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MANUEL JOSÉ DA CONCEIÇÃO BISCOITO was born in Funchal, Madeira, on March 24, 1958. Following high school in his home city, he graduated (MSc) in Biology – Science branch, at the University of Porto (classification 16 out of 20) in 1981. He also earned the title of Environmental Biologist from the Portuguese College of Biologists.
In 1981 he started working at the Funchal Natural History Museum, taking over the post of G. E. Maul, as Director of the Museum, position he held until 1994 when he was appointed Director of the Science Department of the Municipality of Funchal. From 2015 until 2017 he was the Director of the Department of Science and Natural Resources and from 2019 onwards Chief of Division of Science of the Municipality of Funchal. He is also Principal Curator of the Funchal Natural History Museum. He was responsible for the project of Cais do Carvão that gave place to the creation of the Funchal Marine Biology Station in 1999, having been its director until 2006, and from 2020 until present.
At science level, he got specialized in deep-sea fish taxonomy, having taken part in numerous research cruises and international symposia. He has several papers published in particular on fish and crustacean, describing new species to Madeira and science. In 1991 he did several deep dives in Madeira with the research submersible Johnson-Sea-Link and since 1994 he has been dedicated to the study of fish from deep-sea hydrothermal vents, having done several research cruises and dives with the deep submersible NAUTILE and the ROV VICTOR 6000 on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of the Azores (dives down to 2600 m of depth) and on the East Pacific Rise (dive down to 3000 m of depth). In 2010 he took part as chief-biologist on the EMEPC-M@rbis Selvagens expedition, on board the NRP Almirante Gago Coutinho with the ROV LUSO. In 2017 he took part on the expedition to the Selvagens Islands on board the R/Y Yersin, organized by the “Explorations de Monaco”. In 2019 he was co-PI in the Madeira Deep-ML project and did 5 dives on the submersible LULA-1000 off the south coast of Madeira, having discovered a kelp forest on top of the Madeira-Desertas Ridge. He takes part on several European, National and Inter-regional research projects, in the field of biodiversity and new deep-sea living resources.
On environment and nature conservation side, he has actively collaborated in the preparation of several laws. He is co-author of the first Portuguese Vertebrates Red Data Book and is a co-author of Red Data Book of Marine Fishes of Portugal. He negotiated with the European Commission the first emergency programme for the Desertas islands’ monk seals and was co-responsible of the international project for Zino’s Petrel rescue in Madeira.
In 1989 he followed the Aragon oil spill in Porto Santo, as scientific advisor to the Portuguese Navy, having done the first littoral bioremediation experiment in Europe.
He has collaborated in several environmental impact assessment studies on Madeira.
He is member of the board of directors of IMAR – Institute of Marine Research, Portugal and of the Advisory Council of the Madeira Forest and Nature Conservation Institute.
He is also member of the several scientific societies e.g. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Ichthyological Society of Japan, Société Française d’Ichtyologie and European Union of Aquarium Curators. He was elected member of the Portuguese Navy Academy.
He is editor-in-chief of the scientific magazines Boletim do Museu de História Natural do Funchal e Bocagiana and is regularly asked to be referee in several international magazines.
He has authored or co-authored 7 books, 31 book chapters and more than 170 papers and over 30 communications in congresses and symposia.
He was awarded with the Scientific Prize of APDF in 2002, decorated with the bronze, silver and gold medals of the Municipality of Funchal and the Military Naval Cross, 1st class.
He has served the Portuguese Navy as Officer of Naval Reserve (1982-1984), having commanded the UAM Condor.
He is CMAS P2 diver since 1976.
Selected publications (2013-2026)
Delgado, J., S. Reis, J. A. González, E. Isidro, M. Biscoito, M. Freitas & V. M. Tuset. (2013). Reproduction and growth of Aphanopus carbo and A. intermedius (teleostei: Trichiuridae) in the northeastern Atlantic. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 29(5): 1008-1014. doi: 10.1111/jai.12230.
