New data on the fauna and systematics of Palaearctic species of the click-beetle subfamily Agrypninae Candèze, 1857 (Coleoptera,Elateridae)

New data on the distribution and taxonomy of some Palaearctic species of click-beetles of the subfamily Agrypninae are given. The external morphology and genitalia of the previously unknown females of Compsolacon korotjaevi Gur. and C. agrestis (Vats et Kash.) comb. n. are described. Several taxa are recorded from the following territories for the first time: the genus Eumoeus Cand. from the Palaearctic Region, the species Compsolacon agrestis comb. n. and C. himalayanus Jag. from Afghanistan, Compsolacon turkestanicus (Schw.) from Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan, Danosoma conspersum (Gyll.) from Kazakhstan, Lacon quadrinodatus Lew. from Russia, and L. unicolor (Cand.) from Iraq. Several Northern Indian species of Agrypnus Esch. are transferred to Compsolacon Rtt., and their systematic positions are briefly discussed: C. agrestis, C. inlustris (Vats et Kash.), C. jacksoni (Vats et Kash.), C. kuluensis (Vats et Kash.), C. maisus (Vats et Kash.), C. planocorpus (Vats et Kash.), C. rameshi (Vats et Kash.), C. repercussus (Vats et Kash.), C. solanensis (Vats et Kash.), C. souslapisus (Vats et Kash.), C. subargillus (Vats et Kash.), C. subfaenum (Vats et Kash.) and C. sublapideus (Vats et Kash.) (all comb. n.). The following new combinations are also established: Compsolacon aequalis (Cand.) comb. n. and Compsolacon brachychaetus (Kollar) comb. n. (both ex Lacon). The following new synonymies are established: Lacon funebris (Sols.) = Adelocera grisea Schw., syn. n.; = Adelocera incompta Kr., syn. n.; Eumoeus murrayi Cand. = Tetralobus quadrifoveatus Vats et Kash., syn. n.     

Long-term dynamics of orthopteran assemblages (orthoptera) of the Hissar Valley (Tajikistan)

Results of investigation of the species composition and population density of the orthopteran assemblages, performed in the Hissar Valley in 1935 and 1989 are discussed. The increased anthropogenic press resulted in the drastic changes in the assemblages during 50 years. Two species dominating in the past, Calliptamus italicus (L.) and Dociostaurus maroccanus (Thunb.), are indicators of the integrity of original assemblages (and entire ecosystems of Hissar Valley, which are now completely destroyed) or of their insignificant transformation. The recent mesomorphic assemblages are dominated by Oxya fuscovittata (Marsch.), Duroniella gracilis Uv., Chorthippus biguttulus (L.), Aiolopus thalassinus (Fabr.), and xeromorphic communities, by Calliptamus barbarus (Costa), Dociostaurus tartarus (Stshelk.), Oedipoda miniata (Pall.), and Acrotylus insubricus (Scop.). The predominance and wide distribution of these species points to a significant transformation of ecosystems and destabilization of the environment in the Hissar Valley.     

Jurassic Scaphopoda from the Russian platform: Pulsellidae and Gadilidae

The scaphopod families Pulsellidae and Gadilidae from sandy and clayey beds of the Jurassic (Callovian?Volgian) of European Russia are investigated. In Pulsellidae, the following taxa are described: Annulipulsellum with two subgenera, Annulipulsellum (species A. ambiguum sp. nov., A. rugosum sp. nov.) and Mesopulsellum subgen. nov. (A. alternoides sp. nov., A. calloviense sp. nov., A. hirtistriatum sp. nov., A. medium sp. nov.), Gracilipulsellum gen. nov. (G. iodaense sp. nov.), Gardneridentalium gen. nov. (G. primitivum sp. nov., G. reticulatum sp. nov.), and Mesoentalina gen. nov. (M. fabulosa sp. nov.). New taxa of the family Gadilidae include the genus Mesoantalis gen. nov. with the species M. clava sp. nov., M. expolitum sp. nov., and M. volgense sp. nov.     

