Phylogeography and ecology of bumble bees on Kolguev Island, a remote European Arctic landmass.

The bumble bee fauna of the Russian Arctic is rather poorly known. Kolguev Island, a remote insular territory in the Barents Sea, is one of the deficiently studied areas. In this study, material on Kolguev's bumble bees is re-examined, phylogeographic data analysed, putative scenarios explaining the origin of the bumble bee fauna on the island discussed, and the biology and phenology of these insular populations described.

Cryptic taxonomic diversity and high-latitude melanism in the glossiphoniid leech assemblage from the Eurasian Arctic.

The family Glossiphoniidae is a diverse and widespread clade of freshwater leeches, playing a significant role in functioning of aquatic ecosystems. The taxonomy and biogeography of leeches from temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions attracted much attention of zoologists, while their taxonomic richness and distribution in the Arctic are poorly understood. Here, we present an overview of the Eurasian Arctic Glossiphoniidae based on the most comprehensive occurrence and DNA sequence datasets sampled to date.

Oriental freshwater mussels arose in East Gondwana and arrived to Asia on the Indian Plate and Burma Terrane.

Freshwater mussels cannot spread through oceanic barriers and represent a suitable model to test the continental drift patterns. Here, we reconstruct the diversification of Oriental freshwater mussels (Unionidae) and revise their taxonomy. We show that the Indian Subcontinent harbors a rather taxonomically poor fauna, containing 25 freshwater mussel species from one subfamily (Parreysiinae).

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.

Male of Spilarctia mikeli Bolotov, Kondakov amp; Spitsyn, 2018, an endemic species from Flores Island, Lesser Sunda Archipelago (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae).

The Lepidoptera fauna of the island of Flores (Lesser Sunda Archipelago, Indonesia) shares a large proportion of endemic species, which may reach 80100% in several groups (Zolotuhin Witt 2005; Nässig et al. 2009; Zolotuhin 2009; Nässig Bouyer 2010; Yakovlev 2015; Spitsyn Potapov 2020; Spitsyn Bolotov 2020). A plethora of new species was described from this island during the last 15 years, e.

New freshwater mussels from two Southeast Asian genera Bineurus and Thaiconcha (Pseudodontini, Gonideinae, Unionidae).

The Mekong and Chao Phraya rivers harbor a species-rich freshwater mussel assemblage containing a large radiation of the Pseudodontini species. Members of the genera Bineurus Simpson 1900 and Thaiconcha Bolotov et al., 2020 primarily inhabit small and medium-sized tributaries of these rivers.

New freshwater mussel taxa discoveries clarify biogeographic division of Southeast Asia.

While a growing body of modern phylogenetic research reveals that the Western Indochina represents a separate biogeographic subregion having a largely endemic freshwater fauna, the boundaries of this subregion are still unclear. We use freshwater mussels (Unionidae) as a model to reconstruct spatial patterns of freshwater biogeographic divides throughout Asia. Here, we present an updated freshwater biogeographic division of mainland Southeast Asia and describe 12 species and 4 genera of freshwater mussels new to science.

Integrative taxonomy, biogeography and conservation of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) in Russia.

Freshwater mussels are ecosystem engineers and keystone species in aquatic environments. Unfortunately, due to dramatic declines this fauna is among the most threatened globally. Here, we clarify the taxonomy and biogeography of Russian Unionidae species based on the most comprehensive multi-locus dataset sampled to date.

Freshwater mussels house a diverse mussel-associated leech assemblage.

Freshwater mussels (Unionida) are one of the most imperiled animal groups worldwide, revealing the fastest rates of extinction. Habitat degradation, river pollution and climate change are the primary causes of global decline. However, biological threats for freshwater mussels are still poorly known.

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 2015-2017).

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 Alboglossiphoniacf.papillosa (Braun, 1805), in interstitial spaces between zooids of a colony of the freshwater bryozoan species Plumatellaaff.

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.

The Sinanodonta woodiana species complex includes several cryptic species-level phylogenetic lineages, the taxonomic placement of which is unclear. Here, we present the results of molecular analyses of a Sinanodonta sample from Middle Asia (Uzbekistan). The COI haplotype of the Uzbekistan lineage is similar to those of invasive Sinanodonta populations from Europe, Russia and Myanmar.

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. is thought to be a possible native Icelandic lineage, whereas and were evidently introduced in the second half of the 20 century.

Species Richness, Molecular Taxonomy and Biogeography of the Radicine Pond Snails (Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae) in the Old World.

The radicine pond snails represent a species-rich and widely distributed group, many species of which are key vectors of human and animal trematodoses. Here we clarify the taxonomy, distribution and evolutionary biogeography of the radicine lymnaeids in the Old World based on the most comprehensive multi-locus molecular dataset sampled to date. We show that the subfamily Amphipepleinae is monophyletic and contains at least ten genus-level clades: Radix Montfort, 1810, Ampullaceana Servain, 1881, Peregriana Servain, 1881, Tibetoradix Bolotov, Vinarski & Aksenova gen.