Primera cita en África del caracol del cieno de Nueva Zelanda Potamopyrgus antipodarum (J.E. Gray, 1843) (Tateidae, Mollusca)

Listed recently in the top “hundred worst” alien species and the third “worst alien” mollusc in Europe, the New Zealand mudsnail has become cosmopolitan. We report its first finding in the African continent, in Morocco. Established populations of Potamopyrgus antipodarum were found in the Low Moulouya wetland, a Ramsar and Biological and Ecological Interest Site (SIBE), occupying natural and anthropogenic habitats (spring, river and artificial canal). The invasion process seems to be in its early stages, calling for drastic measures to control its invasion progress.Incluido recientemente entre las “cien peores” especies invasoras y siendo el tercero de los “peores moluscos invasores” en Europa, el caracol del cieno de Nueva Zelanda ha llegado a ser cosmopolita. Se comunica el primer hallazgo en el continente africano, en Marruecos. Se encontraron poblaciones establecidas de Potamopyrgus antipodarum en el humedal Low Moulouya, un Sitio Ramsar y un Sitio de Interés Biológico y Ecológico (SIBE), donde ocupa hábitats naturales y antropogénicos (manantial, río y canal artificial). El proceso de invasión parece estar en sus primeras etapas, lo que exige medidas drásticas para poder controlar su progreso

Montenegrospeum Pešić et Glöer, 2013 : a representative of Moitessieriidae?

The paper deals with phylogenetic relationships of recently described Montenegrospeum bogici Pešić et Glöer, 2012 from central Bosnia. The female reproductive system was found to bear two receptacula seminis. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I and nuclear 18S rRNA gene partial sequences were used for the maximum likelihood phylogenetic inference. Morphological and molecular data are congruent: Montenegrospeum does not belong to the Moitessieriidae, and is phylogenetically remote from Bythiospeum; it belongs to the Hydrobiidae, subfamily Sadlerianinae, and its sister taxon is Dalmatinella Radoman, 1973 (bootstrap support 87%)

New data and records of the genus Theodoxus in Morocco (Gastropoda: Neritidae)

In this paper, we present new data on the distribution of Theodoxus spp. in Morocco, providing new records of three known species, in addition to a record of an unknown species resembling the extinct T. valentinus (Graells, 1846) recorded only from Spain, where it is endemic to the Valencia region. Identification key and photos of the species are also presented

Two new species of Mercuria Boeters, 1971 from Morocco (Gastropoda, Hydrobiidae)

Although Mercuria genus has received considerable attention in Morocco in terms of species discoveries, new species continue to be found in the country. The aim of this paper is to describe two new species of Mercuria found recently in northeastern Morocco

Radiation in Bythinella Moquin-Tandon,1856 (Mollusca : Gastropoda : Rissooidea) in the Balkans

61 sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI), 570 bp long, from Central Europe (8), Slovenia (2), and from the Balkans (51: 6 from, Romania, 15 from Greece, 15 from Bulgaria, 6 from Serbia, and 9 from Montenegro), 33 of them new, together with 61 sequences of the ribosomal 18S, 450 bp long, all of them new, were analysed to infer the pattern of radiation of Bythinella in the Balkans. Thirty two nominal taxa of Bythinella (22 nominal species: B. austriaca, B. calimanica, B. charpentieri, B. compressa, B. dacica, B. dispersa, B. grossui, B. hansboetersi, B. luteola, B. micherdzinskii, B. molcsanyi, B. nonveilleri, B. pannonica, B. pesterica, B. radomani, B. rhodopensis, B. robiciana, B. schmidti, B. slaveyae, B. srednogorica, B. taraensis and B. viseuiana; one nominal subspecies: B. austriaca ehrmanni; and nine Greek species not yet described) were included, represented mostly by paratypes or at least topotypes, collected at 31 Balkan localities. The phylogeny, inferred on the combined data set with the ML approach, showed two large clades, although they were weakly supported. One of them comprised the Romanian and Montenegro populations, and one Serbian population, the other (less genetically diversified) consisted of one Serbian and all the Bulgarian/Greek populations. The origin of those two clades was dated, with the external data, to be more than 4.341±0753 MYA old, thus its origin was assigned to isolation by the Dacic Basin (part of Paratethys). All the Bulgarian populations presumably belong to one species, which may be assigned to the recent recolonisation of this territory from the south

The first record of the North American freshwater limpet Ferrissia californica (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in Morocco

Invasive species are a major threat to global biodiversity. One of the most effective invaders among freshwater snails is the North American ancyline gastropod Ferrissia californica (= fragilis). A new population of this species has been found in Lake Zerrouka (Northern Morocco), a Protected Area, which is also a site of ecological and biological interest (known as SIBE). Thus, this record expands the known distribution range of this invasive species in the Mediterranean area. Despite the fact it is located in only one out of more than 150 localities sampled by us, ongoing investigations could soon reveal more finds of the species in Morocco. Lake Zerrouka is known for recently described endemic snail species, i.e. Ifrania zerroukansis and Gyraulus marocana. Therefore, the monitoring of the presence and expansion of F. californica within invaded areas, as well as studies improving the knowledge on its biology and ecology is an urgent need

Primera cita del caracol exótico Helisoma duryi (Wetherby, 1879), (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) en Marruecos

El molusco exótico Helisoma duryi es un popular caracol ornamental de agua dulce que se utiliza para controlar las microalgas en los acuarios. Ahora se presenta como una especie introducida en hábitats acuáticos de Europa, África y América del Sur. Presentamos el primer hallazgo de una población aclimatada de H. duryi en Marruecos y el norte de África. A pesar de ubicarse en una única localidad de las más de 100 muestreadas por nosotros, las investigaciones en curso podrían revelar pronto más citas de la especie en el país y el resto del continente. Se deben establecer políticas y procedimientos estrictos de aplicación de la ley en el comercio de especies acuáticas como medida preventiva para preservar la biodiversidad nativa

Viviparus acerosus (Bourguignat, 1862) (Gastropoda: Viviparidae), a new exotic snail species for the Dutch fauna

Abstract Viviparus acerosus, a Central European species originally inhabiting the Danube drainage system, is reported for the first time from The Netherlands. The species is commercially sold for gardens ponds or aquaria, from which they may have escaped or have been released. On account of its resemblance with the two native Viviparus species the species is easily overlooked