BvPRR7 is a cold responsive gene with a clock function in beet

The life cycle of flowering plants is partially defined by environmental cues like day length and temperature. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and temperate cereals, such as barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum spp.), differences in life cycle control have been associated with a natural variation in FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and VERNALIZATION 1-3 (VRN1-3). In sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), variation in vernalization requirement and life cycle is determined by a major gene at the B locus. This gene has recently been identified as a pseudo-response regulator (PRR) gene BOLTING TIME CONTROL 1 (BTC1). A second gene in beet with homology to BTC1 and ARABIDOPSIS PSEUDO RESPONSE REGULATOR 7 (APRR7) in Arabidopsis was identified and termed Beta vulgaris PSEUDO RESPONSE REGULATOR 7 (BvPRR7). We functionally characterized BvPRR7 by transgenic analysis in Arabidopsis and expression profiling during development in beet. We show that BvPRR7 was diurnally regulated and responded to cold. Constitutive expression of BvPRR7 distorted diurnal rhythms and caused late flowering in Arabidopsis suggesting a conserved function of BvPRR7 in clock regulation. Conceivably, the retention of a functional role of BvPRR7 in clock regulation may have facilitated the evolution of a distinct role as major floral regulator of the second PRR7 homolog in beet, BTC1.     

An ethnobotany of the Lukomir Highlanders of Bosnia & Herzegovina

Background

This aim of this study is to report upon traditional knowledge and use of wild medicinal plants by the Highlanders of Lukomir, Bjela?nica, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). The Highlanders are an indigenous community of approximately 60 transhumant pastoralist families who speak Bosnian (Bosanski) and inhabit a highly biodiverse region of Europe. This paper adds to the growing record of traditional use of wild plants within isolated communities in the Balkans.

Methods

An ethnobotanical study using consensus methodology was conducted in Lukomir in Bjela?nica’s mountains and canyons. Field work involved individual semi-structured interviews during which informants described plants, natural product remedies, and preparation methods on field trips, garden tours, while shepherding, or in settings of their choice. Plant use categories were ranked with informant consensus factor and incorporated into a phylogenetic tree. Plants cited were compared to other ethnobotanical surveys of the country.

Results

Twenty five people were interviewed, resulting in identification of 58 species (including two subspecies) from 35 families, which were cited in 307 medicinal, 40 food, and seven material use reports. Individual plant uses had an average consensus of five and a maximum consensus of 15 out of 25. There were a number of rare and endangered species used as poisons or medicine that are endemic to Flora Europaea and found in Lukomir. Ten species (including subspecies) cited in our research have not previously been reported in the systematic ethnobotanical surveys of medicinal plant use in B&H: (Elymus repens (L.) Gould, Euphorbia myrsinites L., Jovibarba hirta (L.) Opiz, Lilium bosniacum (Beck) Fritsch, Matricaria matricarioides (Less.) Porter ex Britton, Phyllitis scolopendrium (L.) Newman, Rubus saxatilis L., Silene uniflora Roth ssp. glareosa (Jord.) Chater & Walters, Silene uniflora Roth ssp. prostrata (Gaudin) Chater & Walters, Smyrnium perfoliatum L.). New uses not reported in any of the aforementioned systematic surveys were cited for a total of 28 species. Thirteen percent of medicinal plants cited are endemic: Helleborus odorus Waldst. et Kit., Gentiana lutea L., Lilium bosniacum (Beck) Fritsch, Silene uniflora Roth ssp. glareosa (Jord.) Chater & Walters., Silene uniflora Roth ssp. prostrata (Gaudin) Chater & Walters, Salvia officinalis L., Jovibarba hirta (L.) Opiz, and Satureja montana L.

Conclusions

These results report on the cohesive tradition of medicinal plant use among healers in Lukomir, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This work facilitates the community’s development by facilitating local and international conversations about their traditional medicine and sharing insight for conservation in one of Europe’s most diverse endemic floristic regions, stewarded by one of Europe’s last traditional Highland peoples.

     

A new genus and species of turtle blood fluke (Digenea: Schistosomatoidea) from the Mekong snail-eating turtle, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Malayemys subtrijuga</Emphasis> (Schlegel &amp; Müller) (Testudines: Geoemydidae) in Vietnam,with a reassessment of related Asiatic turtle blood flukes and molecular phylogeny

