The observation was made at about 15:00 during a fieldwork expedition in the eastern part of Lesvos, less than 1 km from the village of Skalochori. The medium-sized pond, locally known as the “Terrapin pool,” measures 55 m in length, 17 m in width and approximately 2 m in depth. Its coordinates are 39°16.015′N, 26°5.0983′E.

The three M. sinensis individuals were found alongside three adult European pond turtles, Emys orbicularis, and more than 25 Western Caspian turtles, Mauremys rivulata. The first Chinese stripe-necked turtle was observed basking, and the identification was based on its distinctive dorsal and lateral head and neck patterns. The researchers photographed one of the three individuals while it was in the water; the other two were not photographed.

Lesvos is Greece’s third-largest island, covering 1,632 km² in the northeastern Aegean Sea. The island contains numerous springs and wetlands. Two native freshwater turtle species occur there: M. rivulata, whose populations are described as abundant, and E. orbicularis, which is present in significantly lower numbers. The two subspecies of the red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta scripta and Trachemys scripta elegans, have also been recorded on the island.

This was a field record rather than a controlled ecological study, and it did not establish the number of M. sinensis individuals present across Lesvos. The observations were limited to three adults encountered in one artificial pond during a single expedition, and only one individual was photographed. The source therefore does not provide evidence about the species’ distribution elsewhere on the island, its population size, reproductive status or ecological effects.

Mauremys sinensis is native to China, Taiwan, Laos and Vietnam. It has also been documented outside its native range in South Korea, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Slovakia, as well as at three mainland locations in Greece. The Lesvos record expands the known Greek distribution from the mainland to an Aegean island and identifies another non-native turtle species in the island’s aquatic fauna.

Pond turtles are among the most commonly traded species in the aquarium pet trade. The source notes that after European Union restrictions on the sale of T. scripta, the trade shifted toward other turtle species farmed at scale in China, including Mauremys reevesii and M. sinensis. Non-native species in Greece are covered by national regulation emphasizing timely identification and eradication. The documented presence of M. sinensis in a pond shared with native turtles therefore has implications for monitoring and management.

Possible risks identified in the source include disease transmission and competition for food or basking sites, both of which have been documented in relation to non-native terrapins and native populations. M. sinensis has also been reported to hybridize with several species in the genus Mauremys and with turtles in the genera Cyclemys and Sacalia. The Lesvos observation does not demonstrate that hybridization, disease transmission or resource competition has occurred on the island; it establishes only that the non-native species co-occurs there with M. rivulata and E. orbicularis.

The authors call for extensive monitoring on Lesvos to assess the status of M. sinensis. Such monitoring is relevant because effective responses to invasive alien species depend on early detection and timely removal, and previous control efforts for T. scripta have faced difficulties in confirming eradication. The present observation provides the first island record in Greece and a documented basis for assessing the species’ status, but further fieldwork is required to determine its extent on Lesvos and any measurable effects on native turtles.

Subject of Research: First field record of the non-native Chinese stripe-necked turtle on the Greek island of Lesvos

Article Title: First record of the non-native Chinese stripe-necked turtle ( Mauremys sinensis Gray, 1834) from the island of Lesvos, Greece

Article References: Iakovidis, D., Gogolos, N., & Daftsios, T. (2025). First record of the non-native Chinese stripe-necked turtle (Mauremys sinensis Gray, 1834) from the island of Lesvos, Greece. Herpetozoa, 38, 211-214. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e147858

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e147858

Keywords: Mauremys sinensis, Lesvos, Greece, non-native turtles, field observation, freshwater biodiversity, invasive alien species, Aegean Sea, aquatic conservation, First, record, non-native

The sampling area encompassed 19 river catchments, 21 reservoirs, Paralimni lake and 67 watercourses with a combined length of 799 km. Of those waterways, 182 km had perennial flow and 617 km had temporary flow, including ephemeral and intermittently dry channels. Arid sites drained only by temporary watercourses were excluded, so the findings do not constitute a complete island-wide inventory.

Pumpkinseed was recorded in 15 of the 22 surveyed reservoirs and lakes, producing a total catch of 429 fish. It was relatively abundant in the Evretou, Arminou and Germasogeia reservoirs, while catches were negligible in Kouris, Dipotamos, Kannaviou and Agia Marina. Pumpkinseed and largemouth bass were among the most frequently occurring members of the reservoir fish communities, and the two species co-occurred in 86.6 percent of the surveyed reservoirs.

This association prompted the authors to suggest that pumpkinseed may sometimes have entered Cyprus with bass introduced for angling, although the field data did not directly establish how the species arrived. Occurrence in rivers was much less widespread. Pumpkinseed was found in the Diarizos, Maroullena, Akaki and Syrkatis rivers, representing four rivers, or 15.4 percent of the 26 watercourses selected for sampling.

It appeared at only 6.6 percent of river sampling sites, including locations immediately upstream or downstream of reservoirs. One individual was collected from the perennial Diarizos, six from the Maroullena upstream of the Klirou-Malounta-Akaki reservoir, one from the Akaki downstream of that reservoir, and three from the Syrkatis, which feeds the Dipotamos reservoir. The distribution is consistent with limited dispersal from reservoirs during overflow, but the observations do not by themselves measure the frequency or direction of movement.

Electrofishing proved more effective than netting for detecting pumpkinseed, accounting for more than 90 percent of the total catch and confirming the species in six of the ten reservoirs sampled with both methods. Among 342 fish with recorded lengths, mean fork length was 75 mm, with a standard error of 2 mm and a range of 20–197 mm. Most, or 75.1 percent, were shorter than 100 mm, while 11 fish, or 3.2 percent, exceeded 150 mm.

Small pumpkinseed tended to concentrate near banks where vegetation or rocky substrates provided cover, whereas larger individuals occurred in the water column. The authors considered predation by largemouth bass, pikeperch and channel catfish as one possible explanation for the scarcity of large pumpkinseed, but they also noted that early sexual maturity could contribute to the pattern. For the diet analysis, researchers selected 68 pumpkinseed from reservoirs, including individuals between 80 and 197 mm in total length; their mean length was 126 mm, with a standard error of 4 mm.

They excluded fish shorter than 77.5 mm because juveniles were expected to feed almost exclusively on zooplankton. Laboratory examination produced 91 combined stomach and intestinal samples, and 22.2 percent of the analyzed apparatuses were empty. No food item differed significantly in frequency between the stomach and intestine, so the two organs were combined for the overall diet assessment.

Prey volume was estimated from material as ingested and expressed as frequency of occurrence, relative frequency, volume per item containing it and mean volume across all samples. Chironomid larvae, molluscs and crustaceans accounted for approximately 58 percent of the diet by mean estimated volume. Chironomids contributed 37.0 percent, molluscs 11.3 percent and crustaceans 11.4 percent.

The remaining diet included dipteran larvae other than chironomids, odonate larvae, terrestrial insects, fish, algae, undetermined invertebrates and several smaller taxonomic groups. Red swamp crayfish alone contributed 8.4 percent of mean volume. Fish represented 6.2 percent of the overall diet, with identifiable remains including common roach, eastern mosquitofish and pumpkinseed itself.

