This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/oa.2765 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Cilli Elisabetta (Orcid ID: 0000-0003-0407-267X) Fradkin Arlene (Orcid ID: 0000-0001-7799-649X) Comparison and optimization of genetic tools used for the identification of ancient fish remains recovered from archaeological excavations and museum collections in the Mediterranean region Gregory Neils Puncher 1,2,3,4 , Alessia Cariani 1 , Elisabetta Cilli 5 , Francesco Massari 1 , Agostino Leone 1 , Arturo Morales-Muñiz 6 , Vedat Onar 7 , Nezir Yaşar Toker 8 , Dario Bernal Casasola 9 , Tom Moens 2 , Fausto Tinti 1 1. Laboratory of Genetics & Genomics of Marine Resources and Environment, Dept. of Biological, Geological & Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 48100, Ravenna, Italy 2. Biology Department, Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium 3. Department of Biological Sciences, Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB, E2L 4L5, Canada. 4. Molecular Biology Laboratory, Maurice Lamontagne Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont-Joli, QC, G5H 3Z4, Canada 5. Laboratories of Physical Anthropology and Ancient DNA, Dept. of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy 6. Laboratory of Archeozoology, Dept. Biology, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain 7. Istanbul University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dept. of Anatomy, Osteoarchaeology Research Centre, Avcilar, Istanbul, Turkey 8. Istanbul University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dept. of Biochemistry, Avcilar, Istanbul, Turkey 9. Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, Department of History, Geography and Philosophy, University of Cádiz, 11003 Cádiz, Spain