Genetic and Distribution Data of the Bramble Shark (Bonnaterre, 1788) and the Prickly Shark Pietschmann, 1928 to Better Reconstruct Their Conservation Status.

Elasmobranch species show low resilience in relation to anthropogenic stressors such as fishing efforts, loss of habitats, and climate change. In this sense, the elasmobranch populations appear to be at risk of extinction in many cases. Despite conservation researchers making efforts to implement knowledge, the information on the biology, reproduction, distribution, or genetic structure of some species is still scattered, often caused by the occurrence of species in inaccessible habitats.

A benefit to biodiversity assessment: An Indian survey demonstrates that Cheiriphotis geniculata is a misidentification of the valid species Photis geniculata Barnard, 1935 (Crustacea: Amphipoda).

The amphipod crustaceans are an essential taxonomic group in the marine biodiversity assessment and response to environmental pollution or climate change. They play an important role in benthic food webs due to their high biomass, abundance and highly variable modes of feeding. However, our knowledge of the amphipod fauna is somehow incomplete and literature shows shortcomings regarding misidentification or lack of identification to species-level.

The extinct Sicilian wolf shows a complex history of isolation and admixture with ancient dogs.

The Sicilian wolf remained isolated in Sicily from the end of the Pleistocene until its extermination in the 1930s-1960s. Given its long-term isolation on the island and distinctive morphology, the genetic origin of the Sicilian wolf remains debated. We sequenced four nuclear genomes and five mitogenomes from the seven existing museum specimens to investigate the Sicilian wolf ancestry, relationships with extant and extinct wolves and dogs, and diversity.

Effect of different packaging methods on the free amino acid profiles of the deep-water rose shrimp () during frozen storage.

The composition of free amino acids (FAAs) in seafood products contributes to characterizing their flavor, as well as freshness and quality during storage. Deep-water rose shrimps (, Lucas, 1846) (DWRS) are being increasingly harvested in the Mediterranean Sea, and the captured specimens are quickly frozen onboard fishing trawlers to preserve freshness and post-harvest quality. Here, we quantified the FAA profiles of DWRS packaged using five methods: (1) 100% N; (2) vacuum; (3) 50% N + 50% CO; (4) commercial anhydrous sodium sulfite; and (5) air (control).

The invasive seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis erodes the habitat structure and biodiversity of native algal forests in the Mediterranean Sea.

Invasive seaweeds are listed among the most relevant threats to marine ecosystems worldwide. Biodiversity hotspots, such as the Mediterranean Sea, are facing multiple invasions and are expected to be severely affected by the introduction of new non-native seaweeds in the near future. In this study, we evaluated the consequences of the shift from the native Ericaria brachycarpa to the invasive Asparagopsis taxiformis habitat on the shallow rocky shores of Favignana Island (Egadi Islands, MPA, Sicily, Italy).

Small-scale patches of detritus as habitat for invertebrates within a Zostera noltei meadow.

Seagrass detritus can attract numerous invertebrates as it provides food and substrate within the meadow or in adjacent environments. Nonetheless, several factors could modify the invertebrate response to this habitat. In this study, we tested if epifaunal colonisation of Zostera noltei detritus was related to substrate availability rather than food and whether colonising assemblages were similar according to the meadow structural complexity.

First Assessment of Plasticizers in Marine Coastal Litter-Feeder Fauna in the Mediterranean Sea.

Micro and nanoplastics are harmful to marine life due to their high level of fragmentation and resistance to degradation. Over the past two decades, marine coastal sediment has shown an increasing amount of microplastics being a sort of trap for debris wastes or chemicals. In such an environment some species may be successful candidates to be used as monitors of environmental and health hazards and can be considered a mirror of threats of natural habitats.

New records of amphipod crustaceans along the Israeli Mediterranean coast, including a rare Mediterranean endemic species, Karaman & Ruffo, 1971.

Background: A survey has been carried out at four Israeli rocky sites to evaluate the diversity of the amphipod fauna on various hard substrates, still scarcely monitored, as potential pabulum for amphipod crustacean species.

New Information: A survey of shallow rocky reefs along the Mediterranean coast of Israel recovered 28 species and integrated the Amphipoda checklist for the country ofIsrael with 12 newly-recorded species. Such renewed national list includes Karaman & Ruffo, 1971, a rare species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, recorded here for the first time from the southern Levant Basin.

Epinephelus sicanus (Doderlein, 1882) (Perciformes: Serranidae: Epinephelinae), a valid species of grouper from the Mediterranean Sea.

During the editing of the paper "In memory of Pietro Doderlein" (Massa et al. 2018), consulting Doderlein's bibliography, and highlighting some interesting documents and the material preserved in the Museum of Zoology of the University of Palermo (MZPA) (today named after Doderlein), a taxonomic anomaly was noticed about a grouper collected more than one hundred years ago. The aim of the present statement is to prove that the name Cerna sicana Doderlein, 1882 (presently as Epinephelus sicanus [Doderlein, 1882]) should be considered a valid species unless it is demonstrated that it is a synonym of another valid species.

Correction to: Progress on bringing together raptor collections in Europe for contaminant research and monitoring in relation to chemicals regulation.

The correct affiliation of Sabrina Lo Brutto is shown in this paper.

A taxonomic revision helps to clarify differences between the Atlantic invasive and the Mediterranean endemic (Crustacea, Amphipoda).

(formerly ), described by Arresti (1989), can be considered to be a synonym of west-Atlantic (Stimpson, 1853), based on morphological observations of paratypes and specimens recently collected in the type locality of . The first collections of , from the eastern Atlantic were from the port of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) in 2009 and later in Wimereux, Opal Coast (France) in 2014; however, the synonymy of with backdates to the first European record of in 1985 at La Vigne, Bay of Arcachon (France). This indicates that has been established along European Atlantic coast for many years.

