Widespread continental mtDNA lineages prevail in the bumblebee fauna of Iceland

Origins of the fauna in Iceland is controversial, although the majority of modern research supports the postglacial colonization of this island by terrestrial invertebrates rather than their long-term survival in glacial refugia. In this study, we use three bumblebee species as a model to test the hypothesis regarding possible cryptic refugia in Iceland and to evaluate a putative origin of recently introduced taxa. Bombus jonellus is thought to be a possible native Icelandic lineage, whereas B. lucorum and B. hortorum were evidently introduced in the second half of the 20th century. These phylogeographic analyses reveal that the Icelandic Bombus jonellus shares two COI lineages, one of which also occurs in populations on the British Isles and in mainland Europe, but a second lineage (BJ-02) has not been recorded anywhere. These results indicate that this species may have colonized Iceland two times and that the lineage BJ-02 may reflect a more ancient Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene founder event (e.g., from the British Isles). The Icelandic populations of both Bombus lucorum and B. hortorum share the COI lineages that were recorded as widespread throughout Eurasia, from the European countries across Russia to China and Japan. The findings presented here highlight that the bumblebee fauna of Iceland comprises mainly widespread ubiquitous lineages that arrived via natural or human-mediated dispersal events from the British Isles or the mainland

An example of a possible leech-bryozoan association in freshwater

Associations of various invertebrate species with bryozoans and sponges are a well-known marine phenomenon but such epizooic communities are far less diverse in freshwater environments. Here an occurrence of numerous leeches Alboglossiphonia cf. papillosa (Braun, 1805), in interstitial spaces between zooids of a colony of the freshwater bryozoan species Plumatella aff. fungosa (Pallas, 1768) in Eastern Siberia is described. To the best of our knowledge, this record appears to be the first known example of a leech-bryozoan association, although such relationships deserve further research

Diversity, biogeography, evolutionary relationships, and conservation of Eastern Mediterranean freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae)

Located at the junction between Europe, Africa, and Asia, with distinct evolutionary origins and varied ecological and geographical settings, together with a marked history of changes in orogeny and configuration of the main river basins, turned the Eastern Mediterranean into a region of high diversity and endemism of freshwater taxa. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionidae) from the Western Palearctic have been widely studied in their European range, but little attention has been dedicated to these taxa in the Eastern Mediterranean region and their diversity and phylogeography are still poorly understood. The present study aims to resolve the diversity, biogeography, and evolutionary relationships of the Eastern Mediterranean freshwater mussels. To that end, we performed multiple field surveys, phylogenetic analyses, and a thorough taxonomic revaluation. We reassessed the systematics of all Unionidae species in the region, including newly collected specimens across Turkey, Israel, and Iran, combining COI+16S+28S phylogenies with molecular species delineation methods. Phylogeographical patterns were characterized based on published molecular data, newly sequenced specimens, and species distribution data, as well as ancestral range estimations. We reveal that Unionidae species richness in the Eastern Mediterranean is over 70% higher than previously assumed, counting 19 species within two subfamilies, the Unioninae (14) and Gonideinae (5). We propose two new species, Anodonta seddoni sp. nov. and Leguminaia anatolica sp. nov. Six additional taxa, Unio delicatus stat. rev., Unio eucirrus stat. rev., Unio hueti stat. rev., Unio sesirmensis stat. rev., Unio terminalis stat. rev. removed from the synonymy of Unio tigridis, as well as Unio damascensis stat. rev. removed from the synonymy of Unio crassus, are re-described. The nominal taxa Unio rothi var. komarowi O. Boettger, 1880 and Unio armeniacus Kobelt, 1911 are proposed as new synonyms of Unio bruguierianus, and Anodonta cyrea Drouët, 1881 and Anodonta cilicica Kobelt & Rolle, 1895 as new synonyms of Anodonta anatina. Also, the presence of Unio tumidus in the Maritza River is confirmed. The phylogeographic patterns described here are interpreted concerning major past geological events. Conservation needs and implications are presented, together with populations and species conservation priorities

