How unique is the tiger beetle fauna (Coleoptera,Cicindelidae) of the Balkan Peninsula?

The tiger beetle fauna of the Balkan Peninsula is one of the richest in Europe and includes 19 species or 41% of the European tiger beetle fauna. Assembled by their biogeographical origins, the Balkan tiger beetle species fall into 14 different groups that include, Mediterranean, Middle Oriental, Central Asiatic, Euro-Siberian, South and East European, Pannonian-Sarmatian, West Palaearctic, Turano-European and Afrotropico Indo-Mediterranean species. The Mediterranean Sclerophyl and the Pontian Steppe are the Balkan biogeographical provinces with the highest species richness, while the Balkan Highlands has the lowest Cicindelidae diversity. Most species are restricted to single habitat types in lowland areas of the Balkan Peninsula and only Calomera aulica aulica and Calomera littoralis nemoralis occur in respectively 3 and 4 different types of habitat. About 60% of all Balkan Cicindelidae species are found in habitats potentially endangered by human activity.     

The caddisfly fauna (Insecta, Trichoptera) of the rivers of the Black Sea basin in Kosovo with distributional data for some rare species

Adult caddisflies were collected from 12 stations in the Black Sea basin in Kosovo using UV light traps. Sixty-five of the seventy-six species reported in this paper are first records for the Kosovo caddisfly fauna. The unexpected discovery of several species during this investigation: Agapetus delicatulus McLachlan, 1884, Psychomyia klapaleki Malicky, 1995, Tinodes janssensi Jacquemart, 1957, Hydropsyche emarginata Navas, 1923, Drusus botosaneanui Kumanski, 1968, Potamophylax rotundipennis (Brauer, 1857), Potamophylax schmidi Marinković-Gospodnetić, 1970, Ceraclea albimacula (Rambur, 1842), Helicopsyche bacescui Orghidan & Botosaneanu, 1953, Adicella filicornis (Pictet, 1834), Beraea maurus (Curtis, 1834) and Beraeamyia hrabei Mayer, 1937 illustrates that collections from poorly investigated areas in Europe will almost certainly revise the existing knowledge on the distribution of these and other species.     

The genus Omphreus in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro,with two new subspecies of O. morio (Coleoptera,Carabidae, Omphreini)

Two new ground beetle subspecies, Omphreus (Omphreus) moriosandelissp. n. (from Mts. Zelengora and Maglić, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Omphreus (Omphreus) moriodurmitorensisssp. n. (from Mt. Durmitor, northwestern Montenegro) are here described and diagnosed. The male and female genitalia and other taxonomically important characters are illustrated. The new taxa are distinctly different from the nearest relatives and represent both endemics and relicts inhabiting limited high-altitude Dinaric areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. A key to Omphreus taxa from Montenegro and a key to subspecies of Omphreus (Omphreus) morio Dejean, 1828 are presented.     

Annotated checklist of Albanian butterflies (Lepidoptera,Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea)

The Republic of Albania has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. However, due to its political isolation, it has never been studied in great depth, and consequently, the existing list of butterfly species is outdated and in need of radical amendment. In addition to our personal data, we have studied the available literature, and can report a total of 196 butterfly species recorded from the country. For some of the species in the list we have given explanations for their inclusion and made other annotations. Doubtful records have been removed from the list, and changes in taxonomy have been updated and discussed separately. The purpose of our paper is to remove confusion and conflict regarding published records. However, the revised checklist should not be considered complete: it represents a starting point for further research.     

The genus Rhyacophila Pictet, 1834 (Insecta: Trichoptera) in Kosovo

The Balkan Peninsula is known for its high species diversity, but it is also one of the least known areas of Europe. Many previously inaccessible regions lack reliable faunistic records. There are especially few data available for the highly diverse aquatic insects of the region. To help fill the gap, we conducted an extensive survey to map the Trichoptera fauna of the Republic of Kosovo, an area where faunistic records are extremely scarce. Adult specimens were collected during 2009 and 2010, with light traps and entomologic nets. Of 84 Trichoptera species identified from the 21 investigated stations, 15 belong to the genus Rhyacophila. This makes the genus the most species-rich in Kosovo. Rhyacophila fasciata and R. tristis are widespread in many streams and rivers all over the country, while R. balcanica, R. trescavicensis, R. obtusa and R. bosnica have limited distribution. Ten Rhyacophila species presented in this paper are recorded for the first time on the area of Kosovo. We also provide new data for the disjunctive distribution of R. palmeni in south-eastern Europe, from Kosovo and Croatia.     

