Caves represent aphotic subterranean environments characterised by the absence of photosynthetic primary production. The discovery of a sulfidic subterranean ecosystem in Movile Cave (Romania), in 1986, followed by similar discoveries made later in other sulfidic caves, showed that significant trophic resources can be produced chemoautotrophically in situ underground. These resources can support exceptionally abundant and diverse subterranean biological communities, including numerous endemic invertebrate species. To date, every sulfidic cave ecosystem explored has emerged as a hotspot of subterranean biodiversity.

Here, we report on two sulfidic hypogenic cave systems recently explored in south-east Albania in the Vromoner and Langarica canyons. These caves were formed through sulfuric acid speleogenesis, as evidenced by the large subterranean deposits of gypsum and sulfur that cover the cave walls. Recent field observations and surveys revealed abundant sulfur-oxidizing biofilms and rich and diverse invertebrate communities inhabiting these caves. Light carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios support the hypothesis that subterranean foodwebs are chemoautotrophy-based, relying on in situ carbon fixation. To date, ten endemic arthropod species have been identified here (scorpions, pseudoscorpions, spiders, springtails, centipedes, and beetles). Notably, a massive colonial spiderweb, hosting over 50,000 specimens of Tegenaria domestica (Agelenidae), was found covering the limestone wall in a sulfur cave. Several species of bats have been identified, including a rare species (Myotis bechsteinii), and large maternity colonies were discovered and surveyed. Our primary focus is on the subterranean biodiversity, ecology, and geomicrobiology of these caves.

We are engaging with local stakeholders to foster conservation actions for the protection of these unique sulfidic caves and for the conservation of the biological communities they host. In collaboration with European initiatives “Save the Balkan Rivers” and “The Blue heart of Europe”, we advocate for the inclusion of these canyons and their caves in the regional national parks of Greece and Albania.

Introduction. Wing venation is used in the taxonomy of insects such as ants (Perfilieva K.S., 2010), honey bees (Porporato M., et al.,2014, Eligül H., et al., 2017), and others. Accounting for venation anomalies can be successfully done in population monitoring (Muzlanov Y.A., 2002). Many authors have studied natural venation anomalies in honey bees. Their various types and localizations have been described (Porporato M., et al.,2014, Eligül H., et al., 2017, Mazeed A.M.M., 2011).

Methods: The work on accounting for anomalies in the venation of the fore wings was performed in the laboratory of the FSBSI "FBRC" by viewing images containing the fore wings (left and right) of honey bees and registering these anomalies in a specially designed form.

Results: It has been established from literary sources that there are 22 types of anomalies in the venation of the front wings of honey bees. By analyzing the obtained wing images, we have identified 17 types of anomalies, of which 6 are not described in the literature. The anomalies encountered in the analysis of wing images were recorded in the form we developed. Photos of the found anomalies were taken. A total of 2,240 pairs of front wings were analyzed, of which 794 pairs had at least one anomaly. The most common types of anomalies were "c" and "j". The average number of anomalies per bee was 0.41±0.034, with fluctuations from 0.05 to 1.32 and a coefficient of variation of 61.4%.

Conclusions: The frequencies of the occurrence of different types of wing venation anomalies were established, of which type "j"—57.6% and type "c"—15.9% were the most common. The average number of anomalies per bee was 0.41±0.034. n total, 6 types of anomalies not described in the literature were determined.

Eutyphoeus Michaelsen 1900, a native genus of Indian earthworms, was recently reclassified into the Acanthodrilidae family (previously Octochaetidae). This genus has endemic species in various regions, including Myanmar, the Eastern Himalaya, the Indo-Gangetic lowlands, and the Northeast mountains. Phylogenetic research has revealed genuine connections between these taxa. To date, only three studies—two from Mizoram and one from Meghalaya—have utilized molecular systematics for these taxa. This study employed integrative taxonomy to explore the relationships among Eutyphoeus species in India. This made it easier to discriminate between closely related species using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (CO1). A total of 48 CO1 sequences were analysed alongside sequences retrieved from databases using various species delimitation tools (ASAP and ABGD), phylogenetic analysis (ML and BI), and haplotype networking. The findings documented 19 Eutyphoeus species with CO1 sequences from two biogeographic zones, the Northeast region and the Gangetic plains (5 species of the present study), out of the 28 species reported from India. All species except one form monophyletic clades with strong statistical support. However, E. incommodus split into three lineages, suggesting the existence of cryptic species. Although Eutyphoeus exhibits erratic dispersal patterns, phylogeographic pattern analysis indicates that it is primarily native to its regions of origin. Additionally, the study supports Gates' (1972) hypothesis on the phylogeographic distribution pattern of the genus Eutyphoeus.