No evidence of predation on reptiles or amphibians was detected, but the analysis did not test for every form of impact on native aquatic vertebrates. Diet composition varied significantly among three pumpkinseed size classes, with 12 fish measuring 80–100 mm, 44 measuring 101–150 mm and 11 measuring 151–200 mm. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance found that size class explained 11.9 percent of the variation in diet composition, and a dispersion test did not detect significant differences in multivariate spread.

The principal contrasts involved molluscs, terrestrial invertebrates and dipteran larvae. Terrestrial invertebrates were absent from the 12 smallest fish, occurred in 24.3 percent of the middle size class and appeared in 56.0 percent of the largest class. Ants followed the same general pattern, reaching 32 percent occurrence among the largest fish.

The estimated terrestrial contribution of about 15 percent therefore applied to large pumpkinseed, not to the entire sample. The findings do not support treating pumpkinseed as a major direct predator of the aquatic vertebrates examined, but they also do not establish that its wider ecological effects are negligible. The survey identified several other non-native predatory fish across the reservoirs, including largemouth bass, channel catfish and pikeperch, whose diets and potential effects require separate assessment.

The critically endangered Cyprus grass snake, Natrix natrix cypriaca , has a range of about 70 square kilometres that overlaps three surveyed water bodies: Xyliatos, Aftelotos and Paralimni. Non-native predators may have contributed to the snake’s decline or hindered its recovery, but the present study did not test that causal relationship. The pumpkinseed results instead provide a baseline for future monitoring of a fish already included on the European Union list of invasive alien species of Union concern.

Because pumpkinseed was uncommon in rivers and largely restricted to reservoirs within the study area, the authors proposed prevention of new introductions as a more practical response than broad eradication. Eradication from interconnected, heavily used reservoirs would be difficult and could carry substantial social and economic costs. Regular electrofishing or environmental DNA analysis could improve detection in suitable areas.

The authors also proposed a network of ponds of different sizes, disconnected from the hydrographic system, as potential habitat for vulnerable native aquatic species because such barriers would restrict the movement of non-native fish.

Subject of Research: Distribution and feeding ecology of invasive pumpkinseed in sampled Natura 2000 freshwater habitats in Cyprus

Article Title: Distribution and dietary habits of Lepomis gibbosus in Natura 2000 sites of Cyprus

Article References: Papatheodoulou, A., Dell’Orso, M., Boz, B., Spairani, M., Zacharia, M., Tremolada, P., & Balestrieri, A. (2025). Distribution and dietary habits of Lepomis gibbosus in Natura 2000 sites of Cyprus. Nature Conservation, 59, 139-156. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.59.149036

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.59.149036

Keywords: pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus, Cyprus, Natura 2000, invasive fish, freshwater biodiversity, dietary ecology, aquatic invertebrates, nature conservation, field survey, Distribution, dietary

The findings show that closely similar shrimp can conceal substantial species diversity, while also highlighting the vulnerability of the island’s isolated freshwater habitats. The research focused on a nine-member complex centered on Caridina clinata, a small freshwater shrimp originally described in 1999 from Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Vietnam. Its close relative C. haivanensis was described a decade later from the Hai Van Mountain Pass in central Vietnam.

Phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, or COI, and the 16S ribosomal RNA gene resolved the complex into nine distinct, well-supported clades. C. clinata was recorded from both Vietnam and China, C. haivanensis remained restricted to Vietnam, and the seven newly described members of the complex were endemic to Hainan. Hainan is a continental island of 33,900 square kilometres in the South China Sea and the second-largest island in China.

Its high central terrain and lower surrounding areas produce a radial river system, including the Nandu, Changhua and Wanquan rivers, which together drain more than 3,000 square kilometres. The island’s varied geology, climate and habitats spanning marine, brackish and freshwater environments have contributed to high endemism. The newly described shrimp are locally distributed: Caridina fontinalis was found at a spring outlet near Haikou, while C. wenchangensis, C. qiongzhongensis, C. huangi, C. hepingensis, C. tunchengensis and C. brevilineata were each recovered from streams associated with particular towns in Wenchang, Qiongzhong, Tunchang and Qionghai.

Fieldwork was conducted from 2023 to 2025 at 14 sites, comprising 12 locations on Hainan and two in Vietnam representing material of C. clinata and C. haivanensis from their type regions. Researchers used fine-mesh dip nets and baited traps, recorded GPS coordinates and photographed habitats and live animals, and measured site conditions including substrate, water current, pH, dissolved oxygen and ammonia nitrogen. Specimens were preserved in ethanol and examined with a stereomicroscope.

For molecular analysis, DNA was extracted from abdominal muscle, the COI and 16S loci were amplified and sequenced, and the aligned sequences were trimmed to 490 and 473 base pairs, respectively. A concatenated maximum-likelihood analysis used the GTR+G+I model, with branch support evaluated through 1,000 bootstrap replicates. The eight new species were named Caridina wenchangensis, C. qiongzhongensis, C. huangi, C. hepingensis, C. fontinalis, C. tunchengensis, C. brevilineata and C. caii.

Their recognition rested on combined evidence rather than a single diagnostic character. Relevant traits included the length and tooth armature of the rostrum, proportions of the walking legs, form of the male reproductive appendages, structure of the telson, uropodal spines and egg dimensions. For example, C. fontinalis, described from cool water with stable flow, has a shorter rostrum and fewer teeth than C. lanceifrons, with which it occurs at the same sampling site.

C. brevilineata, whose name refers to short body stripes, differs from C. clinata in its leaf-shaped male first pleopod endopod, reduced rostral armature and the absence of a finger-like projection on the first maxilliped palp. The Wuzhishan population supplied the clearest instance of a revised identification. It had been assigned to C. clinata by Cai in 2014 because of its resemblance to C. lanceifrons, but new specimens from the locality and topotypic C. clinata from Vietnam showed that it was distinct in both morphology and genetics.

The Wuzhishan shrimp differed from C. clinata by 25.4–29.3% in COI sequence divergence and 10.8–12.1% in 16S divergence. It also possessed a pointed, subtriangular male first pleopod endopod rather than the rounded form found in C. clinata, a relatively broad second walking-leg carpus, fewer spines on the fifth leg and smaller eggs. The researchers named the species C. caii in honour of carcinologist Cai Y.

X., who discovered the species and made substantial contributions to carcinology. Genetic evidence also supported retaining the Ledong population of Hainan within C. clinata. Shrimp from Ledong differed from Vietnamese populations by only 0.6–1.2% in COI sequences and 0.7–1.6% in 16S, and the two populations occupied the same well-supported phylogenetic clade.

Although some morphological measurements varied, the male first pleopod and second pleopod appendages were closely alike. By contrast, C. wenchangensis was genetically closest to C. tunchengensis and C. clinata but remained a separate supported lineage. C. huangi and C. hepingensis, collected from unconnected streams in the same county, were likewise distinguishable in both morphology and genetic distance.

Members of the C. clinata complex occupy the middle and upper reaches of mountain streams. They shelter beneath leaf litter, among marginal vegetation or on muddy, sandy, gravelly and rocky substrates, generally in slow- to moderately flowing water. The complex produces relatively few large eggs, a reproductive pattern associated with direct larval development into benthic juveniles and an exclusively freshwater life cycle.

Field observations recorded dense populations in several streams, including the Ledong, Wuzhishan, Qiongzhong, Heping and Tuncheng localities, but lower densities at the Wenchang, Haikou and Qionghai sites. The study sampled only a limited set of streams, so the geographic range and population trends of the newly described taxa remain incompletely characterized. The survey also documented pressures on the habitats of these isolated shrimp.