Reducing the data-deficiency of threatened European habitats: Spatial variation of sabellariid worm reefs and associated fauna in the Sicily Channel, Mediterranean Sea.

Biogenic reefs, such as those produced by tube-dwelling polychaetes of the genus Sabellaria, are valuable marine habitats which are a focus of protection according to European legislation. The achievement of this goal is potentially hindered by the lack of essential empirical data, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. This study addresses some of the current knowledge gaps by quantifying and comparing multi-scale patterns of abundance and distribution of two habitat-forming species (Sabellaria alveolata and S.

The Case of a Rudderfish Highlights the Role of Natural History Museums as Sentinels of Bio-invasions.

In September 2013 fishermen captured a rudderfish-Kyphosus vaigiensis-off Favignana Island, one of the islands of the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA) in western Sicily (Mannino et al., 2015). This species is rarely sampled in the Mediterranean Sea.

A finding at the Natural History Museum of Florence affords the holotype designation of Cecchini, 1928 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Talitridae).

The beach flea Orchestia stephenseni has been originally described by Cecchini twice (1928, 1929) from the La Spezia type locality (northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), and successively re-described by Karaman (1973) and Iaciofano & Lo Brutto (2016).

Improving the Conservation of Mediterranean Chondrichthyans: The ELASMOMED DNA Barcode Reference Library.

Cartilaginous fish are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors and environmental change because of their K-selected reproductive strategy. Accurate data from scientific surveys and landings are essential to assess conservation status and to develop robust protection and management plans. Currently available data are often incomplete or incorrect as a result of inaccurate species identifications, due to a high level of morphological stasis, especially among closely related taxa.

Re-description of Orchestia stephenseni Cecchini, 1928: designation of neotype and senior synonym to Orchestia constricta A. Costa, 1853 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Talitridae) by Reversal of Precedence.

The beach flea Orchestia stephenseni was originally described by Cecchini (1928), and successively by Karaman (1973). The description of this species will be herein revised by focusing on the variation of the gnathopod 2 in males, as detected during its growth period. An analysis of DNA Barcoding was performed to support the assignment of the taxonomic species to five morphotypes.

Grandidierella bonnieroides Stephensen, 1948 (Amphipoda, Aoridae)-first record of an established population in the Mediterranean Sea.

The first record in the Mediterranean Sea of the invasive aorid amphipod crustacean Grandidierella bonnieroides is presented. A widespread circumtropical species, recorded off the Saudi coast of the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, it may have been introduced into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. This tube-builder species of soft bottoms recently established a population in the polluted Haifa Bay, Israel.

An additional record of Kyphosus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) (Osteichthyes, Kyphosidae) from Sicily clarifies the confused situation of the Mediterranean kyphosids.

The lowfin chub, Kyphosus vaigiensis, is reported for the first time off Favignana Island, Sicily, central Mediterranean Sea. The specimen was identified on the basis of morphometric and meristic characters as well as mitochondrial DNA sequences (COI and 16S-rDNA). Two, perhaps three, Kyphosus species-K.

DNA barcoding for species assignment: the case of Mediterranean marine fishes.

Background: DNA barcoding enhances the prospects for species-level identifications globally using a standardized and authenticated DNA-based approach. Reference libraries comprising validated DNA barcodes (COI) constitute robust datasets for testing query sequences, providing considerable utility to identify marine fish and other organisms. Here we test the feasibility of using DNA barcoding to assign species to tissue samples from fish collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, a major contributor to the European marine ichthyofaunal diversity.

Overlooked cryptic endemism in copepods: systematics and natural history of the calanoid subgenus Occidodiaptomus Borutzky 1991 (Copepoda, Calanoida, Diaptomidae).

Our comprehension of the phylogeny and diversity of most inland-water crustaceans is currently hampered by their pronounced morphological bradytely, which contributed to the affirmation of the "Cosmopolitanism Paradigm" of freshwater taxa. However, growing evidence of the existence of cryptic diversity and molecular regionalism is available for calanoid copepods, thus stressing the need for careful morphological and molecular studies in order to soundly investigate the systematics, diversity and distribution patterns of the group. Diaptomid copepods were here chosen as model taxa, and the morphological and molecular diversity of the species belonging to the west-Mediterranean diaptomid subgenus Occidodiaptomus were investigated with the aim of comparing the patterns of morphological and molecular evolution in freshwater copepods.

Overlapping patterns of morphometric and genetic differentiation in the Mediterranean goby Pomatoschistus tortonesei Miller, 1968 (Perciformes, Gobiidae) in Tunisian lagoons.

The genetic and morphological variations of Pomatoschistus tortonesei Miller, 1968 were studied in samples collected from three Tunisian lagoons. The morphological analysis included 18 morphometric measurements and was based on linear discriminant analysis (LDA), whereas the genetic analysis was based on the 16S-rRNA and COI mitochondrial genes. Both analyses differentiated the populations and demonstrated consistently a well-supported differentiation between the western Mediterranean samples (Bizerta and Tunis South lagoons) and the eastern Mediterranean sample (El Bibane lagoon).

Genetic architecture of the marbled goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Perciformes, Gobiidae) in the Mediterranean Sea.

The marbled goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus, a species inhabiting coastal Mediterranean lagoons, has been studied by measuring its mitochondrial DNA variation. This analysis revealed a Mediterranean west vs east split and, subsequently, an eastern differentiation among the Libyan-Tunisian Gulf, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea. The high cohesion between the samples collected in the vast area of western Mediterranean contrasts with the genetic mosaic of the more sub-structured eastern Mediterranean.