Rhythms of feeding activity and food consumption of two Mediterranean burrowing fishes: Gnathophis mystax (Delaroche) and Chlopsis bicolor Rafinesque

Data on the food consumption, feeding activity and periodicity of two burrowing fish, the congrid eel Gnathophis mystax (Delaroche, 1809) and the false moray Chlopsis bicolor Rafinesque, 1810 are presented. In all, 455 specimens were collected by bottom trawl in the central Mediterranean Sea at depths ranging from 140 to 160 m during four 24‐h day–night sampling cycles. The diet of G. mystax and C. bicolor was investigated by means of stomach content analysis. Diet varied significantly with length and maturity stage. During ontogenetic development G. mystax occupied different trophic levels: diet shifted from amphipods, predominantly in the smaller congrid eels <25 cm total length (TL)] to fish in the larger individuals (>30 cm TL). Before the transition to the icthyophagous phase, the congrid eel showed a more generalistic foraging behaviour where decapods (Solenocera membranacea, Parapenaeus longirostris, Alpheus glaber), cephalopods (Sepiola spp. and Alloteuthis media), benthic (Gobiidae, Callionymus maculatus, Arnoglossus laterna) and benthopelagic fish (Argentina sphyraena) dominated the diet. Smaller C. bicolor (<25 cm TL) fed primarily on amphipods and cephalopods; bigger specimens fed also on decapods both natantian (A. glaber, Processa canaliculata) and reptantian (Medorippe lanata, Goneplax rhomboides). Daily ration values, computed from the Eggers method, ranged from 2.48% to 2.99% wet body weight for C. bicolor and G. mystax, respectively. Diel patterns in stomach fullness and the trophic niche overlap between the two species were also discussed.