Rubber and areca-nut plantations surround many streams, and intensive irrigation has reduced flow in some locations. Temporary in-stream diversions installed during droughts have left sections of streams completely desiccated, while pipelines have been used to extract water for domestic use. Hydropower and irrigation infrastructure further fragments river corridors, and agricultural chemicals threaten water quality.

Their specific effects on native shrimp remain undocumented, although predation, resource competition and disease transmission are recognized pathways through which invasive species can reduce native biodiversity. Following the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List Categories and Criteria, the researchers classified all eight newly described species as Data Deficient because they are known only from their type localities and broader distribution data are unavailable. C. clinata retained the Data Deficient assessment assigned in an earlier evaluation.

These classifications identify major gaps in knowledge rather than low or high extinction risk. The study supports regular monitoring of wild populations and public-awareness efforts emphasizing the ecological importance of freshwater shrimp, while its broader sampling and genetic records provide a baseline for future surveys of Hainan’s stream biodiversity and for reassessing the conservation status of the newly recognized species.

Subject of Research: Taxonomic and phylogenetic study of the Caridina clinata species complex in Hainan and Vietnam

Article Title: Integrative taxonomy reveals the Caridina clinata Cai, Nguyen & Ng, 1999 species complex ( Crustacea , Decapoda , Atyidae ), with descriptions of eight new species from Hainan Island, China

Article References: Hou, J., Zhang, J., Chen, B., Zhang, Y., Chen, W., & Guo, Z. (2025). Integrative taxonomy reveals the Caridina clinata Cai, Nguyen & Ng, 1999 species complex (Crustacea, Decapoda, Atyidae), with descriptions of eight new species from Hainan Island, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 101(4), 2295-2336. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.172207

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.172207

Keywords: Caridina shrimp, Hainan Island, integrative taxonomy, cryptic species, freshwater biodiversity, molecular phylogeny, COI sequencing, 16S rRNA, species delimitation, conservation assessment, Integrative, taxonomy

The analysis compared how productivity–biodiversity relationships varied across diversity dimensions, trophic groups and freshwater ecosystem types. Unimodal relationships were more pronounced among producers than among consumers, indicating that the association differed between groups occupying different roles in aquatic communities. The pattern was also stronger in lakes than in rivers. These contrasts show that productivity was associated with different biodiversity responses across ecological settings, although the observational synthesis does not establish that productivity changes directly caused the patterns.

Functional diversity provided a complementary view of how communities changed along the phosphorus gradient. The clearest functional reorganization was a contraction in resource-related trait space, together with marked shifts in the functional centroids of communities. The study therefore examined functional traits alongside taxonomic measures rather than treating the two dimensions as interchangeable. Its findings support considering both dimensions when evaluating biodiversity responses to productivity, without implying that functional measures replace taxonomic diversity.

Climatic, geographic and human land-use gradients also modified the shape of productivity–biodiversity relationships. The results indicate that a given productivity level may be associated with different biodiversity patterns under different environmental conditions. Taken together, the study suggests that predictions of freshwater biodiversity responses to productivity can benefit from accounting for functional diversity, trophic group, ecosystem type and broad-scale environmental context. The research was published as an open-access article in Communications Earth & Environment. The supplied version is an early peer-reviewed article that the publisher states may be replaced automatically by the final version of record after further edits.

Subject of Research: Global analysis of productivity–biodiversity relationships across freshwater taxonomic and functional diversity.

Article Title: Functional diversity complements taxonomical diversity in productivity-biodiversity relationships in freshwaters

Article References: Liu, G., Graco-Roza, C., Liao, W., Martín-Devasa, R., Castañeda-Gómez, L., Teittinen, A., Qi, X., Li, Y., Qu, X., Kokociński, M., Wu, N., & Soininen, J. (2026). Functional diversity complements taxonomical diversity in productivity-biodiversity relationships in freshwaters. Communications Earth & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-04169-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s43247-026-04169-5

Keywords: freshwater biodiversity, productivity gradients, functional diversity, taxonomic diversity, phosphorus, lakes, rivers, global synthesis, trophic groups, ecosystem ecology, Functional, diversity

The genus Glyptothorax is one of the most successful groups of small catfishes in Asia, with a range stretching from the Euphrates and Tigris river basins in Turkey in the west all the way to the Yangtze River in China in the east, and southwards to Borneo and Java. It is the most species-rich genus in the family Sisoridae, and its members share one of the most remarkable adaptations in freshwater fish biology: a thoracic adhesive apparatus, a patch of longitudinal or oblique skin folds arranged in an roughly elliptical area on the underside of the chest. This natural suction cup allows the fish to cling to rocks and gravel in fast-flowing hill streams, holding its position against currents that would sweep away less specialised fish.

China is a stronghold for the genus, with 27 documented species as of 2025. Most of these are concentrated in the south-west of the country, in the great river systems of the Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Nujiang-Salween, Lancangjiang-Mekong and Red River. Only four species were previously known from the vast area east of the Red River, encompassing the Pearl River, the Yangtze River, Hainan Island and the south-eastern coastal drainages. It was in this comparatively well-surveyed region that the new catfish turned up, a reminder that even familiar waters can still conceal undocumented biodiversity.

Between 2023 and 2024, researchers collected specimens from Yunnan and Guangxi, preserving them initially in 10 percent formalin before transferring them to 75 percent ethanol for long-term storage. Small clips of right pelvic fin tissue were kept in pure alcohol for genetic work. The team assembled a type series of 28 specimens, with the holotype, an 83.5 millimetre individual from Bamei Town in Guangnan County, and 17 paratypes deposited at the Kunming Zoological Museum of the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a further 10 paratypes held at the Fisheries Administration of Qiubei in Yunnan. The paratypes range from 47.1 to 106.4 millimetres in standard length and come from three localities: the Tuoniang River at Bamei, the Xiyang River at Banbang Township, and the Leli River in Tianlin County, Guangxi.

Morphologically, G. pulcher most closely resembles G. quadriocellatus, sharing a similar outline, skin tubercles and general colour pattern. Yet a careful combination of traits separates it from all of its relatives east of the Red River. The new species has a distinctive dark body marked with bright yellow spots and stripes, sparse soft tubercles on the skin that feel similar in texture to the surrounding tissue, and a smooth dorsal surface on the head. Its thoracic adhesive apparatus is unusually broad, with a length of just 1 to 1.2 times its width, and the apparatus spans 12.0 to 14.3 percent of standard length. The adipose fin base is short, measuring 11.7 to 15.4 percent of standard length, and the caudal peduncle, the narrow stalk preceding the tail fin, is notably deep and short, at 13.7 to 17.5 percent of standard length in depth terms and 10.3 to 12.3 percent in depth.

Compared specifically with G. quadriocellatus, the new species lacks the yellow spot behind the eye that its relative possesses, has smooth rather than tubercled skin on top of the head, a broader adhesive apparatus with a width of 12.0 to 14.3 percent of standard length versus 9.4 to 11.1 percent, no anteromedial striae on the adhesive disc, and a shorter adipose fin base. Against G. interspinalum, it again shows the broader adhesive disc and a shorter, deeper caudal peduncle. These measurements, taken with micrometer calipers to the nearest 0.1 millimetre and expressed as proportions of standard length and head length, follow established taxonomic conventions for the genus, and fin ray and vertebral counts were verified using X-ray imaging.