Platt sinuosus Roberts & Bullard n. g., n. sp. (type-species) infects the kidney and mesenteric blood vessels of Mekong snail-eating turtles, Malayemys subtrijuga (Schlegel & Müller), in the Mekong River Basin. Species of Platt Roberts & Bullard n. g. are unique by the combination of having a papillate ventral sucker, vasa efferentia that are dorsal to the gonads, a massive cirrus-sac that is directed anteriad or laterad, and a vitellarium that surrounds the intestinal caeca. The new species resembles Platt ocadiae (Takeuti, 1942) Roberts & Bullard n. comb. but differs from it by having an external seminal vesicle that overlaps with or is immediately posterior to the level of the ventral sucker. Seven species previously of Hapalorhynchus Stunkard, 1922 are reassigned herein to Platt: P. odhnerensis (Mehra, 1933) Roberts & Bullard n. comb.; P. yoshidai (Ozaki, 1939) Roberts & Bullard n. comb.; P. ocadiae; P. oschmarini (Belous, 1963) Roberts & Bullard n. comb.; P. sutlejensis (Mehrotra, 1973) Roberts & Bullard n. comb.; P. synderi (Platt & Sharma, 2012) Roberts & Bullard n. comb.; and P. tkachi (Platt & Sharma, 2012) Roberts & Bullard n. comb. A dichotomous key to Platt spp. is provided. Hapalorhynchus sheilae (Mehrotra, 1973) Bourgat, 1990 and Hapalorhynchus mica (Oshmarin, 1971) Bourgat, 1990 are considered as species inquirendae, and Hapalorhynchus indicus (Thapar, 1933) Price, 1934 and Hapalorhynchus macrotesticularis (Rohde, Lee, & Lim, 1968) Brooks & Sullivan, 1981 are considered as species incertae sedis. Phylogenetic analysis of the large subunit rDNA (28S) showed P. sinuosus and P. snyderi to be sister taxa distinct from a monophyletic Hapalorhynchus and Coeuritrema platti Roberts & Bullard, 2016.     

Neogene phasianids (Aves: Phasianidae) of Central Asia: 1. Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tologuica</Emphasis> gen. nov.

A new genus, Tologuica, with two species (T. aurorae sp. nov. and T. karhui sp. nov.), from the Middle Miocene of the Sharga locality (western Mongolia) is described. The new genus shares some characters with the extinct genera Palaeocryptonyx, Palaeortyx, and Plioperdix and with extant Coturnix. The foot structure suggests that Tologuica resembled in ecology the European genus Palaeortyx and was probably adapted to an arboreal mode of life, in contrast to the terrestrial Coturnix and Plioperdix.     

Prebiotic effects of bovine lactoferrin on specific probiotic bacteria

Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is a natural iron-binding protein and it has been suggested to be a prebiotic agent, but this finding remains inconclusive. This study explores the prebiotic potential of bLf in 14 probiotics. Initially, bLf (1–32 mg/mL) treatment showed occasional and slight prebiotic activity in several probiotics only during the late experimental period (48, 78 h) at 37 °C. We subsequently supposed that bLf exerts stronger prebiotic effects when probiotic growth has been temperately retarded. Therefore, we incubated the probiotics at different temperatures, namely 37 °C, 28 °C, room temperature (approximately 22–24 °C), and 22 °C, to retard or inhibit their growth. As expected, bLf showed more favorable prebiotic activity in several probiotics when their growth was partially retarded at room temperature. Furthermore, at 22 °C, the growth of Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus coryniformis, L. delbrueckii, L. acidophilus, B. angulatum, B. catenulatum, and L. paraplantarum were completely blocked. Notably, these probiotics started regrowing in the presence of bLf (1–32 mg/mL) in a significant and dose-dependent manner. Accordingly, bLf significantly increased the growth of Pediococcus pentosaceus, L. rhamnosus, and L. paracasei (BCRC 17483; a locally isolated strain) when their growth was retarded by incubation at 22 °C. In conclusion, bLf showed inconsistent prebiotic activity in the 14 probiotics at 37 °C, but revealed strong prebiotic activity in 10 probiotic strains at 22 °C. Therefore, this study enables determining additional roles of Lf in probiotic strains, which can facilitate developing novel combinational approaches by simultaneously using Lf and specific probiotics.     

