Phylogeography of the European brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) and the European river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) species pair based on mitochondrial data.

The European river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis and the European brook lamprey Lampetra planeri (Block 1784) are classified as a paired species, characterized by notably different life histories but morphological similarities. Previous work has further shown limited genetic differentiation between these two species at the mitochondrial DNA level. Here, we expand on this previous work, which focused on lamprey species from the Iberian Peninsula in the south and mainland Europe in the north, by sequencing three mitochondrial marker regions of Lampetra individuals from five river systems in Ireland and five in southern Italy.

Recent expansion and relic survival: Phylogeography of the land snail genus Helix (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from south to north Europe.

Little is known about the evolutionary history of Helix, despite the fact that it includes the largest land snails in the western Palaearctic, some of which (e.g. H.

A revision of the Rutilus complex from Mediterranean Europe with description of a new genus, Sarmarutilus, and a new species, Rutilus stoumboudae (Teleostei: Cyprinidae).

By combining morphology, ecology, biology, and biogeography with the available molecular (sequence variation of the entire mitochondrial cytochrome b gene; cyt-b) and karyology data, the taxonomy of several species of the Rutilus complex inhabiting southern Europe is revised. Rutilus stoumboudae, new species, is described from Lake Volvi, Greece. It differs from Rutilus rutilus in possessing more total GR and less branched rays in both dorsal and anal fins and in its placement in the cyt-b based phylogeny of the genus.

Isolation and characterization of eight microsatellite loci in the brook lamprey Lampetra planeri (Petromyzontiformes) using 454 sequence data.

Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for the brook lamprey Lampetra planeri through 454 sequencing and their usefulness was tested in 45 individuals of both L. planeri and the river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis. The number of alleles per loci ranged between two and five; the Italian and Irish populations had a mean expected heterozygosity of 0·388 and 0·424 and a mean observed heterozygosity of 0·418 and 0·411, respectively.