The colour pattern alone makes the fish unmistakable. In preserved specimens the head and body are brownish-black, with a light yellow ventral surface and adhesive apparatus. A yellow mid-dorsal stripe runs along the back, and yellow spots mark the dorsal fin origin, sometimes merging into a saddle patch. All of the fins are basically black with yellow margins: the dorsal fin carries a C-shaped yellow band, the paired and anal fins have irregular pincer-like yellow edges, and the caudal fin bears a large black dumbbell-shaped patch at its base with an M-shaped yellow posterior margin. In life, the brownish-black areas shift to a light chestnut colour and the adhesive apparatus turns pale pink, a living palette that justified the species name.

To test whether the morphology pointed to a genuinely distinct species, the team turned to DNA. They generated eleven new sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, COI, and nine sequences of the cytochrome b gene from seven Glyptothorax species, adding eight previously published sequences to build a dataset of nineteen COI and seventeen Cyt b sequences. Two outgroup species, Bagarius protos and Pseudecheneis brachyura, were included to root the tree. Phylogenies were reconstructed with both Maximum Likelihood, using IQ-TREE with ultrafast bootstrap support over 1,000 iterations, and Bayesian Inference, using MrBayes with two independent runs of Markov Chain Monte Carlo for 10 million generations, with convergence confirmed when the average standard deviation of split frequencies fell below 0.01.

Both methods recovered the same topology and delivered a clear verdict. The new species forms a strongly supported monophyletic group, and within the broader tree it sits as the sister lineage to G. pallozonum, another Pearl River inhabitant. The two species fall within a clade of dark-bodied fish decorated with creamy or bright yellow spots and stripes, distinct from a second clade of species bearing black saddle-like patches. Kimura 2-parameter genetic distances between G. pulcher and G. pallozonum, based on the COI gene, range from 5.7 to 6.0 percent, a level of divergence consistent with separate species status in this group. The phylogeny also matched the patterns reported by earlier studies of the genus, reinforcing confidence in the result.

The study produced a second, equally consequential finding: a taxonomic revision that removes a name from the books. Glyptothorax zhujiangensis, described in 2003 from the Pearl River Delta, has long been treated as valid, but its type specimens have been lost. The holotype and nine paratypes once held at the Institute of Hydrobiology in Beijing cannot be found, the ten remaining paratypes were reportedly kept at an institution in Zhuhai that apparently never existed, and no photographs survive. The team collected fresh specimens matching the original description from the Pearl River Delta, roughly 50 kilometres from the type locality, and found that these fish nest firmly within G. pallozonum in the phylogenetic tree, with COI distances of just 0.3 to 1.0 percent. Given the overlapping morphology, the minimal genetic separation and the fact that G. pallozonum’s known range already includes the type locality of G. zhujiangensis, the authors conclude that the two are conspecific and that G. zhujiangensis should be regarded as a junior synonym of G. pallozonum, with the apparent differences likely reflecting populational variation, measurement error and the small size of the original type series.

For now, G. pulcher is known only from the Tuoniang River basin, a sub-basin of the upper Pearl River in Yunnan and Guangxi, and its discovery hints that the hill streams of southern China may hold more surprises. The combination of classical morphology, X-ray verified anatomy and mitochondrial genomics used here offers a template for untangling the region’s catfish diversity, and the loss of the G. zhujiangensis type material stands as a cautionary tale about the irreplaceable value of museum specimens. As researchers continue to survey the upper Pearl River’s rocky, fast-flowing tributaries, the beautiful new catfish serves as both a celebration of hidden biodiversity and an argument for protecting the clear hill streams that such specialised species depend on.

Subject of Research: Description of a new sisorid catfish species, Glyptothorax pulcher, from the upper Pearl River basin in China, with molecular phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision

Article Title:  Glyptothorax pulcher ( Siluriformes , Sisoridae ), a new species from the upper Pearl River of Yunnan and Guangxi, southwest China

Article References: Zeng, Y.-Y., Lin, F., Yang, H.-F., Pu, X.-R., Jiang, W.-S., & Chen, X.-Y. (2026). Glyptothorax pulcher (Siluriformes, Sisoridae), a new species from the upper Pearl River of Yunnan and Guangxi, southwest China. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 102(1), 17-26. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.102.167142

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/zse.102.167142

Keywords: Glyptothorax pulcher, new species, catfish, Sisoridae, Pearl River, Yunnan, Guangxi, taxonomy, molecular phylogeny, COI, cytochrome b, freshwater biodiversity

The research team sampled 16 sites distributed across the basin’s main watercourses, from near sea level up to 1,062 metres in the Rif Mountains. The sites were grouped into four categories reflecting altitude and land use: natural and semi-natural upstream reaches, semi-natural and agricultural midstream sites, agricultural lower reaches, and heavily urbanised downstream stations. Sampling covered four campaigns between April 2017 and February 2018, spanning spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and thus capturing both the wet Mediterranean season, when rain falls mainly between October and April, and the long dry period from May to September.

In total, the surveys yielded 1,268 individual beetles representing 50 species from 10 families and 27 genera. Diversity was strikingly uneven. The richest site, Tkaraa, lies inside Bouhachem Natural Park and hosted 22 species, while the most abundant site, Zarka, produced 194 individuals. At the opposite extreme, urbanised downstream sites such as Taboula and Roumana, close to Tétouan, yielded only a single species each. Gyrinidae, the whirligig beetles that skim the water surface in swirling groups, dominated numerically with 54 percent of all individuals, yet the diving beetles of the family Dytiscidae proved the most diverse, contributing 17 species, with the genus Agabus the richest in the basin.

Seasonality left a clear signature on the assemblages. Species richness peaked in spring 2017 with 31 species and 377 individuals, whereas the post-flood winter of 2018 produced only 208 individuals from 19 species. The two great beetle suborders responded in opposite ways. Adephaga, which include the whirligigs and diving beetles, dominated the dry period, averaging 20.3 occurrences per station in spring and favouring warm, standing pools. Polyphaga, including the riffle beetles of Elmidae and the minute moss beetles of Hydraenidae, were more frequent under wetter, flowing conditions, reaching an average of 9.38 occurrences per station in autumn. A factorial correspondence analysis separated the fauna cleanly by season, with rheophilic species tied to wet-season flows, thermophilic species concentrated in summer pools, and eurythermic generalists associated with spring’s relatively stable conditions.

Functional traits reinforced the pattern. Predators made up 73 percent of individuals and swimmers 72 percent, although the authors caution that this signal is heavily skewed by the sheer abundance of surface-dwelling whirligig beetles, which count as both. When Gyrinidae were excluded, the picture changed: shredders preferred winter, clingers replaced swimmers as the dominant group in wetter months, and the assemblage shifted toward benthic, substrate-associated forms. The physiological explanation is elegant. Many Adephaga breathe atmospheric air stored beneath their elytra, allowing them to endure warm, oxygen-poor isolated pools as drought advances. Riffle beetles and their relatives, by contrast, depend on plastron or cuticular respiration and require well-oxygenated running water, so they suffer when flow ceases and dissolved oxygen collapses.