New weevils (Curculionidae) in Baltic amber

The new subtribes Palaeorhamphina subtrib. nov. of the tribe Rhamphini and Eocenesibiniina subtrib. nov. of the tribe Tychiini, new genera Archaeoeugnomus gen. nov. (type species A. balticus sp. nov.), Palaeorhamphus gen. nov. (type species P. primitivus sp. nov.), and Eocenesibinia gen. nov. (type species E. prussica sp. nov.), new subgenus Palaeoleiosoma subgen. nov. (type species L. klebsi sp. nov.) of the genus Leiosoma Stephens, and new species Leiosoma klebsi sp. nov., Caulophilus rarus sp. nov., C. squamosus sp. nov., Ceutorhynchus alekseevi sp. nov., C. electrinus sp. nov., Dorytomus nudus sp. nov., Pachytychius eocenicus sp. nov., Archaeoeugnomus balticus sp. nov., Palaeorhamphus primitivus sp. nov., Orchestes tatjanae sp. nov., and Eocenesibinia prussica sp. nov. are described. Electrotribus Hustache, 1942 placem. nov. is transferred from the tribe Derelomini of the subfamily Curculioninae to the tribe Acicnemidini of the subfamily Molytinae. Succinostyphlus erectosquamata (Rheinheimer, 2007) placem. nov. et comb. nov. is transferred from the genus Electrotribus Hustache, 1942 to the genus Succinostyphlus Ku?ka, 1996. These are the first records of representatives of the tribes Plinthini, Acicnemidini, Eugnomini, and Rhamphini in the Baltic amber.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spiroplasma</Emphasis> dominates the microbiome of khapra beetle: comparison with a congener,effects of life stage and temperature

Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium (Coleoptera: Dermestidae), is among the world’s most invasive and destructive pests of stored agricultural products. Its pest status is enhanced by the ability of the larvae to undergo diapause, which increases their tolerance to adverse conditions including insecticides and extreme temperatures. The ability of insects to tolerate extreme conditions can be influenced by their associated bacterial community (the microbiome). Understanding this relationship may lead to improved methods of pest control, but the microbiome of T. granarium is unknown. Here we use next-generation sequencing to address three main questions: 1) How similar are the microbiomes of the closely-related species T. granarium and T. variabile? 2) How does the microbiome change across life stage and physiological state? 3) How is the microbiome of adult T. granarium affected by extreme temperatures? Our results show that the core microbiomes of T. granarium and T. variabile are similar in composition. However, adults of former species have a microbiome dominated by Spiroplasma bacteria (99% of amplified sequences), whereas Spiroplasma in the latter species is almost absent (< 2%). The microbiome of T. granarium differs across life stage (feeding vs non-feeding life stages); its presence in eggs confirms the vertical transmission of Spiroplasma. High temperatures significantly reduced the relative abundance of Spiroplasma, but an effect of low temperatures on the microbiome of T. granarium was not detected. Given its dominance in a key pest species, further study of the interaction between Spiroplasma and its T. granarium host is warranted.     

Notes on the fauna and taxonomy of the click beetles (Coleoptera,Elateridae) of Russia and neighboring countries

New data on the distribution and taxonomy of some species of click-beetles in Russia and adjacent countries are given. Several species are recorded for the first time for the following territories: Brachygonus bouyoni (Chass.), B. dubius (Plat. et Cate) and Zorochros lewisi (Schw.), for Russia; Sericus sulcipennis (Baudi), for Ukraine; Berninelsonius hyperboreus (Gyll.), Cidnopus parallelus (Motsch.), and Limonius poneli Les. et Mertl., for Kazakhstan. New interesting findings of Sericus sulcipennis and Selatosomus songoricus (Kr.) are reported. Comments on some erroneous faunistic records of several elaterids, including some species from Middle Asia, are made. The following new synonymy is established: Haterumelater fulvago (Marseul, {dy1868}) = Elater tauricola Gurjeva, 1957, syn. n. Notes on the variability of Selatosomus latus (F.) are given, and its conspecificity with S. corpulentus (Cand.) is confirmed. The external morphology and genitalia of the little known Selatosomus nanus Gur. are studied, and the systematic position of this species is discussed.     

Maternal care,larviparous and oviparous reproduction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypoaspis larvicolus</Emphasis> (Acari: Laelapidae) feeding on astigmatid mites

