Morphological and molecular analysis of Ornithodoros hasei and Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon (Acari: Argasidae) from northeastern Argentina

In this study two species of soft ticks belonging to the genus Ornithodoros were recorded in three areas in the province of Corrientes, Argentina. Four larvae were identified as Ornithodoros hasei (Schulze, 1935) on Molossus molossus (Molossidae) in Paraje Tres Cerros (Department of San Martín), while 56 larvae were identified as Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon Kohls, Clifford & Jones, 1969 on Eptesicus furinalis and Myotis levis (Vespertilionidae) in Paraje Galarza (Department of Santo Tomé) and Colonia Carlos Pellegrini (Department of San Martín). These last two locations are found within the Esteros del Iberá eco-region. The known distribution range of O. hasei and O. cf. O. mimon is expanded to include the province of Corrientes. Two new ectoparasite-host associations were recorded for Argentina between O. hasei on M. molossus and O. cf. O. mimon on M. levis. The morphological differences together with the results of the phylogenetic analysis show that O. hasei presents genetic similarity with specimens from Brazil, and in Argentina, with ticks from Santa Fe. Instead, Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon recorded in Corrientes and Uruguay belong to a different taxon than the O. mimon recorded in Brazil and Santa Fe, Argentina. Based on this, O. mimon should be considered a complex of species in which the specimens from Corrientes are provisionally considered as Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon until their taxonomic status can be determined.

Distribution of the European bladdernut Staphylea pinnata (Staphyleaceae) in Poland

This paper presents the current distribution range of the protected shrub European bladdernut Staphylea pinnata in Poland. The study was based on a literature review, multidisciplinary search methods and field visits. The paper presents 211 sites considered as natural (including 48 new) and 143 sites considered as sites of anthropogenic origin (including 116 new). The data included in this paper extend the natural range of the species mainly in the Sudety Mts & Sudety Foreland, Rożnów Foothills, and the Tarnogród Plateau. It has been confirmed that the areas of Przemyśl Foothills (54 sites) and Dynów Foothills (49 sites) are the sites most abundant in bladdernut considered as natural. A few sites of anthropogenic origin have been found in the area of northern Poland, several hundred kilometres from the border of the bladdernut continual distribution range. In the case of sites of anthropogenic origin, knowledge of their distribution has increased significantly. This paper provides a basis for further research on the bladdernut in Poland and Europe and may be useful in population management of this protected species.

Proposals for improvement of Annex I of Directive 92/43/EEC: Sardinia

The ‘Habitats’ Directive (HD 92/43/EEC) is one of the primary legal tools aiming at conserving nature in Europe. Due to the complex iter to revise it, the habitats listed in the Annex I have been seldom updated after the HD adoption. Basing on already available information and expert knowledge, this paper presents a preliminary list of relevant habitats occurring in Sardinia, not yet considered and worth to be placed in the Annex I. Two new habitat proposals, one habitat new for Italy, and nine new subtypes of already existing HD habitats are here described. Most of the proposed new habitats and subtypes have a limited distribution range, due to the high number of narrow, often endangered, endemic species that characterize them. Being neglected, they are consequently poorly investigated, inconstantly monitored and unprotected. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to promote their conservation through implementation of HD and its interpretation manuals.

Anopheline species (Diptera: Culicidae) from the Maracá Ecological Station, Roraima State, Brazil

Anopheline species were sampled in different ecotones at Maracá Ecological Station and in Cantá municipality, both in Roraima State, Brazil, in June 2016. Nine species were recorded. Six species belong to the subgenus Nyssorhynchus and three species to the subgenus Anopheles. The most abundant species collected were Anopheles triannulatus s.l., Anopheles nuneztovari s.l. and Anopheles oswaldoi species B. The remaining species had frequencies lower than 10%. While A. triannulatus s.l. was the most frequent and the most widely distributed species in the studied area, Anopheles darlingi Root, the main malaria vector in the Brazilian Amazon region, was captured in two different ecotones and in low frequency. Our findings suggest that the risk of malaria outbreaks at Maracá Ecological Station may be low. This study also describes the first record of Anopheles costai Fonseca & Ramos in Maracá Ecological Station, Roraima State, increasing the distribution range of this taxon.

FIRST PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDS AND NEW DISTRIBUTION RANGE OF THE ENDANGERED LONG-TAILED NESOKIA NESOKIA BUNNII (KHAJURIA, 1981)

In the 1970s, the world knew the long-tailed nesokia Nesokia bunnii (Khajuria, 1981) (Rodentia, Muridae) from the Mesopotamian marshes of Garden of Eden in Southern Iraq. This distinct rodent was known from only five voucher specimens collected at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq while its occurrence in Southwestern Iran had never been reported. In the 1990s, a large extent of its natural habitat was catastrophically desiccated and the animal was last seen in the 1970s. Since then, the status of this elusive rodent was shrouded in mystery. In 2007, an extraordinary photograph of a carcass of this species came to the light from Hawizeh Marsh which was interpreted as concrete evidence of the species’ persistence in the marshes of southern Iraq after the desiccation in the last century. In 2021, after more than 40 years, exclusive photographic records of living N. bunnii were obtained for the first time from Central Marshes in southern Iraq and from Edhe’am Marsh in southwestern Iran. The new distribution range is highlighted in this note. Furthermore, the first photographs of living N. bunnii are provided along with notes on its ecology and behavior.

On limits of the distribution range of the Crimean rock lizard Darevskia lindholmi (Sauria: Lacertidae)

New data on the boundaries of the distribution range of the Lindholm rock lizard (Darevskia lindholmi), an endemic of the Crimean Peninsula, are presented. This petrophilous lizard inhabit a wide range of biotopes in various landscape levels of the Mountainous Crimea. The upper boundary of D. lindholmi distribution in the southwest of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains reaches an elevation of 1,520 m a.s.l. (Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla, KemalEgerek Mountain), while on the other high uplands with altitudes above 1.5 km and colder climate (Babugan and Chatyrdag), the species was traced only up to 1,250–1,320 m a.s.l. The northern border of D. lindholmi range in the western part of the Crimean Mountains runs along the Outer Foothill Range (the right bank of the Alma River), while in the eastern part it corresponds the northernmost rocky massifs of the Inner Foothill Range to the north of 45º N latitude. Isolated marginal populations found in the forest-steppe or phrygana-steppe landscapes of the Foothills and arid Southeastern Coast differs significantly in their distance from the main habitat of the species, lizards’ abundance and density. A hypothetical history of the formation of the current range of the Lindholm lizard is discussed.