The environmental gradient along the river was stark. Mean water temperature rose from 15.5°C at upstream sites to 20.8°C downstream, and electrical conductivity climbed from 269 to 936 microsiemens per centimetre. Dissolved oxygen fell from 7.84 to 2.49 milligrams per litre, while biochemical oxygen demand increased from 10.7 to 32.3 milligrams per litre and chemical oxygen demand from 24.8 to 74.6. Beetle abundance mirrored this degradation, plunging from a mean of 29.6 individuals per upstream site to just 1.19 at the most impacted stations, with species richness dropping from 5.5 taxa to 0.81. A co-inertia analysis, statistically confirmed by Monte Carlo permutation tests, captured this structure: the first two axes explained over 94 percent of the joint variation and opposed well-oxygenated upland refuges dominated by sensitive rheophilic species against lowland, organically enriched reaches occupied by tolerant generalists such as Laccophilus minutus and Helophorus atlantis.

Perhaps the most consequential finding concerns where the compositional break occurs. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance showed that habitat type explained 33.7 percent of the variation in community composition, but pairwise comparisons revealed that urban sites differed significantly from every other category, while upstream, midstream, and agricultural sites did not differ significantly from one another. In other words, moderate agricultural pressure leaves beetle assemblages broadly continuous along the river, but urbanisation produces a threshold-like rupture. Beta-diversity partitioning added a second insight: total dissimilarity across sites was high, at 0.701, and species turnover accounted for 73.7 percent of it, meaning that communities along the Martil are structured mainly by the replacement of specialist species by generalists, not simply by the progressive loss of species.

The study also carries a warning for endemic species. Helophorus atlantis, a Moroccan endemic classified as highly vulnerable, was recorded only in the polluted downstream zone. The authors note that in intermittent rivers, floods can act as mass dispersal events that sweep upstream individuals into lowland reaches, so such records may reflect transient, trapped populations rather than genuine ecological tolerance. Whether this beetle truly survives under urban pollution or was merely drifting through remains an open question, and one that matters for assessing how North Africa’s endemic aquatic insects cope with disturbance. Meanwhile, sites within Bouhachem Natural Park and permanent midstream watercourses showed high endemism, particularly among Polyphaga, confirming their role as critical refuges.

These results resonate across the wider Mediterranean, a global freshwater biodiversity hotspot where climate-driven aridification is lengthening dry phases and human pressure is fragmenting the remaining permanent waters. As riffles disappear and pools isolate, desiccation-tolerant, air-breathing, actively dispersing species gain ground while oxygen-dependent specialists retreat upstream, a dynamic that risks biotic homogenisation outside protected areas. In the Rif Mountains, one of Morocco’s principal aquatic endemism hotspots, the stakes are especially high, yet national knowledge of aquatic beetle distributions and the ecological requirements of endemic taxa remains incomplete, and IUCN criteria designed primarily for vertebrates often fail to capture the needs of invertebrates.

The authors’ central recommendation is practical: conservation planning should extend beyond headwater parks to include the permanent mid-reaches where sensitive and endemic species persist, and pollution and hydromorphological degradation in lowland reaches must be reduced to restore longitudinal connectivity. Because water beetles respond so sharply to flow permanence, oxygen levels, and organic pollution, they can serve as effective bioindicators for identifying priority sites and guiding the expansion of protected area networks through complementarity-based approaches. With more than half of the Martil basin already protected but its lowland waters still deteriorating, the message from these 1,268 beetles is unambiguous: the river’s future diversity will be decided not only in its mountain strongholds, but in the connecting reaches that urban Morocco has so far allowed to degrade.

Subject of Research: Effects of seasonal river drying and human pollution on aquatic beetle diversity in a Mediterranean river basin in northern Morocco

Article Title: Effects of hydrological intermittency and anthropogenic pressure on aquatic beetle assemblages in the Martil River (north-western Morocco)

Article References: Guellaf, A., Bennas, N., & Kettani, K. (2026). Effects of hydrological intermittency and anthropogenic pressure on aquatic beetle assemblages in the Martil River (north-western Morocco). Biodiversity Data Journal, 14, Article e192023. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.14.e192023

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.14.e192023

Keywords: aquatic beetles, hydrological intermittency, Mediterranean freshwater, Morocco, Rif Mountains, urban pollution, biodiversity indicators, species turnover, water quality, conservation planning, endemism, macroinvertebrates

The story of Moema claudiae is, in many ways, the story of seasonal fishes in crisis. Rivulids, the family to which this species belongs, are among the most remarkable of all freshwater fishes. Several lineages have evolved to complete their entire lives in water bodies that exist for only a few weeks or months each year. Their embryos survive the dry season buried in the muddy substrate, sealed inside a state of metabolic and developmental arrest known as diapause. When the rains return and the pond refills, development resumes, the eggs hatch, and a new generation races to grow, court, spawn, and die before the water evaporates again. This extraordinary life cycle is precisely what makes them so vulnerable: the small, temporary wetlands they depend on are easy to drain, plow, and pave.

Bolivia illustrates that vulnerability with particular force. Of the 32 rivulid species recorded in the country, 19 are endemic, and nine are known only from their original collection sites. Of the 20 species assessed for the IUCN Red List, eight fall into some threatened category. Moema claudiae, described by Wilson Costa in 2003, is the sole Bolivian member of the family classified as Critically Endangered, under criterion B2ab(iii), reflecting its tiny area of occupancy, its known presence at a single location, and the ongoing degradation of its habitat quality. The type locality lay in the floodplains of the río San Pablo beside the Santa Cruz–Trinidad road, about 60 kilometers north of Ascención de Guarayos in the Iténez/Guaporé River basin. That place no longer exists as the fish knew it. A village was built on the site, and the surrounding landscape was transformed into extensive agroindustrial fields, stripped of forest, altered in hydrology, and contaminated with herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizer.

Repeated collecting expeditions to the vicinity of the type locality failed to find the species. The effort was not in doubt; other rivulids from the same area, including Moema beucheyi, Pterolebias longipinnis, and Spectrolebias filamentosus, continued to turn up both in scientific collections and in the ornamental fish trade, demonstrating that the habitat, degraded as it was, could still support seasonal killifishes. Yet M. claudiae itself remained invisible. A photograph of the original type locality, published in 1997 in connection with S. filamentosus and probably depicting the same site or one very close to it, showed dense vegetation that can no longer be found for kilometers around. Absence of evidence, combined with catastrophic habitat loss, was stacking up into evidence of absence.

In April 2024, two researchers set out with dual goals: to rediscover M. claudiae in the surroundings of its type locality or, failing that, to gather additional evidence of its likely extinction. What they found exceeded both objectives. In a seasonal blackwater pool in the drainage of the Mocovi River, part of the Ibaré River basin in the Marbán province of the Beni department, they collected specimens that matched every diagnostic character of M. claudiae as laid out in the original description. The site sits roughly 100 kilometers northwest of where the species was first found, and within a small forest remnant surrounded by crops.

