Between October and November 2010, several individuals of Fistularia commersonii, a lessepsian species, were fished by trammel nets in less than two weeks along the French coast in the north-western Mediterranean. These catches represent the most important records of the species in the western basin of the Mediterranean to date, specifically in areas where the species has rarely been observed before. This paper synthesizes the records of F. commersonii along the French coast starting from the first record in November 2007 until the most recent reports, and discusses the present status of the species in the north-western Mediterranean Sea.

Some adult specimens of the bluespotted cornetfish, Fistularia commersonii (Osteichthyes: Fistulariidae), are recorded for the first time along the Algerian coasts, in Skikda Bay (eastern Algeria) and offshore Bou Ismaïl Bay (central Algeria). More than 100 fish measuring from 73 to 88 cm were captured by fishermen. A sample of three specimens is described here. This species is the first lessepsian immigrant fish in Algeria, indicating its fast spreading ability and its success in the Mediterranean environments.

A total of fifteen adult specimens of the so-called ‘lessepsian sprinter’ Fistularia commersonii were captured by bottom trawlers and gill-netters operating along the Latium coasts, Italy, in October–November 2007. This non-native species is established in the eastern Mediterranean but it has been sporadically reported beyond the Strait of Sicily. Never before has the species been recorded in such large numbers from a single locality in the western Mediterranean. These records may suggest an incoming establishment of a self-sustained population of the species also in the western Mediterranean and they document for the first time the presence of a lessepsian fish in Latium waters. Biometry and meristics of the available specimens of F. commersonii and data on their diet and reproductive condition are given.

An additional record of one of the most successful lessepsian migrants in the Mediterranean, Fistularia commersonii (Osteichthyes: Fistularidae), indicates the spreading of this species in the Adriatic Sea. This is by far the only lessepsian migrant with multiple confirmed records, separated in time and space, for the Adriatic. Its fast spreading is followed by rapid population explosion at invaded areas and potential effects on the local fish fauna are emphasized.