Hypoaspis larvicolus (Acari: Laelapidae) (first report from Turkey) occurred together with Sancassania polyphyllae (Acari: Acaridae) on the larvae of the scarab beetle, Polyphylla fullo (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), that were feeding on the roots of strawberry in Aydin, Turkey. Laboratory studies were conducted to (1) observe whether H. larvicolus feeds and completes its life cycle on the various stages of S. polyphyllae or other astigmatid mites, such as Acarus siro, Carpoglyphus lactis and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acaridae), and to determine its population growth when feeding on these prey, and (2) to determine development periods, longevity and fecundity of H. larvicolus feeding on C. lactis. Hypoaspis larvicolus females did not feed on S. polyphyllae, but fed, developed and reproduced when A. siro, C. lactis or T. putrescentiae were provided as prey. Hypoaspis larvicolus is larviparous as well as oviparous. The female lays eggs or gives birth to larvae. If a female gives birth to a larva, it is attached under the female’s venter for 1–2 days, a phenomenon recorded for the first time in Hypoaspis; in fact, for the first time in mites. The results of the population growth experiments revealed that H. larvicolus feeding on C. lactis produced the highest number of eggs, juveniles and adults. The developmental periods of H. larvicolus feeding on C. lactis at life-cycle path I (larva to adult) and II (egg to adult) were 12.2?±?0.3 and 15.6?±?0.6 days (females) and 19.5?±?0.2 and 20.9?±?0.4 days (males), respectively. Longevity of females versus males of H. larvicolus was 120.6?±?7.2 versus 91.6?±?13.1 days (life cycle I) and 110.0?±?27.7 versus 118.3?±?10.9 days (life cycle II), respectively.     

Host range of wheat striate virus

Na sání p?irozeně infikovaného p?ena?e?e viru prou?kovitosti p?enice (VPP) k?ísaCalligypona pellucida F. reagovaly charakteristickými p?íznaky v poměrně zna?ném rozsahuBromus arvensis L.,B. mollis L.,Avena fatua L.,A. nuda L. (HOEJ.),Triticum aestivum L. s. s.,T. compactum HOST.,T. dicoccum SCHRANK aHordeum murinum L., v men?ím podílu pakLolium multiflorum LAM.,L. perenne L.,Bromus tectorum L.,Poa annua L., Avena strigosa SCHREB., A. sterilis L.,Triticum spelta L.,T. durum DESF.,T. turgidum L. aT. polonicum L. Dal?ích 42 rostlinných druh? ze 6 ?eledí v této testaci neonemocnělo. Negativně vyzněl i pokus o umělé naka?eníPhleum pratense L.,tîeba?e u tohoto rostlinného druhu jsme v p?írodě pozorovali typické p?íznaky VPP. Máme za to, ?e některé negativní výsledky byly asi v p?í?inné spojitosti se ?na?ně kolísající p? ena?e?skou ú?inností vektora, známou ji? z d?ívěj?ích prací. V kulturách pícnin prvního u?itkového roku v místech s nadměrně hojným výskytem larevCalligypona pellucida bylo p?i terénních pozorováních zaznamenáno v některých lokalitách na ?eskomoravské vyso?ině silněj?í napadení VPP uLolium multiflorum. Charakteristické p?íznaky VPP jsme p?i tom zjistili i naPhleum pratense, Lolium perenne a Bromus mollis.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Aethycteron robisoni</Emphasis> n. sp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) from the sunburst darter, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Etheostoma mihileze</Emphasis> Mayden (Perciformes: Percidae), in Arkansas,USA

Aethycteron robisoni n. sp. is described from the sunburst darter, Etheostoma mihileze Mayden (Perciformes: Percidae), in the Arkansas River Drainage of the Ozark Region in the Central Highlands of Arkansas, USA. Aethycteron robisoni morphologically most closely resembles A. caerulei Suriano & Beverley-Burton, 1982, A. moorei (Mizelle, 1940) and A. nigrei Suriano & Beverly-Burton, 1982, by possessing a male copulatory organ with a distinct distal curvature and spiraling sheath. The haptoral sclerites of A. robisoni, with the exception of the hooks, are distinctly larger than those of the other three species. This is the first time a monogenean parasite has been reported from E. mihileze as well as the first time the genus Aethycteron Suriano & Beverley-Burton, 1982 has been reported from Arkansas, USA.     

Revision of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neolebouria</Emphasis> Gibson, 1976 (Digenea: Opecoelidae), with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trilobovarium</Emphasis> n. g., for species infecting tropical and subtropical shallow-water fishes