The rediscovery location is as biologically remarkable as the fish itself. The biotope is a temporary flooded-forest pool no more than 0.4 meters deep, its bottom a layer of leaf litter over grey clay, with no submerged or floating aquatic vegetation and only sparse emergent grasses along the riparian edge. Alongside M. claudiae, the researchers documented six other syntopic rivulid species: M. beucheyi, Neofundulus aff. splendidus, Papiliolebias habluetzeli, Pterolebias longipinnis, S. filamentosus, and Trigonectes rogoaguae. That brings the total to seven seasonal killifish species coexisting in a single water body, the highest number ever recorded. Previous studies had documented at most five species together, with six considered possible if species from nearby water bodies were included. The ecological explanation proposed by the authors is geographic convergence: the site lies where the watersheds of the Mamoré and Iténez/Guaporé sub-basins of the upper Madeira meet, and where Amazonian forest collides with the savannas of the Llanos de Moxos, allowing species from different biogeographic traditions to share the same temporary pond, each exploiting a subtly different functional niche.

The specimens themselves provided the first live photographs ever published of the species. Until now, the only image of M. claudiae was a greyscale drawing in the original description. The new images confirm the hallmark that distinguishes M. claudiae from all its congeners in the same color-pattern species group: a conspicuous, large, vertically elongated black humeral blotch in males, a feature that is absent, inconspicuous, or much smaller in related species. Males in the collected series reached up to 39.1 millimeters in standard length and females up to 32.7 millimeters. The team documented live coloration using controlled lighting and preserved voucher specimens, deposited in the Ichthyological Collection of the Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado in Santa Cruz de la Sierra under catalog numbers MNKP-16794 and MNKP-16795, with collection conducted under authorization from Bolivia’s national competent authority.

Behind the celebration, however, lies a sobering arithmetic. Between 2001 and 2024, Bolivia lost nearly 9.8 million hectares of tree cover, with more than half of that loss in primary humid forests, according to Global Forest Watch data cited in the study. The deforestation has been concentrated in the lowlands of northern Santa Cruz and, more recently, in southern Beni, precisely the region where M. claudiae survives. In 2024 alone, more than 1.8 million hectares of tree cover vanished, mostly primary forest, taking with them countless potential habitats for seasonal killifishes. The drivers are largely political and economic: policies promoting agroindustrial expansion in eastern Bolivia have accelerated clearing in recent years, and the authors see little prospect that the trend will slow in the near future. Every hectare of temporary wetland converted to soy or pasture is a hectare in which diapausing eggs in the soil have no chance of ever hatching.

This is what makes the rediscovery both exhilarating and precarious. The pond where M. claudiae clings to existence lies within a small forest remnant hemmed in by crops, meaning the entire known global population occupies a habitat island under constant pressure. Because the species is an annual fish, its persistence depends on the continued annual flooding and drying of this exact site; a single drainage alteration, a diverted watercourse, or a bulldozer’s pass through the remnant could extinguish it permanently. At the same time, the discovery of seven coexisting rivulid species makes the site arguably the most important known locality for the family in South America, a convergence of hydrography, forest, and savanna that has no documented parallel.

The authors hope that the location will be formally protected in the near future, both to preserve the only known living population of M. claudiae and to safeguard the most diverse seasonal killifish assemblage yet recorded on the continent. For now, the species has moved from presumed extinct to critically imperiled but alive, and science has gained its first true look at a fish that survived, unseen, in a shrinking patch of flooded forest while the world around it changed faster than any life cycle evolved for drought could have anticipated.

Subject of Research: Rediscovery of the critically endangered annual killifish Moema claudiae in Bolivia after more than two decades without a confirmed wild sighting

Article Title: Rediscovery of a thought to be extinct beauty: a second chance for conservation

Article References: Drawert, H. A., & Litz, T. O. (2025). Rediscovery of a thought to be extinct beauty: a second chance for conservation. Nature Conservation, 60, 115-124. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.60.160386

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.60.160386

Keywords: Moema claudiae, annual killifish, Rivulidae, Bolivia, rediscovery, Critically Endangered, diapause, temporary wetlands, deforestation, habitat loss, Llanos de Moxos, freshwater biodiversity

The study, led by a team including J.D. Sanchez-Muelas and colleagues, involved the collection of specimens from a wetland near the road to the Dagua River. The site, located at an elevation of 27 meters, was characterized by dense vegetation of the aquatic plant Cabomba cf. haynessi and high organic matter content. Using D-shaped aquatic nets, the researchers actively sampled the water column and vegetation, preserving the captured insects in 96% ethanol for detailed laboratory analysis. The specimens were subsequently identified using a combination of morphological keys and microscopic examination of genitalia, a standard practice in hemipteran taxonomy that allows for precise species-level identification even when external features are subtle.

Synaptonecta issa belongs to the family Micronectidae, a group of water bugs that are unique among aquatic heteropterans for not being strictly predatory. While many water bugs rely on hunting other aquatic organisms, members of the superfamily Corixoidea can also feed on small organic particles, a dietary flexibility that may contribute to their success in diverse environments. The family Micronectidae is divided into two subfamilies: the worldwide distributed Micronectinae and the Neotropical endemic Synaptogobiinae. Prior to this record, only three genera were recognized in the Neotropics: Monogobia, Synaptogobia, and Tenagobia. The arrival of Synaptonecta, a genus native to Asia, represents the first incursion of a non-native micronectid into this region, altering the taxonomic composition of local water bug assemblages.

The identification of S. issa was confirmed by examining specific morphological traits, including the shape of the male parameres, which are asymmetrical and depressed dorsoventrally. The right paramere is notably elongated and digitiform, approximately 1.5 times longer than the left, with distinct stridulatory lines on the basal third. These diagnostic features distinguish S. issa from other species in the genus and from native Neotropical taxa. The researchers also collected specimens of the native species Tenagobia signata at the same site, providing the first record of this species in Colombia. The co-occurrence of the invasive and native species in the same habitat highlights the immediate interaction between the introduced bug and the local ecosystem, although the specific nature of these interactions remains to be fully understood.

The pathway of introduction for S. issa into Colombia is not yet definitively established, but several plausible routes have been proposed. Previous studies have suggested that water bugs like S. issa may hitchhike on aquatic plants, which are commonly exported for ornamental purposes. The species is native to Southeast Asia, a region that is a major source of commercial aquatic plants. In the United States, the introduction of S. issa to Florida was linked to the trade of such plants. In Colombia, the proximity of the collection site to the port of Buenaventura, the country’s main maritime gateway, and to primary highways used for transporting imports, suggests that international trade may have played a role. The port has been identified in previous studies as a potential entry point for alien species, particularly in marine and coastal areas, although S. issa is a freshwater species.

The establishment of a population in the lagoon is supported by the collection of brachypterous, or flightless, specimens during two separate sampling events, one in 2023 and another in 2024. The presence of flightless individuals indicates that the bugs are not merely transient visitors but are likely reproducing and maintaining a local population. This is consistent with patterns observed in other regions, such as Florida, where S. issa initially appeared in a limited area before spreading to a wider range. The ability of the species to adapt to local conditions and utilize available resources, such as the Cabomba vegetation, suggests a degree of ecological plasticity that could facilitate further spread throughout the Chocó biogeographic region and potentially the broader Neotropics.

The ecological impact of S. issa on the Colombian aquatic ecosystem is currently unknown and requires further investigation. As a non-predatory water bug, it may compete with native species for food resources, particularly small organic particles and microalgae. The interaction with the native Tenagobia signata, which shares the same habitat, could involve competition for oviposition sites on aquatic plants or for space within the vegetation. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for assessing the risk of the invasive species disrupting local food webs or altering the structure of aquatic plant communities. Future studies should focus on monitoring the population dynamics of S. issa and its effects on native biodiversity in the region.