New records of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from Myanmar based on DNA barcodes and morphological data

An integrative study of the Indo-Burmese Geometridae in the collection of the Russian Museum of Biodiversity Hotspots (RMBH, Russia) revealed six newly recorded species for the fauna of Myanmar, i.e., Plutodes costatus (Butler,1886), Pogonopygia nigralbata Warren, 1894, Mixochlora vittata (Moore, 1867), Pelagodes bellula Han & Xue, 2011, Agathia carissima Butler, 1878 and A. codina Swinhoe, 1892. The occurrence of P. bellula is the first record ofthis taxon outside the Tibetan Plateau. Our findings highlight that the distribution of several Oriental geometrids could be broader than was previously suggested

Freshwater mollusks from Neogene-Quaternary Dniester and Prut riverine deposits as indicator paleoenvironments: chemical composition of shells and its palaeoecological interpretation

The respective environments in two ancient rivers were studied using geochemical methods with paleogeographic reconstructions of fossil material represented by shells of freshwater bivalve mollusks. The studied outcrops are located in the basins of the Dniester and Prut rivers. Materials were collected from two Pliocene (Brînza, Giurgiuleşti) outcrops and the ages of the second group of localities (Sucleia, Slobozia Mare, Gura Bîcului) are from Middle to Late Pleistocene. The determination of the taxonomic position was carried out using standard malacological methods. Geochemical data were used for the environmental reconstruction and included stable isotope ratio and trace element compositions in subfossil freshwater bivalve shell (Bivalvia: Unionoida). Key indicators of paleoenvironments show changes in water temperature. Changes in the taxonomic composition of bivalve mollusk assemblages also occurred. In the present study, increasing the water temperature caused a change of stenobiont species of bivalve mollusks to eurybiont species. Eutrophication of watercourses, caused by anthropogenic pollution and climate change in the direction of warming, has led to the replacement of pearl mussels of the family Margaritiferidae by more eurybiont species of the family Unionidae in the benthic communities of European oligotrophic rivers. These processes are similar to those deduced for the Neogene-Quaternary watercourses of the Prut and Dniester basins, but they proceed at a much faster pace. They are processes of eutrophication of watercourses – the main factor leading to the catastrophically rapid modern reduction of the ranges of pearl mussel

Freshwater mollusks from Neogene-Quaternary Dniester and Prut riverine deposits as indicator paleoenvironments: chemical composition of shells and its palaeoecological interpretation

The respective environments in two ancient rivers were studied using geochemical methods with paleogeographic reconstructions of fossil material represented by shells of freshwater bivalve mollusks. The studied outcrops are located in the basins of the Dniester and Prut rivers. Materials were collected from two Pliocene (Brînza, Giurgiuleşti) outcrops and the ages of the second group of localities (Sucleia, Slobozia Mare, Gura Bîcului) are from Middle to Late Pleistocene. The determination of the taxonomic position was carried out using standard malacological methods. Geochemical data were used for the environmental reconstruction and included stable isotope ratio and trace element compositions in subfossil freshwater bivalve shell (Bivalvia: Unionoida). Key indicators of paleoenvironments show changes in water temperature. Changes in the taxonomic composition of bivalve mollusk assemblages also occurred. In the present study, increasing the water temperature caused a change of stenobiont species of bivalve mollusks to eurybiont species. Eutrophication of watercourses, caused by anthropogenic pollution and climate change in the direction of warming, has led to the replacement of pearl mussels of the family Margaritiferidae by more eurybiont species of the family Unionidae in the benthic communities of European oligotrophic rivers. These processes are similar to those deduced for the Neogene-Quaternary watercourses of the Prut and Dniester basins, but they proceed at a much faster pace. They are processes of eutrophication of watercourses – the main factor leading to the catastrophically rapid modern reduction of the ranges of pearl mussel

The male of Estigena wallacei Spitsyn et al., 2019 (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