Distribution of the endemic Balkan flora on serpentine I. – obligate serpentine endemics

Serpentine (ophiolithic) substrate covers large areas in the Balkans, more so than in any other part of Europe. These areas extend from north to south mainly in the mountainous central regions and represent specialized habitats for basiphilous-calcifugal plants. Biodiversity in the area is high, with a great number of interesting local and regional endemics. The high number of endemics indicates the importance of serpentine habitats as centres for floristic differentiation and speciation. The number of Balkan endemics growing on serpentine is c. 335 taxa (species and subspecies) of which 123 are obligate. Their distribution is presented in 50 × 50 km UTM squares as adopted in the Atlas Florae Europaeae project coordinated at Helsinki. The richest (in number of taxa) squares are situated in NW Greece (Epirus), the island of Evvia, N Albania together with SW Serbia, and N Greece (Vourinos). They indicate important centres of plant diversity in the Balkans, areas to be noted for conservation strategy. Features responsible for the distribution and abundance of these obligate serpentine endemics include: 1) edaphic isolation in relation to type of bedrock (lime, dolomite, marble, schist, etc.), 2) mountain island isolation (Smolikas, Vourinos, Ostrovica, etc.), 3) island isolation (Evvia) and 4) continuous long-term isolation without interruption or disturbance of speciation.     

Diversity of saproxylic bryophytes in old‐growth and managed beech forests in the central Balkans

Abstract

The diversity of saproxylic bryophyte species in beech forest stands from the wide region of the central Balkans (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro) was studied, and this study is the first of such a type in SE Europe. Comparison of preserved old‐growth and managed forests were made. Bryophyte species diversity is higher in primeval forest stands where the spectra of dead wood in various decaying stages of its dynamics are present. The ecological group of epixylic specialists is predominant among the bryophytes recorded. Threatened bryophyte species occur in old‐growth beech stands. The dead wood as habitat together with some other factors are extremely important for the surviving of epixylic bryophyte; so these species can be used as bioindicator bryophyte species of old‐growth or managed and structured forest ecosystems.     

The genus Cyphophthalmus (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi) in Europe: a phylogenetic approach to Balkan Peninsula biogeography

In this study, we present phylogenetic data to characterize the relationships among sironids centered in the Balkan region, and use these results to discuss biogeographical aspects of sironid evolution. Analysis of ca. 4.5 kb of sequence data from three nuclear and two mitochondrial genes reveals monophyly of a Balkan clade for which we resurrect the name Cyphophthalmus, considered a junior synonym of Siro for over a century. This clade diversified into several groups, and at least three of them--the duricorius group, the serbicus group, and the minutus group--are well corroborated by the data as monophyletic lineages. The members of the different groups, mostly living in troglobitic environments, have diversified in overlapping geographic regions, with evidence of an eastern origin for the group. Our data also suggest that mitochondrial and nuclear genes are all contributing towards the final resolution of the combined analysis of the data.     

Seventy-five-million-year-old tropical tetra-like fish from Canada tracks Cretaceous global warming

Newly discovered fossil fish material from the Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada, documents the presence of a tropical fish in this northern area about 75 million years ago (Ma). The living relatives of this fossil fish, members of the Characiformes including the piranha and neon tetras, are restricted to tropical and subtropical regions, being limited in their distribution by colder temperatures. Although characiform fossils are known from Cretaceous through to Cenozoic deposits, none has been reported previously from North America. The modern distribution of characiforms in Mexico and southern Texas in the southernmost United States is believed to have been the result of a relatively recent colonization less than 12 Ma. The new Canadian fossils document the presence of these fish in North America in the Late Cretaceous, a time of significantly warmer global temperatures than now. Global cooling after this time apparently extirpated them from the northern areas and these fishes only survived in more southern climes. The lack of early Cenozoic characiform fossils in North America suggests that marine barriers prevented recolonization during warmer times, unlike in Europe where Eocene characiform fossils occur during times of global warmth.