The discovery of S. issa in Colombia underscores the importance of monitoring for invasive species in freshwater habitats, particularly in areas with high levels of international trade and transport activity. The case of S. issa joins a growing list of water bugs that have successfully invaded new regions, including Trichocorixa verticalis in Europe and Africa, and Micronecta ludibunda in North America. These invasions highlight the vulnerability of aquatic ecosystems to biological introductions, which can occur through various vectors, including the trade of ornamental plants and the movement of water and equipment. The findings from this study provide a baseline for future research and emphasize the need for continued surveillance and rapid response to new introductions.

As the global movement of goods and organisms continues to increase, the risk of biological invasions in freshwater systems remains a significant concern for conservation biologists and ecosystem managers. The record of Synaptonecta issa in South America serves as a reminder that even small, often overlooked insects can have far-reaching ecological consequences. Further research, including molecular phylogeographic analyses, is needed to trace the exact route of introduction and to understand the genetic diversity of the established population. By studying this new introduction, scientists can gain insights into the mechanisms of invasion and develop strategies to mitigate the impacts of future biological invasions in the Neotropics and beyond.

Subject of Research: First record of the invasive Asian water bug Synaptonecta issa in South America

Article Title: A new introduced species in South America: the Asian water bug Synaptonecta issa (Distant, 1910) ( Heteroptera , Micronectidae )

Article References: Sanchez-Muelas, J., González Obando, R., Salazar-Rivera, K., Barbosa, J., & Moreira, F. (2026). A new introduced species in South America: the Asian water bug Synaptonecta issa (Distant, 1910) (Heteroptera, Micronectidae). Biodiversity Data Journal, 14, Article e186680. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.14.e186680

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.14.e186680

Keywords: invasive species, water bugs, Micronectidae, South America, Colombia, biological invasion, aquatic ecosystems, Heteroptera, Buenaventura, freshwater biodiversity, introduced, species

The family Characeae, commonly known as stoneworts, consists of green algae characterized by macroscopic thalli composed of a series of nodes and internodes. These structures are not merely botanical curiosities but play critical ecological roles in their respective environments. Stoneworts contribute to high water transparency, sequester significant amounts of carbon and nutrients, and serve as a foundational element of the aquatic food web. Furthermore, they provide essential habitat and refuge for various aquatic animals. Due to their sensitivity to environmental changes, including salinity, temperature, and water chemistry, Characeae species are widely recognized as effective bioindicators. Their presence or absence can offer valuable insights into the overall health and stability of freshwater and brackish ecosystems.

Despite their ecological importance, many Characeae species are currently facing severe threats to their survival. The combination of continuous human transformation of habitats and ongoing climate change has placed these algae at risk, particularly in arid and semiarid regions. Consequently, numerous species are protected under European directives, such as the Habitats Directive 92/43/EC and the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. In several European countries, national legislation further safeguards these organisms, and they are included in national Red Lists to monitor their conservation status. However, Italy lacks a national Red List for Characeae, representing a significant gap in the country’s conservation framework. This absence hinders the implementation of targeted protection measures and the accurate assessment of population trends across the Italian peninsula and its islands.

The study conducted in spring and summer 2022 focused on sampling sites selected for their visual coverage of Characeae exceeding five percent. The locations included the Laghetto Monte Soro in Cesarò, the Lago Ancipa-Sartori in Troina, the Geloi Wetland in Gela, and the Curcuraggi area in Melilli. These sites varied significantly in altitude and water type, ranging from high-altitude natural lakes within the Nebrodi Regional Natural Park to low-lying brackish marshes fed by saline springs. The Geloi Wetland, for instance, is situated at approximately 30 meters above sea level and features artificial marshes with brackish water resulting from an underground saline spring. In contrast, the Monte Soro lake is located at about 1,575 meters above sea level, an environment where water often freezes during the winter months.

Among the species identified, Chara globularis was found in the Curcuraggi area, a site characterized by temporary pools used by grazing cattle. This species is cosmopolitan in distribution and has been reported from various regions in Italy, including Trentino Alto Adige, Piedmont, and Lombardy. Its presence in an area impacted by human activity is consistent with previous studies indicating that C. globularis is tolerant of eutrophication and anthropogenic disturbances. The morphology of the specimens collected showed thalli between 24 and 30 centimeters tall, with slender rays and rudimentary spine cells. The species is monoecious, bearing both oogonia and antheridia on the same thalli, which facilitates sexual reproduction in stable environments.

Chara vulgaris, another cosmopolitan species, was recorded in the Geloi Wetland and the Lago Ancipa-Sartori. This is the most widespread and frequently reported species of the genus Chara in Italy. The specimens observed had thalli ranging from 10 to 30 centimeters in height, with a main axis diameter of approximately 600 micrometers. The rays were slightly curved upwards, and the cortex was diplostichous and aulacanthous. The presence of C. vulgaris in these previously uninspected sites adds valuable data to its distribution map in Sicily. Conservation status assessments for this species vary across Europe, with classifications ranging from endangered in Norway to least concern in Wales, highlighting the need for localized monitoring and protection strategies.

Nitella capillaris, a less widespread species primarily found in Europe and Africa, was discovered in the Monte Soro Lake in Cesarò. This finding is significant because the species had not been previously reported in the province of Messina. The lake’s high altitude and cold climate pose unique challenges for algal survival. However, N. capillaris is known for its ability to withstand frost, producing oospores that are resistant to freezing stress and can germinate when conditions improve. The specimens collected were dioecious, with oogonia borne in the bifurcations of the rays. In several European countries, including Sweden and Great Britain, this species is considered extinct, while in others, it is classified as vulnerable or endangered, underscoring the importance of preserving its remaining habitats.

Tolypella glomerata was identified in the Geloi Wetland, specifically in the brackish marshes of Gela. This species is often found in slightly brackish waters and has a likely cosmopolitan distribution. The study noted that population density and fertility decreased as salinity increased, moving from the Acquitrino del Giunco Foglioso to the Pantano Pavoncelle. This observation aligns with previous research indicating that while T. glomerata adapts well to brackish environments, salinity remains a limiting factor for its reproductive success. The species has been reported in various parts of Italy, including Veneto, Emilia Romagna, and Tuscany, but its presence in the specific wetlands of eastern Sicily had not been documented until now. The findings suggest that brackish wetlands in Sicily may harbor unique algal communities that warrant further investigation.

The results of this study highlight the critical need for more comprehensive surveys of Characeae in Sicily. The distribution of these algae is not yet sufficiently known, and many areas remain unexamined. Filling these knowledge gaps is essential for developing effective conservation strategies and creating a national Red List for Characeae in Italy. Such a list would provide a standardized framework for assessing the conservation status of these species and guiding protection efforts. The study also emphasizes the ecological value of stoneworts in maintaining water quality and supporting aquatic biodiversity. By documenting new records and providing detailed morphological descriptions, the research contributes to the broader scientific understanding of freshwater algal ecology in the Mediterranean region.

Future research should focus on expanding surveys to other unexplored areas of Sicily and Italy, particularly in regions where data on Characeae distribution is scarce. Long-term monitoring of these populations will be crucial for detecting trends in abundance and health, especially in the context of climate change and human-induced environmental pressures. Collaboration between researchers, conservation organizations, and local authorities will be necessary to implement protective measures and ensure the survival of these ecologically important algae. The findings from eastern Sicily serve as a reminder of the hidden biodiversity that exists in seemingly ordinary wetlands and the urgent need to document and protect it before it is lost.