Vieira, S., M. Biscoito, H. Encarnação, J. Delgado & T. Pietsch. (2013). Sexual Parasitism in the Deep-sea Ceratioid Anglerfish Centrophryne spinulosa Regan and Trewavas (Lophiiformes: Centrophrynidae). Copeia 2013(4): 666-669. DOI: 10.1643/CI-13-035.
Sousa, R., Henriques, P., Biscoito, M., Pinto, A.R., Delgado, J., Dellinger, T., Gouveia, L. & Pinho, M. R. (2014). Considerations on the Biology of Plesionika narval (Fabricius, 1787) in the Northeastern Atlantic. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 14: 727-737.
Almada, F., D. Abecasis, D. Villegas-Ríos, S. Henriques, M. P. Pais, M. Batista, B. Horta e Costa, J. Martins, I. Tojeira, N. V. Rodrigues, R. Araújo, M. Souto, H. Alonso, J. M. Falcón, F. Henriques, P. Catry, H. Cabral, M. Biscoito & V. C. Almada. (2015). Ichthyofauna of the Selvagens Islands. Do small coastal areas show high species richness in the northeastern Atlantic? Marine Biology Research, 11(1): 49-41. DOI: 10.1080/17451000.2014.889306.
Biscoito, M., M. Freitas, J. G. Pajuelo, R. Triay-Portella, J. I. Santana, A.L. Costa, J. Delgado & J. A González. (2015). Sex- structure, depth distribution, intermoult period and reproductive pattern of the deep-sea red crab Chaceon affinis (Brachyura, Geryonidae) in two populations in the north-eastern Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research I, 95: 99-114. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2014.10.010.
Nieto, A., Biscoito, M. et al. (2015). European Red List of marine fishes. Luxembourg. Publications Office of the European Union. 81 pp.DOI:10.2779/082723.
Ramos, R., Ramirez, I., Paiva, V. H., Militão, T., Biscoito, M., Menezes, D., Phillips, R. A., Zino, F. & González-Solis, J. (2016). Global spatial ecology of three closely-related gadfly petrels. Scientific Reports, 6, 23447; doi: 10.1038/srep23447.
Pajuelo, J. G., Seoane, J., Biscoito, M., Freitas, M. & González, J. A. (2016). Assemblages of deep-sea fishes on the middle slope off Northwest Africa (26°–33° N, eastern Atlantic). Deep–Sea Research I, 118: 66-83.
Freitas, M., Vieira, S., Costa, L., Delgado, J., Biscoito, M. & González, J. A. (2017). First Records of Chimaera opalescens (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae) from Madeira and North-West African Coast. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 47(1): 81-84.
Delgado, J., Carvalho, D., Freitas, M., Biscoito, M. & Gouveia, E. P. (2017). Records of Some Rare Deep-Sea Fishes Caught in the Lion, Susan, and Unicorn Seamounts, off the Archipelago of Madeira (East-Central Atlantic). Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 47(1): 91-96.
Fernandes, P. G., Biscoito, M. et al. (2017). Coherent assessments of Europe’s marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1(0170): 1-8. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0170.
Biscoito, M., Araújo, G., Henriques, P., Martins, F., Sousa, R., Freitas, M. & Delgado, J. (2017). Biodiversity in seamounts: The Madeira-Tore and Great Meteor. BIOMETORE 5 cruise report. Bocagiana, 244: 1-9.
Biscoito, M. & González, J. A. (2018). Physiculus sudanensis Paulin, 1989, a junior synonym of P. dalwigki Kaup, 1858 (Teleostei, Gadiformes, Moridae), with a redescription of P. dalwigki. Cybium, 42(2): 189-144.
