Phylogenomics yields new systematic and taxonomical insights for Lissotriton newts, a genus with a strong legacy of introgressive hybridization.

The ease with which genome-wide data can nowadays be collected allows complicated phylogenetic questions to be re-evaluated. Phylogenetic relationships among newts have often proven difficult to resolve due to the prevalence of incomplete lineage sorting and introgressive hybridization. For the newt genus Lissotriton, phylogenetic relationships are not settled and there is controversy surrounding the species status of several taxa.

Phylogenomics resolves the puzzling phylogeny of banded newts (genus Ommatotriton).

Resolving the order of speciation events that occurred in rapid succession is inherently hard and typically requires a phylogenomic approach. A case in point concerns the previously unresolved phylogeny of the three species of banded newt (genus Ommatotriton). We obtain c.

Spatial genetic structure in European marbled newts revealed with target enrichment by sequence capture.

European marbled newts come in two species that have abutting ranges. The northern species, Triturus marmoratus, is found in France and the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, whereas the southern species, T. pygmaeus, is found in the southwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula.

Hybrid zone analysis confirms cryptic species of banded newt and does not support competitive displacement since secondary contact.

When two putatively cryptic species meet in nature, hybrid zone analysis can be used to estimate the extent of gene flow between them. Two recently recognized cryptic species of banded newt (genus ) are suspected to meet in parapatry in Anatolia, but a formal hybrid zone analysis has never been conducted. We sample populations throughout the range, with a focus on the supposed contact zone, and genotype them for 31 nuclear DNA SNP markers and mtDNA.

Mass mortality of the invasive alien echinoid (Echinoidea: Diadematidae) in the Mediterranean Sea.

The sea urchin is an ecological key species across its range, particularly on coral reefs. In 2006 was first observed in the Mediterranean Sea, and since, it has proliferated to occupy the entire Levantine Basin. Here we report the mass mortality of the invasive in the Mediterranean Sea.

Alientoma, a Dynamic Database for Alien Insects in Greece and Its Use by Citizen Scientists in Mapping Alien Species.

Invasive alien species have been increasingly acknowledged as a major threat to native biodiversity and ecosystem services, while their adverse impacts expand to human health, society and the economy on a global scale. Insects represent one of the most numerous alien organismic groups, accounting for about one fifth of their total number. In Greece, a large number of alien insects have been identified, currently reaching 469 species.

Next-generation phylogeography of the banded newts (Ommatotriton): A phylogenetic hypothesis for three ancient species with geographically restricted interspecific gene flow and deep intraspecific genetic structure.

Technological developments now make it possible to employ many markers for many individuals in a phylogeographic setting, even for taxa with large and complex genomes such as salamanders. The banded newt (genus Ommatotriton) from the Near East has been proposed to contain three species (O. nesterovi, O.

Contribution to the knowledge of Mediterranean lichen-feeding darkling beetles of the genus Stenohelops Reitter, 1922 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae).

Species of the genus Helopelius Reitter, 1922 (type species: Stenomax aeneipennis Allard, 1876) were known from Rhodes and North Africa. We found that two species described from Rhodes belong to the genus Stenohelops Reitter, 1922, and Helopelius can be interpreted as a subgenus within latter, guided by the article 23.2 of ICZN.