Subject of Research: Distribution and morphology of Characeae algae in eastern Sicily

Article Title: New Characeae ( Charophyceae , Charales ) report in eastern Sicily (Italy)

Article References: Pagana, I., Virzì, A., Zafarana, M. A., & Alongi, G. (2024). New Characeae (Charophyceae, Charales) report in eastern Sicily (Italy). Italian Botanist, 18, 109-122. https://doi.org/10.3897/italianbotanist.18.131661

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/italianbotanist.18.131661

Keywords: Characeae, Stoneworts, Sicily, Freshwater Algae, Biodiversity, Conservation, Wetlands, Bioindicators, Italy, Ecology, Charophyceae, Charales

Riffle beetles of the family Elmidae are among the most inconspicuous inhabitants of flowing freshwaters. Barely a few millimeters long and clothed in a dense waterproof layer called a plastron, they cling to stones and gravel in fast-moving streams, where they graze on the thin films of organic matter that coat submerged surfaces. Their dependence on clean, oxygen-rich water makes them valuable indicators of stream health, and their often highly localized distributions make each new discovery a clue about how freshwater life is partitioned across the landscape.

The genus Zaitzevia, established in 1923 by the British entomologist George Champion, currently comprises 36 valid species distributed across Asia and North America. China has emerged as a hotspot for the genus: 23 species are now known from the country, and 19 of those have been described only between 2020 and 2025. That burst of recent descriptions reflects both intensified fieldwork and a growing recognition that many Zaitzevia species remain undescribed, with numerous unnamed Chinese specimens already sitting in museum collections, including a substantial trove deposited at the Natural History Museum in Vienna.

The two new species, named Zaitzevia longyanensis and Zaitzevia yanfengi, were recognized from a total of 24 specimens collected in 1997 and 2013. Most of the material came from three localities surveyed during the China Water Beetle Survey, a long-running collaborative effort to document the aquatic beetle fauna of China. The holotypes and seven paratypes are housed at the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang, while 15 paratypes are preserved at the Natural History Museum Vienna.

The first locality, in Guangze County in northwestern Fujian, was a small stream roughly one meter wide, flowing from forested mountains covered in broadleaf trees, bamboo and Chinese fir. The stream was partly shaded by bushes and featured sandy pools alternating with sections of granitic rocks and coarse crystalline gravel at about 400 meters above sea level. A second site, about 20 kilometers southeast of Yong’an City, was a fast-flowing stream less than half a meter wide, descending steeply from a mountain whose summit reaches 1,629 meters, its channel strewn with large granitic rocks at 550 meters elevation. The third locality, near Xiaochi Village in the Longyan City region, was a mountain stream three to five meters wide, tumbling through a densely forested valley below Meihua Shan, complete with small waterfalls, big pools, crystalline sand and gravel, and pools rich in decaying organic matter at 650 meters above sea level.

Zaitzevia longyanensis, named after Longyan City, is the larger of the two new species, with males measuring between 2.64 and 2.90 millimeters in body length. Its body is elongated and obovate, and it can be distinguished from all other Chinese species of the genus by a combination of external characters: the anterior corners of the pronotum are strongly produced and sharply pointed, the first elytral stria is distinctly punctate in its basal half, the punctures on the second through fourth striae are very large in the basal region but more or less obsolete toward the base and the rear, and the elytral apex is subtruncate. The species was found at the Longyan type locality and also at the Guangze site, giving it a known range across both northwestern and southwestern Fujian.

Under the microscope, the male genitalia of Z. longyanensis reveal further diagnostic detail. The median lobe of the aedeagus is about 2.4 times as long as the phallobase and carries a pair of small subapical teeth at the apical end of the ventral sac. The sclerotizations of the endophallus are well developed and somewhat resemble a bowknot, a shape that vaguely recalls Z. fodingshana from Guizhou Province but differs from that species in the more robust apex of the median lobe and in the distribution and form of the endophallic sclerites, which in Z. fodingshana are rod-like and extend from the subbase to the distal region. Externally, Z. fodingshana also differs significantly, particularly in its much less produced anterior pronotal corners and rounded elytral apices.

Zaitzevia yanfengi, named in honor of Yanfeng Tong of Shenyang, who collected the type series in 2013 near Shangping Village in the Sanming City region, is a considerably smaller beetle. Males measure only about 2.00 millimeters in body length, with the species ranging from 1.8 to 2.1 millimeters. Its body is elongated and oval, with produced and very sharp anterior pronotal corners and elytral punctures of unequal size distributed unevenly across the disc. Externally it resembles Z. acuta and Z. nanlingensis, both from Guangdong Province, but the male genitalia set it apart: the distal portion of the penis is less sharpened than in Z. acuta, the endophallus bears a pair of lanceolate sclerotized bands in its basal 0.4 to 0.6, and the species lacks the subapical teeth found at the apical end of the ventral sac in its Guangdong relatives. In Z. nanlingensis, the endophallus instead carries a prominent subcircular annular sclerite, a weakly sclerotized helmet-shaped sclerite, and a pair of well-developed teeth near the distal end.

The study also documents a third, still-unnamed Zaitzevia species from western Fujian. Eleven specimens collected during the China Water Beetle Survey from the Nanping, Sanming and Longyan city regions are externally very similar to Z. yanfengi but differ in several consistent characters: they are smaller, with body lengths of 1.54 to 1.60 millimeters, their anterior pronotal corners are thinner and even more strongly acuminate, their sublateral pronotal carinae are more prominent with a distinct adjacent groove, their elytra are more elongate, and their aedeagus, at 0.78 millimeters, shows poorly sclerotized lanceolate bands and a thin longitudinal sclerotized rod in the apical fourth of the median lobe that branches into an inconspicuous claw-like structure. The authors deliberately refrained from formally describing these specimens, preferring to wait until more material and, ideally, molecular data become available to confirm their distinctness.

The Fujian discoveries underscore how much freshwater beetle diversity remains hidden in China’s mountain streams, even in provinces that have been surveyed repeatedly. The authors note that additional new Zaitzevia species collected in Fujian during the 1997 survey will be described in forthcoming contributions, suggesting that the province’s riffle beetle fauna is only beginning to come into focus. As molecular tools join traditional morphological analysis, the pace of discovery in this small but ecologically significant beetle lineage is likely to accelerate, revealing how millions of years of stream isolation have shaped the distribution of life in China’s flowing freshwaters.

Subject of Research: First record of the riffle beetle genus Zaitzevia from Fujian Province, China, with descriptions of two new species

Article Title: First record of Zaitzevia Champion, 1923 ( Coleoptera , Elmidae ) from Fujian Province, China, with descriptions of two new species

Article References: Bian, D.-J., & Jäch, M. A. (2026). First record of Zaitzevia Champion, 1923 (Coleoptera, Elmidae) from Fujian Province, China, with descriptions of two new species. ZooKeys, 1293, 209-219. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1293.196561

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1293.196561

Keywords: Zaitzevia, riffle beetles, Elmidae, Coleoptera, Fujian Province, new species, taxonomy, freshwater biodiversity, China Water Beetle Survey, ZooKeys, First, record