Twenty-one rissoid species have been found in four bathyal samples from the Strait of Sicily, represented exclusively by empty shells. Some of these species are shallow water dwellers, associated with algal facies, others are typical of deep-sea (bathyal-abyssal). Two species are described as new (Alvania ismar n.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Culuccia is a small peninsula of about 3 km placed in north-western Sardinia (Italy) at the margin of the Maddalena Archipelago. The marine area surrounding this Peninsula is a Special Area of Conservation, included in the European Natura 2000 Ecological Network of protected areas, but until now, no information on biodiversity of this area is available. In 2021, a research project to study both terrestrial and marine biodiversity of Culuccia has started in order to fill this gap of knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHerein we revise several Recent Mediterranean species of the rissoid genus Alvania Risso, 1826: Alvania scabra (Philippi, 1844), Alvania sculptilis (Monterosato, 1877), Alvania sororcula Granata-Grillo, 1877, Alvania lucinae Oberling, 1970, Alvania josefoi Oliver Templado, 2009 and Alvania scuderii Villari, 2017. They represent a rather homogeneous group of morphologically similar species, referred to as the Alvania scabra complex, which includes also some other species from the northeastern Atlantic. We designate a neotype for Rissoa scabra Philippi, 1844 and a lectotype for Rissoa oranica Pallary, 1900 to stabilize the use of the names.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recent report of Nemoura lacustris Pictet, 1865 in Great Britain has raised doubts on its identity, given the isolation with respect to the Mediterranean and continental populations of this species. Using molecular analyses, we tested if populations from the United Kingdom and the Iberian Peninsula were conspecific and tested the hypotheses of a recent colonization event versus a more ancient origin for the British populations. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial marker COI allowed us to conclude that the United Kingdom specimens morphologically ascribed to N.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the Ross Sea, biodiversity organisation is strongly influenced by sea-ice cover, which is characterised by marked spatio-temporal variations. Expected changes in seasonal sea-ice dynamics will be reflected in food web architecture, providing a unique opportunity to study effects of climate change. Based on individual stable isotope analyses and the high taxonomic resolution of sampled specimens, we described benthic food webs in contrasting conditions of seasonal sea-ice persistence (early vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have compiled a complete list of new marine molluscan taxa introduced by Tommaso Allery Di Maria, Marquis of Monterosato (1841-1927). The dates of publication of every single work have been checked against available evidence, and an updated bibliography is also presented. Finally, the type material of all marine taxa expected to be in the collection Monterosato (presently preserved in the Museo Civico di Zoologia in Rome) has been searched in the main collection, and all retrieved specimens have been catalogued.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a sample of 567 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from the central Mediterranean, debris occurrence varied according to methods and turtle source, and was up to 80% in pelagic turtles. Frequencies of plastic types, size and color are also reported. These results and a critical review of 49 studies worldwide indicate that: (i) the detected occurrence of plastic (% turtles) is affected by several factors (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour genetically distinct clades were recently described under the name Dendropoma petraeum, a Mediterranean endemic vermetid gastropod. The aim of this work is to date the processes that drove to the diversification within this taxon and to relate them to the corresponding historical events occurred in the Mediterranean Sea. Sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear markers were obtained from specimens collected in 29 localities spanning over 4000km across the entire distribution range of D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Mediterranean species of the genus Mitromorpha Carpenter, 1865 as currently conceived, are herein reviewed. The genus is represented in the Mediterranean Sea by eleven species, of which seven are here described as new, all included conservatively in the subgenus Mitrolumna Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1883: Mitromorpha (Mitrolumna) columbellaria (Scacchi, 1836), Mitromorpha (Mitrolumna) olivoidea (Cantraine, 1835), Mitromorpha (Mitrolumna) karpathoensis (Nordsieck, 1969), Mitromorpha (Mitrolumna) wilhelminae (van Aartsen, Menkhorst & Gittenberger, 1984), Mitromorpha (Mitrolumna) alyssae n. sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Comp Neurol
February 2012