The Role of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in the Transmission of Sarcocystis Species from Farm Animals and Wild Cervids

Naglis Gudiškis¹, Donatas Šneideris¹, Evelina Juozaitytė-Ngugu¹, Petras Prakas¹, Dalius Butkauskas¹

¹Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania

naglis.gudiskis@gmail.com

Sarcocystis are unicellular protozoan parasites that infect various animals through a two-host life cycle. They develop sarcocysts in different tissues of their intermediate hosts (IH), which can lead to significant economic losses when these hosts are farm animals. The parasites are transmitted by definitive hosts (DHs), usually predators and scavengers. In Lithuania, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) are among the most common wild canids, noted for their adaptability to various environmental conditions. These predatory mammals, along with other members of the Canidae and Felidae families, play a key role in spreading various parasites. Limited data exist on the role of these canids in transmitting Sarcocystis parasites, thus this study examined their involvement in Lithuania.

During 2021–2023, intestinal samples of 13 hunted red foxes and 12 raccoon dogs were collected and subjected to molecular analysis using a nested PCR and sequencing of the cox1 gene. Based on the results, 14 different Sarcocystis species were identified: S. arieticanis and S. tenella (IH: sheep), S. bertrami (IH: horses), S. capracanis (IH: goats), S. miescheriana (IH: pigs and wild boars), S. alces, S. capreolicanis, S. gracilis, S. hjorti, S. iberica, S. linearis, S. morae, S. taeniata, and S. venatoria (IH: Cervidae). The preliminary results indicate that red fox is more common in the distribution of Sarcocystis species whose IHs are farm animals compared to raccoon dog. These findings indicate that both the red fox and raccoon dog are significant in the spread of Sarcocystis species, whose IHs are farm animals and wild cervids.

Chalcidoidea is the second largest superfamily after Ichneumonoidea and they have a greater range of biological diversity than any other parasitic superfamily. They are mostly parasitoids but are also known to be phytophagous. Chalcids associated with plant galls can induce galls or can occur as parasitoids of gall-forming insects and, in some cases, exist as inquilines. A preliminary study was carried out in Karnataka, India during the year 2023--2024 to document the association of chalcid wasps with plant galls. During surveys, leaf galls were collected from Acacia chundra Rottler, Carissa spinarum L., Erythrina sp., Ficus racemosa L., Pongamia pinnata (L.), Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.), and two other undetermined plants. The galls were placed inside rearing containers and monitored for wasp emergence. It was observed that among the galls sampled, the gall niche was mostly utilised by members of the family Eulophidae (Subfamily: Tetrastichinae). In the present study, a pteromalid wasp—Cheiropachus sp.—was newly recorded from leaf galls of Carissa spinarum, and it is an interesting observation since members of genus Cheiropachus have only been recorded from Coleoptera (Bostrichidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionidae, and Scolytidae) hosts previously. A checklist of chalcid wasps and their associated plant galls is provided along with their likely host.

Crustaceans represent an important group of macrofauna benthic in the coastal marine ecosystems, constitute important linkages in the food web, and can respond nonlinearly to environmental changes. Crustaceans’ diversity of the Gulf of Gabès was studied in eight localities in southern Tunisian coasts during the last years (2019--2024), and Benthic crustaceans sampling in the southern Tunisian coasts was carried out using a Van Veen grab, covering an area of about 0.05 m². In total, 20,114 individuals belonging to 262 crustacean species were identified. Amphipoda (48% total species), Decapoda (23%), and Isopoda (16%) are the most dominant taxa. Seagrass meadows (Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera noltei) constitute a suitable habitat for crustacean species in the Gulf of Gabès and include high diversity. The multivariate analysis (MDS, ANOSIM,..) revealed significant differences in the composition and trophic diversity of crustaceans' assemblages among the eight studied sites, and showed that the crustaceans’ distribution in the southern Tunisian coasts was correlated by many natural and anthropogenic factors, such as depth, sediment type, organic matter, and pollution gradient. This study suggests initiating a long-term monitoring program to improve our understanding of the temporal changes of crustacean communities in the Gulf of Gabès to recommend the necessary conservation measures in this area of high-value natural heritage.

Euphorinae is one of the largest subfamilies of Braconidae with more than 1,270 described species worldwide (Yu et al., 2016). In India, as of now, a total of more than 60 species have been described under 15 different genera. The genus Streblocera Westwood is one of the unique genera among the euphorines with female specimens having raptorial like antennae and long scapes. Members of this genus are known to be koinobiont endoparasitoids of adult chrysomelid beetles with more than 120 valid species present worldwide under five sub genera Asiastreblocera, Cosmophoridia, Eutanycerus, Villocera, and Streblocera (Li et al. 2021). Streblocera is still an understudied group in many parts of India with only ten species recorded under the subgenus Eutanycerus until now. Among them, nine species have been recorded from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh States (Shamim, 2013) and one species has been reported from Tamil Nadu State (Gupta et al., 2022). The subgenus Asiastreblocera can be differentiated from other subgenera by having a face with an acute horn and fifth metaso­mal sternite with a pair of acute teeth (Chen and van Achterberg, 1997). A total of six species under the subgenus Asiastreblocera are reported from the Oriental region (China, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand). In the present study, we report the occurrence of the subgenus Asiastreblocera for the first time in India, along with a list of known species occurring in India.

