The marine, tide pool-dwelling ciliate Stombidium oculatum was redescribed using live, stained, SEM, and TEM material prepared from samples collected from pools on the Isle of Man (Irish Sea) and Brittany (France). Also, we reviewed the older German and French works that reported on ciliates collected in the Mediterranean and Brittany, respectively. The Brittany and Isle of Man populations of t...

The molecular phylogeny of the Atlanto-Mediterranean species of the genus Felimare, particularly those attributed to the species F. picta, was inferred using two mitochondrial markers (16S and COI). A recent revision of the Chromodorididae clarified the taxonomic relationships at the family level redefining the genus Felimare. However, conflicting taxonomic classifications have been proposed fo...

Examination of tineid specimens from the Mediterranean Region has resulted in the discovery of two new taxa, Eudarcia (Abchagleris) jaworskii and Eudarcia (Neomeessia) alanyacola. The previously unknown female genitalia of Nemapogon somchetiella Zagulajev, 1961 and Infurcitinea vanderwolfi Gaedike, 1997 are described for the fi rst time. A study of Monopis bisonella Šumpich, 2011 revealed that ...

Despite being an important target of conservation concern and horticultural interest, Lebanese irises yet have a confusing taxonomic history and species' delimitation is often considered problematic, more especially among royal irises (Iris section Oncocyclus). Indeed, these irises of exceptionally large and spectacular flowers have radiated across Caucasus and eastern Mediterranean giving rise...

Macroinvertebrates assemblages on reed beds, with special attention to Chironomidae (Diptera), in Mediterranean shallow lakes Macroinvertebrates associated to reed-beds (Phragmites australis) in six shallow natural water bodies along the 220 km of coast of the Comunidad Valenciana (Spain) were studied. These sites were selected to reflect different trophic states, but also, and due to the natur...

In recent years we have investigated the evolution of the Holarctic leaf-beetle genus Timarcha using molecular approaches, but to date several important questions remained unanswered, including its systematic arrangement in a temporal context, or the phylogenetic placement of the Nearctic taxa. Here I present a reanalysis of available genetic data together with newly generated data for key taxa...

Bibliographic and data gathered in scientific bottom trawl surveys carried out off the Southern Coasts of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea), from 1994 to 2009 and between a depth of 10 and 800 m, were analysed in order to prepare a checklist of demersal sharks and chimaera, which are species sensitive to fisheries exploitation. Out of the 27 previously reported demersal shark and chimaera taxa in the ...

Dispersal is critically linked to the demographic and evolutionary trajectories of populations, but in most seabird species it may be difficult to estimate. Using molecular tools, we explored population structure and the spatial dispersal pattern of a highly pelagic but philopatric seabird, the Cory's shearwater Calonectris diomedea. Microsatellite fragments were analysed from samples collected...

We investigate long-term changes in the Mediterranean marine resources driving the trawl fisheries by analysing fishers' perceptions (Traditional Ecological Knowledge, TEK) throughout the Mediterranean Sea during the last 80 years. To this end, we conducted an extended set of interviews with experienced fishers that enabled us to classify species (or taxa) as 'decreasing' or 'increasing' both i...

Sea turtles are widely distributed in temperate and tropical seas, and their carapace is often colonized by species of macroalgae. There have been several studies on the epibionts of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta Linnaeus, from different parts of the world (KITSOS, et al., 2005; PFALLER et al., 2006, 2008). The carapaces of loggerhead turtles represent an important substratum for a variet...