Spitsyn, Vitaly M., Kondakov, Alexander V., Tomilova, Alena A., Spitsyna, Elizaveta A., Bolotov, Ivan N. (2022): The male of Estigena wallacei Spitsyn et al., 2019 (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae). Zootaxa 5138 (1): 98-100, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5138.1.1

Pollinators on the polar edge of the Ecumene: taxonomy, phylogeography, and ecology of bumble bees from Novaya Zemlya

The High Arctic bumble bee fauna is rather poorly known, while a growing body of recent molecular research indicates that several Arctic species may represent endemic lineages with restricted ranges. Such local endemics are in need of special conservation efforts because of the increasing anthropogenic pressure and climate changes. Here, we re-examine the taxonomic and biogeographic affinities of bumble bees from Novaya Zemlya using historical samples and recently collected materials (1895–1925 vs. 2015–2017). Three bumble bee species inhabit the Yuzhny (Southern) Island and the southern edge of Severny (Northern) Island of this archipelago: Bombus glacialis Friese, 1902, B. hyperboreus Schönherr, 1809, and B. pyrrhopygus Friese, 1902. Bombus glacialis shares three unique COI haplotypes that may indicate its long-term (pre-glacial) persistence on Novaya Zemlya. In contrast, Bombus hyperboreus and B. pyrrhopygus share a rather low molecular divergence from mainland populations, with the same or closely related haplotypes as those from Arctic Siberia and Norway. A brief re-description of Bombus pyrrhopygus based on the newly collected topotypes is presented. Habitats, foraging plants and life cycles of bumble bees on Novaya Zemlya are characterized, and possible causes of extremely low bumble bee abundance on the archipelago are discussed. The species-poor bumble bee fauna of Novaya Zemlya is compared with those in other areas throughout the Arctic. The mean bumble bee species richness on the Arctic Ocean islands is three times lower than that in the mainland Arctic areas (3.1 vs. 8.6 species per local fauna, respectively). General linear models (GLMs) indicate that this difference can be explained by specific environmental conditions of insular areas. Our findings highlight that the insularity is a significant factor sharply decreasing species richness in bumble bee assemblages on the Arctic Ocean archipelagoes through colder climate (lower summer temperatures), prevalence of harsh Arctic tundra landscapes with poor foraging resources, and in isolation from the mainland

Diversity and Phylogenetics of Freshwater Mussels (Unionidae) from Southern Thailand with the Description of One New Genus and Five New Species-Group Taxa

Southern Thailand represents a region of unique freshwater biodiversity with many endemic taxa, including a number of freshwater mussel species (Bivalvia: Unionidae). In this study, we recognize 13 taxa in the tribes Contradentini, Rectidentini, Pseudodontini (subfamily Gonideinae), and Indochinellini (subfamily Parreysiinae) that inhabit different localities in the Songkhla Lake, Tapi River, and Tha Taphao River basins. Based on the results of morphological and phylogenetic analyses, we discovered among these mussels six taxa new to science, including one genus, three species, and two subspecies. New taxonomic names are introduced here as follows: Songkhlanaiagen. nov.; S. tamodienicagen. & sp. nov.; Sundadontina plugpomenicasp. nov.; Monodontina vondembuschiana tapienicassp. nov.; M. vondembuschiana thasaenicassp. nov. (Pseudodontini); and Trapezoideus thachiadensissp. nov. (Contradentini). These new taxa confirm the high conservation priority of the Southern Thai freshwater mussel fauna

DNA analysis of a non-native lineage of Sinanodonta woodiana species complex (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from Middle Asia supports the Chinese origin of the European invaders

Kondakov, Alexander V., Palatov, Dmitry M., Rajabov, Zakir P., Gofarov, Mikhail Yu., Konopleva, Ekaterina S., Tomilova, Alena A., Vikhrev, Ilya V., Bolotov, Ivan N. (2018): DNA analysis of a non-native lineage of Sinanodonta woodiana species complex (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from Middle Asia supports the Chinese origin of the European invaders. Zootaxa 4462 (4): 511-522, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4462.4.