The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent, which is native to South-America, but it has also been introduced to several other parts of the world as well. For example, it has become widespread in Central Europe. In Slovakia, nutrias were kept for fur and meat production, which historically dates back to the 1920’s. Some of these animals escaped, others were released after the bankruptcy of nutria-based fur industry. Established populations of wild nutria have a number of harmful activities, such as deterioration of water management structures, damage to agriculture, etc.

Our aim is to study this animal in Slovakia and answer the following questions:

• Are the female and male individuals well-developed in the wild and in good condition for reproduction?
• How intensively does the species reproduce in this non-native area?

We collected our samples by trapping and hunting in differrent seasons, then the carcasses were investigated in the laboratory.

Our results showed that the animals were in good condition. Meanwhile the adult specimens were bigger than the juveniles, the males’ and females’ body sizes were not significantly different (body weight, body mass and body length index). We concluded that the nutria can be highly reproductive, as the average number of embryos in pregnant females was 6.6±2.1. From March to October 70% of females (11 of 12 adults and 3 of 8 juveniles) were pregnant, and we found a specimen with 10 embryos even in October.

The nutria is able to reproduce and spread rapidly in the introduced areas, potentially leading to adverse environmental or economic effects. Therefore, an urgent intervention is needed to stop their expansion, and possibly eradicate them.

The ichthyological collection at the Museu de História Natural da Bahia (MHNBA) in Bahia, Brazil, started in the 1970s, initially focusing on marine species. Between 2003 and 2024, several field expeditions were conducted to explore the taxonomic and geographic diversity of freshwater species across eight Brazilian ecoregions. Since 2005, and especially in the last seven years, expeditions funded by Brazilian development agencies have been carried out to collect fish tissues, establishing the fish tissue collection at MHNBA. In 2019, the collection began to be digitized and a standardized sample management procedure was implemented. Currently, the ichthyological collection at MHNBA, with material preserved in formalin, consists of approximately 10.500 catalogued lots from about 1,600 locations, stored in 70% alcohol and housed in sliding cabinets. The tissue collection is stored in vertical freezers at -18°C, organized in Eppendorf tubes (aliquots and whole specimens), and distributed in numbered boxes and drawers. All information is recorded in the cataloguing system to facilitate access and curation. To date, 6,044 specimens from 105 genera and 263 species have been catalogued. This collection also includes samples of 29 paratypes from four freshwater fish species. The number of species is likely underestimated, as individuals identified only to the generic level were excluded from the count, and many lots still need to be catalogued. Additionally, the collection includes samples of species that are uncommon in tissue collections, such as Hasemania piatan, Lignobrycon myersi, Moenkhausia diamantina, and Hyphessobrycon negodagua. The fish tissue collection at MHNBA is one of the most significant in the Brazilian Northeast and has been instrumental in developing various projects, primarily focused on the integrative taxonomy and phylogeography of freshwater fishes.

Sarcocystosis infection is caused by coccidian parasites of the genus Sarcocystis. These globally distributed parasites can infect humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. They exhibit a two-host life cycle, involving both intermediate and definitive hosts, based on a prey–predator relationship. The intermediate hosts develop sarcocysts in their muscles after being infected through contaminated food or water, while definitive hosts develop sporocysts in their intestines, completing the parasite's life cycle. Canids, such as wolves, dogs, foxes, jacals, and raccoon dogs are amongst the main spreaders of Sarcocystis spp. Dogs are integral to both human and animal life, and their interaction with humans is an inseparable part of many cultures. They are not only companions but also carriers of various parasitic infections, including Toxocara canis, Echinococcus granulosus, Sarcocystis, etc. However, limited data exist on the role of dogs in transmitting Sarcocystis parasites, particularly in Europe. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and richness of Sarcocystis species in dog feces in Vilnius, Lithuania.

A total of 25 environmental fecal samples of domestic dogs were collected in Vilnius city. Samples were concentrated using the flotation–sedimentation method. Infective forms of Sarcocystis parasites were not observed under the light microscope. However, molecular analyses using nested PCR and sequencing of the mitochondrial cox1 gene led to the identification of four Sarcocystis species, S. miescheriana, S. arieticanis, S. tenella, and S. hjorti, with pigs, sheep, and deer as their intermediate hosts. The prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. was estimated at 32.0%. This study provides the first molecular insights into the diversity of Sarcocystis species in the feces of domestic dogs in Vilnius. These findings underscore the importance of molecular techniques in identifying and understanding the epidemiology of Sarcocystis and pave the way for future research and control measures in Europe and beyond.