Biscoito, M., Ribeiro, C. & Freitas, M. (2018). Annotated checklist of the fishes of the archipelago of Madeira (NE Atlantic): I—Chondrichthyes. Zootaxa, 4429(3): 459-494. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4429.3.2
Biscoito, M. & Saldanha, L. (2018). Gaidropsarus mauli a new species of three-bearded rockling (Gadiformes, Gadidae) from the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and the Biscay Slope (Northeastern Atlantic). Zootaxa, 4459(2): 301-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4459.2.5
González, J. A., Triay-Portella, R. & Biscoito, M. (2018). A new species of Physiculus (Teleostei: Moridae) from the Cape Verde Islands (Eastern Central Atlantic). Zootaxa, 4461(2): 286-292. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4461.2.10.
Triay-Portella, R., González, J.A., Biscoito, M., Ruiz-Diaz, R. & Pajuelo, J.G. (2018). Sex with the lights off: Can a morphological structure reveal the sex and functional sexual maturity in the genus Plesionika? Deep-Sea Research I, 242: 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2018.10.005.
Almeida, A. J. & Biscoito, M. (2019). Results of the research expedition Biaçores 1971. Fishes and list of stations. Cybium, 43(2): 153-161. https://doi.org/10.26028/cybium/2019-423-003.
Wirtz, P. & Biscoito, M. (2019). The distribution of Mola alexandrini in the subtropical eastern Atlantic, with a note on Mola mola. Bocagiana, 245: 1-6.
Almeida, A. J. & Biscoito, M. (2019). Keys to the fishes of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. Boletim do Museu de História Natural do Funchal, Supl. 15: 5-194.
González, J. A. & Biscoito, M. (2020). First report of an association of the deep-water hermit crab Parapagurus pilosimanus (Decapoda, Parapaguridae) and the zoantharian Epizoanthus from Macaronesia. Crustaceana, 93(6): 677-683. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-bja10014
Zino, F. & Biscoito, M. (2020). The Freira Conservation Project - the history of how it came about and some information on Pterodroma madeira, Zino’s Petrel. Sea Swallow, 69: 3-14.
Davies, T. E., Carneiro, A. P. B., Tarzia, M., Wakefield, E., Hennicke, J. C., Frederiksen, M., Biscoito, M. . . . Dias, M. P. (2021). Multispecies tracking reveals a major seabird hotspot in the North Atlantic. Conservation Letters, 14:e12824: 1-14. doi:10.1111/conl.12824.
Freitas, M., Sousa, R., Ideia, P., Gaspar, M., Delgado, J., Costa, A.L., Santos, A., Biscoito, M. (2021). Sharks, rays and chimaeras of the Seine and Unicorn seamounts (NE Atlantic Ocean). Marine Biodiversity Records 14, 23: 1-10. doi.org/10.1186/s41200-021-00218-4.
Freitas, M., Ideia, P., Biscoito, M., Kaufmann, M. & Sousa, R. (2022). Length-weight relationships for eight Chondrichthyes from the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research. doi.org/10.1016/j.ejar.2022.01.002.
Braga-Henriques A., Buhl-Mortensen P., Tokat E., Martins A., Silva T., Jakobsen J., Canning-Clode J., Jakobsen K., Delgado J., Voirand T. & Biscoito M. (2022). Benthic community zonation from mesophotic to deep sea: Description of first deep-water kelp forest and coral gardens in the Madeira archipelago (central NE Atlantic). Frontiers in Marine Science, 9:973364. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.973364.
Triay-Portella, R., González, J. A., Lorenzo, J. M., Biscoito, M., & Pajuelo, J. (2023). Biological features of nine deep-water fishes from the midslope of the Northwest African coast. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 62(102951): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.102951
Garbett, A., Loca, S.L., Barreau, T., Biscoito, M., Bradley, C., Breen, J., Clarke, M., Ellis, J.R., Griffiths, A.M., Hannon, G., Jakobsdóttir, K., Junge, C., Lynghammar, A., McCloskey, M., Minos, G., Phillips, N.D., Prodöhl, P.A., Roche, W., Iglésias, S.P., Thorburn, J. and Collins, P.C. (2023). A holistic and comprehensive data approach validates the distribution of the critically endangered flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius). Journal of Fish Biology, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15466.
