical geographers as "Sirbonis Limne" or "Sinus Sirbonius", mentioned by
Schleiden (1858) as "Sirbonissee" and named by the Arabs "Sabkhat e1 Bardawil".
Most of the authors use this last name or the name "Bardawil Lagoon". There is
no reason, however, to discard the old name of Sirbonis.
The Sirbonis occupies an area of 650 km 2 , 30 km east of Port Said to 20 km
west of the town of EI Arish. It is on the average 10 km wide, but at one point
(Mitzfaq or Nahal Yam) the width is 22 km. The lagoon is separated from the
sea by a narrow, low sand bar. At only one point, Mons Cassius (Ras Burun or EI
KaIs), does the bar rise to a height of 5 m. Depth in the Sirbonis nowhere exceeds
1.5 m, and there are many areas where the water is less than 1 m deep. There is
only one natural and more or less permanent opening to the sea, at the far-eastern
end of the lagoon-the Boghaz Zarniq. A second such opening appears on the
maps, somewhat more to the west. Since 1927 (Ben-Tuvia and Herman, 1972), two
artificial openings have been established in order to decrease the salinity in the
lagoon and allow the annual immigration of commercial fish. The two artificial
Mollusca:
The Historical Background
Cerastoderma glaucum ( = Cardium edule)
Pirenella conica ( = P. cailliaudi)
M actra olorina?
Brachidontes variabilis ?
Pis ces :
Aphanius dispar
Liza carina ta ?
Liza aurata?
Another addition to this list may eventually be the serranide fish Crenidens
crenidens, known from saline lagoons on both sides of the Isthmus. A comparison
of the parasitofauna in the Mediterranean and Red Sea populations of this fish
(Papema, 1972d) has shown it to be complete1y different. The two populations were
thus probably isolated for aperiod longer than one century and therefore C.
crenidens might also be considered as a pre-Lessepsian migrant from the Red Sea.
It was already reported in 1882 from Lake Menzaleh by Keller.
It seems thus fairly convincing that the pre-Lessepsian movements across the
Isthmus were restricted to euryhaline lagoon species which, even if they emerged
on the other side, remained more or less restricted to the neighboring shores and
lagoons.
There is, of course, also the possibility that Egyptian or Greek craft of classical
times, crossing from one sea into the other, may have carried some fouling organisms or other adventives. The cases of Halophila, Pinctada, Metrocarpa (see p. 31)
might perhaps be explained in this mann er. Lipkin (1972a, 1975) upholds a
different view: Halophila could easily be transported by ships through the modern
Suez Canal, but he excludes for some reason the possibility of a pre-Lessepsian
event.
Last but not least, the sea cow Dugong dugon was a cultic animal; as for
instance, ofthe Philistine goddess Derketo. An artificial colonization of this animal in the Mediterranean cannot be entire1y ruled out.
1.6 The Sirbonic Lagoon (Sabkhat el Bardawil)
M uch of the northern coast of Sinai is occupied by a large lagoon known to
the classical geographers as "Sirbonis Limne" or "Sinus Sirbonius", mentioned by
Schleiden (1858) as "Sirbonissee" and named by the Arabs "Sabkhat e1 Bardawil".
Most of the authors use this last name or the name "Bardawil Lagoon". There is
no reason, however, to discard the old name of Sirbonis.
The Sirbonis occupies an area of 650 km 2 , 30 km east of Port Said to 20 km
west of the town of EI Arish. It is on the average 10 km wide, but at one point
(Mitzfaq or Nahal Yam) the width is 22 km. The lagoon is separated from the
sea by a narrow, low sand bar. At only one point, Mons Cassius (Ras Burun or EI
KaIs), does the bar rise to a height of 5 m. Depth in the Sirbonis nowhere exceeds
1.5 m, and there are many areas where the water is less than 1 m deep. There is
only one natural and more or less permanent opening to the sea, at the far-eastern
end of the lagoon-the Boghaz Zarniq. A second such opening appears on the
maps, somewhat more to the west. Since 1927 (Ben-Tuvia and Herman, 1972), two
artificial openings have been established in order to decrease the salinity in the
lagoon and allow the annual immigration of commercial fish. The two artificial