Parapatric genetic divergence among deep evolutionary lineages in the Mediterranean green crab, Carcinus aestuarii (Brachyura, Portunoidea, Carcinidae), accounts for a sharp phylogeographic break in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Background: Recently, population genetic studies of Mediterranean marine species highlighted patterns of genetic divergence and phylogeographic breaks, due to the interplay between impacts of Pleistocene climate shifts and contemporary hydrographical barriers. These factors markedly shaped the distribution of marine organisms and their genetic makeup. The present study is part of an ongoing effort to understand the phylogeography and evolutionary history of the highly dispersive Mediterranean green crab, Carcinus aestuarii (Nardo, 1847), across the Mediterranean Sea.

Dasyatispora levantinae gen. et sp. nov., a new microsporidian parasite from the common stingray Dasyatis pastinaca in the eastern Mediterranean.

A new microsporidian infecting the Mediterranean common stingray Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758) is described from Iskenderun Bay, Turkey. The parasite invades the disc muscles, producing slender, spindle-shaped subcutaneous swellings that develop into massive, elongated, tumor-like protuberances measuring up to 11 x 4 cm. Severity of the infection may vary from light (1 or 2 small lesions) to intense, with large parts of the dorsal surface covered with lumps and protrusions.

Antipodean white sharks on a Mediterranean walkabout? Historical dispersal leads to genetic discontinuity and an endangered anomalous population.

The provenance of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the Mediterranean is both a conundrum and an important conservation issue. Considering this species's propensity for natal philopatry, any evidence that the Mediterranean stock has little or no contemporary immigration from the Atlantic would suggest that it is extraordinarily vulnerable. To address this issue we sequenced the mitochondrial control region of four rare Mediterranean white sharks.