Clark, B. L., Carneiro, A. P. B., Pearmain, E. J., Rouyer, M. M., Clay, T. A., Cowger, W., Biscoito, M., . . . Dias, M. P. (2023). Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds. Nature Communications, 14(1), 3665. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-38900-z
González, J. A., Biscoito, M., & Buhl-Mortensen, P. (2023). On the presence of Aristeus antennatus (Decapoda, Dendrobranchiata, Aristeidae) off the Canary Islands and Madeira (NE Atlantic). Crustaceana, 96(9), 931-938. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-bja10315
Hochkirch, A., Bilz, M., Ferreira, C. C., Danielczak, A., Allen, D., Nieto, A., Rondinini, C., Harding, K., Hilton-Taylor, C., Pollock, C. M., Seddon, M., Vie, J. C., Alexander, K. N. A., Beech, E., Biscoito, M., Braud, Y., Burfield, I. J., Buzzetti, F. M., Calix, M., . . . Zuna-Kratky, T. (2023). A multi-taxon analysis of European Red Lists reveals major threats to biodiversity. PLOS ONE, 18(11), e0293083. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293083
Canning-Clode, J., Gizzi, F., Braga-Henriques, A., Ramalhosa, P., Abreu, P., Alvarez, S., Biscoito, M., Buhl-Mortensen, P., Delgado, J., Esson, D., Freitas, M., Freitas, M., Henriques, F., Jakobsen, J., Jakobsen, K., Kerckhof, F., Luter, C., Moura, C. J., Radeta, M., . . . Monteiro, J. G. (2024). A pioneering longterm experiment on mesophotic macrofouling communities in the North Atlantic. Commun Biol, 7(1), 1618. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07249-4
Sala, E. et al. (2024). Save Europe’s largest marine reserve. Nature, 632, 985.
Biscoito, M. & Delgado, J. (2025). First record of Melichthys niger (Bloch, 1786) (Pisces, Tetraodontiformes, Balistidae) from the Island of Madeira (NE Atlantic Ocean). Bocagiana, 253: 1-5.
Órfão, I., Silva, L., Girão, D., Raposeiro, P., Jesus, J., Biscoito, M., Canning-Clode, J., Ribeiro, F., & Ferreira, S. (2025). Occurrence of the eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859 (Poeciliidae, Cyprinodontiformes) in the Madeira Archipelago (NE Atlantic). BioInvasions Records 14 (3): 141–151. https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2025.14.3.13
Cuesta, J. A., González, J. A., Ramírez, R., Araújo, R., & Biscoito, M. (2025). Range extension and first mtDNA data for the living relict Tesseropora atlantica (Cirripedia, Tetraclitidae) in the Canary Islands. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 105. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315425100507
Guerrini, M., Berg, H.-M., Frahnert, S., Biscoito, M., & Barbanera, F. (2025). Genetic Identity of the Red-Legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa, Phasianidae) from the Island of Madeira. Birds, 6(59), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6040059
Biscoito, M., Reading, J. G. J., & Maclaine, J. (2025). On a new specimen of the rare deep-sea species Aulastomatomorpha phospherops(Teleostei, Alepocephalidae) from the Arabian Sea. Cybium, 49(3), 263-266. https://doi.org/10.26028/cybium/2025-032
Van Franeker, J.A., Soldaat, E., Bried, J.; Gonzáles-Solís, J., Zino, F., Biscoito, M., Borg, J.J., Tossani, F., Parolini, M. & Kühn, S. (2026). Plastic ingestion by Cory’s and Scopoli’s shearwaters (Calonectris spp.) from the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin 223: 119008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.119008
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9347-0823
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Manuel_Biscoito
https://scholar.google.pt/citations?user=I-Kmap0AAAAJ&hl=pt-PT
https://www.cienciavitae.pt/portal/2F17-D43A-FB1F
https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/AAC-4390-2021
https://researchid.co/rid75286
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=6603284678