A new opecoelid trematode is reported from fishes of the Lethrinidae, Lutjanidae and Nemipteridae off Lizard Island on the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The new species keys to Neolebouria Gibson, 1976 and shows strong similarity to several species of that genus, but is not consistent with the type-species, N. georgiensis Gibson, 1976, or others known from temperate/polar and/or deep-sea fishes. The new species is also phylogenetically distant from N. lanceolata (Price, 1934) Reimer, 1987, the only representative of the genus for which molecular data are available. A new genus, Trilobovarium n. g., is proposed for the new species, T. parvvatis n. sp. Eight morphologically similar species, previously recognised as belonging to Neolebouria, from shallow-water, mostly tropical/subtropical fishes, are transferred to Trilobovarium: T. diacopae (Nagaty & Abdel Aal, 1962) n. comb.; T. ira (Yamaguti, 1940) n. comb.; T. khalili (Ramadan, 1983) n. comb.; T. krusadaiense (Gupta, 1956) n. comb.; T. lineatum (Aken’Ova & Cribb, 2001) n. comb.; T. moretonense (Aken’Ova & Cribb, 2001) n. comb.; T. palauense (Machida, 2014) n. comb.; and T. truncatum (Linton, 1940) n. comb. Paramanteriella Li, Qiu & Zhang, 1988 is resurrected for five species of Neolebouria with a post-bifurcal genital pore: P. cantherini Li, Qiu & Zhang, 1988; P. capoori (Jaiswal, Upadhyay, Malhotra, Dronen & Malhotra, 2014) n. comb.; P. confusa (Overstreet, 1969) n. comb.; P. leiperi (Gupta, 1956) n. comb.; and P. pallenisca (Shipley & Hornell, 1905) n. comb. Neolebouria georgenascimentoi Bray, 2002, a species with an exceptionally long cirrus-sac, is transferred to Bentholebouria Andres, Pulis & Overstreet, 2004 as B. georgenascimentoi (Bray, 2002) n. comb., and N. maorum (Allison, 1966) Gibson 1976, an unusual species known from cephalopods, is designated a species incertae sedis. Eleven species are retained in a revised concept of Neolebouria.     

A re-evaluation of diversity of the Aporocotylidae Odhner, 1912 in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Siganus fuscescens</Emphasis> (Houttuyn) (Perciformes: Siganidae) and associated species

The aporocotylid fauna of the mottled spinefoot, Siganus fuscescens (Houttuyn), from Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, was characterised using a combined morphological and molecular approach. Four aporocotylid species were identified, three belonging to the genus Ankistromeces Nolan & Cribb, 2006 and one to Cardicola Short, 1953. Specimens of Cardicola matched an undescribed species from the same host and locality; this species is described as Cardicola mogilae n. sp. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS2 and 28S data showed that C. mogilae n. sp. forms a strongly supported clade with other Cardicola species from siganid fishes. We record Ankistromeces olsoni Nolan & Cribb, 2006 in Moreton Bay for the first time, redescribe A. dunwichensis Nolan & Cribb, 2006 on the basis of new specimens and sequence data and re-report Ankistromeces sp. X from Moreton Bay based on molecular data. We review the status of the ten putative species of aporocotylids reported from siganids. Small variation in ITS2 rDNA sequences, in association with different geographic localities, was previously used to separate Cardicola lafii Nolan & Cribb, 2006 from C. parilus Nolan & Cribb, 2006, C. bartolii Nolan & Cribb, 2006 from C. watsonensis Nolan & Cribb, 2006, C. tantabiddii Nolan & Cribb, 2006 from Cardicola sp. 2, Ankistromeces sp. Y from A. olsoni and Ankistromeces sp. X from Ankistromeces sp. Z. These five combinations are reinterpreted as each representing a single species; Cardicola lafii is recognised as the senior synonym of C. parilus and C. bartolii as the senior synonym of C. watsonensis. This study thus suggests that six, rather than ten, species should be recognised as infecting S. fuscescens. This richness remains greater than is known for any other fish species and siganids are, so far, unique among fishes in harbouring two strongly radiated lineages of aporocotylids.     

The ultrastructure of the interstitial cells of the mesonephros in the teleost fishes of the Black Sea

The ultrastructure of cells that form mesonephros tissues in eight species of bony fish of the Black Sea, Gaidropsarus mediterraneus (L.), Lisa aurata (Risso), Trachurus mediterraneus (Staindachner), Diplodus annularis (L.), Spicara flexuosa (Rafinesque), Gobius niger jozo L., Mullus barbatus ponticus (Essipov) and Scorpaena porcus (L.), was studied. It was shown that the ultrastructure of agranulocytes and rodlet cells in the studied species is similar to that of cells in freshwater bony fish. The differences were observed in the number of ionocyte mitochondria, in the vesicle ultrastructure in the cells with radial vesicle array, and in the ultrastructure of the specific secondary granules of neutrophils and eosinophils.