Apennine Peninsula Research Articles

Sculpting the Glauberg "prince". A traceological research of the Celtic sculpture and related fragments from the Glauberg (Hesse, Germany).

Article presents the results of a complex traceological research of the famous statue of the „prince”of Glauberg, found in an Early La Tène funeral complex in Glauberg (Hesse). Research focused also on two other fragments of related sandstone sculptures, found together with the Glauberger prince. The sandstone „prince”of Glauberg was already in the past a subject of many archaeological studies. Nevertheless, all or absolute majority of them were focused on aspects of art historian nature or on the question of the origin, role and function of such sculptures in the Early Iron Age Central Europe. On the contrary, the aim of our research is oriented exclusively on the questions related to the manufacture of this sculpture, identification of used sculptor´s tools and applied working techniques. Our research was realised by means of digital documentation followed by the aplication of traceological methods. The character of the survived working traces on the sculpture´s surfaces was studied by mechanoscopy, while the material of used tools was determined by X-ray fluorescence. The reconstructions of used tools were compared with the existing tools as represented by the Iron Age archaeological finds. This comparison was oriented on the most relevant regions of developed La Tène culture, particularly on South Western Germany and Bohemia. However, also other relevant area, significant as the possible source of inspiration of Celtic sculptors for the creation of the monumental sculpture–Apennine peninsula, was taken into consideration. Our research revealed individual steps and phases during the sculpture´s manufacture, enabled the reconstrucion of used tools and confirmed real existence of such tools in mentioned regions. Finally it has brought first indices of the necessity of the distinguishing between ideological and technological aspects of related Celtic sculpture, when considering possible influence of Apennine peninsula on transalpine Central Europe.

Statistical precursors of a strong earthquake on April 6, 2009 on the Apennine Peninsula

The article discusses the possibility of formulating a conclusion about the transition in early April 2009 to an exceptional state of the geophysical system in an area with a radius of about several hundred kilometers from Rome. This fact preceded the tragic earthquake on April 6, 2009, which led to large casualties in the Italian city of L’Aquila. This conclusion was obtained based on an analysis of the statistics of the critical frequency of the ionosphere. In the course of calculations, in particular, phenomena with a high degree of determinism that preceded the specified seismic event were detected. The fact of their existence with a high probability indicates the occurrence of an exclusive state of the regional geophysical system in the period of about several days before this event. It was depicted that the identified phenomena precede a significant number of seismic events. Based on the analysis of variations in the statistics of the critical frequency of the ionosphere in the Apennine region in 2007–2011, including those preceding the earthquake near the city of L’Aquila on April 6, 2009, an algorithm was formulated to detect a significant probability of transition to an exclusive state of the corresponding local segment of the geophysical system. The approach proposed in the article can be used to compile a short-term that is, calculated for the coming days, forecast of the existence of a significant probability of the occurrence of seismic events of large magnitude in various regions of the world.

The Beginning of the Pontificate of Gregory XVI
 and the Military-Political Crisis in the Apennine Peninsula in 1831

The article outlines the prospects for the further study of Pope Gregory XVI (Bartolomeo Alberto Capellari) (1831–1846). The paper deals with some judgments about the personality and rule of the pontiff that fit into the framework of the «black legend» about Gregory XVI. The years of 1831–1846 in the history
 of the Holy See remain a poorly studied period in the scientific literature. The article marks seven further areas of study devoted to Pope Gregory XVI that relate to the foreign and domestic policy of the Papal State.
 The study presents a brief overview of the political history of the Holy See in the 1823–1831. The paper highlites circumstances of the election of Cardinal Capellari at the conclave in February 1831. The article examines the circumstances in which Gregory XVI took the chair of St. Peter: in February-March
 1831 Italy found itself in a state of a military and political crisis that was resolved only after the intervention of French and Austrian troops. Under the pressure from foreign states (Austria, France, Russia, England, and Prussia), Gregory XVI
 agreed to carry out some reforms within the Papal State. First of all, the changes affected the system of administration of the Holy See. Nevertheless, despite the pressure from Austria, many planned reforms remained unfulfilled.

Exclusion in the City Space: the Italian Experience

This article draws attention to the problems of exclusion and building frontiers in urban space. At the same time, the focus of the study is concentrated on the systematic nature of the formation of cultural exclusion zones at different time intervals in the history and culture of the Apennine Peninsula, that is, on the territory of the modern Italy. The reflection of exclusion in the city, which occurs throughout the urban history of Italy, is reflected and fixed in the history of Italian culture and art and in the phenomena of building physical and symbolic boundaries, marginalization and appropriation of space associated with this phenomenon.
 This work is intended to prove the need to transform the erroneous position that exclusion is characteristic only of a modern city, a megapolis as a product of globalization, while the exclusion of an individual in an urban environment and the development of urban civilization are two interrelated and simultaneous processes that are developing over the centuries.
 Taking into account the affects and experience of fixing exclusion in the urban cultural spaces of the Apennine Peninsula, the author comes to the conclusion that the history of urban culture fixes the presence of exclusion, which is characteristic of the individual living in the urban space from the very moment the city appeared and the corresponding subject-centric urban culture, the existence in which unfolds in the space of subordination, overcoming borders or resistance to the social order it gives rise to. All of these factors also affect the identity of the subject of urban everyday life. Italy, traditionally understood as the cradle of civilization and world culture, provides one of the most representative experiences of building, fixing, reflecting and experiencing exclusion in the urban environment due to the evolutionary process of changing and crossing different cultures.

Stability in the South, Turbulence Toward the North: Evolutionary History of Aurinia saxatilis (Brassicaceae) Revealed by Phylogenomic and Climatic Modelling Data.

The Balkan Peninsula played an important role in the evolution of many Mediterranean plants and served as a major source for post-Pleistocene colonisation of central and northern Europe. Its complex geo-climatic history and environmental heterogeneity significantly influenced spatiotemporal diversification and resulted in intricate phylogeographic patterns. To explore the evolutionary dynamics and phylogeographic patterns within the widespread eastern Mediterranean and central European species Aurinia saxatilis, we used a combination of phylogenomic (restriction-site associated DNA sequencing, RADseq) and phylogenetic (sequences of the plastid marker ndhF) data as well as species distribution models generated for the present and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The inferred phylogenies retrieved three main geographically distinct lineages. The southern lineage is restricted to the eastern Mediterranean, where it is distributed throughout the Aegean area, the southern Balkan Peninsula, and the southern Apennine Peninsula, and corresponds to the species main distribution area during the LGM. The eastern lineage extends from the eastern Balkan Peninsula over the Carpathians to central Europe, while the central lineage occupies the central Balkan Peninsula. Molecular dating places the divergence among all the three lineages to the early to middle Pleistocene, indicating their long-term independent evolutionary trajectories. Our data revealed an early divergence and stable in situ persistence of the southernmost, eastern Mediterranean lineage, whereas the mainland, south-east European lineages experienced more complex and turbulent evolutionary dynamics triggered by Pleistocene climatic oscillations. Our data also support the existence of multiple glacial refugia in southeast Europe and highlight the central Balkan Peninsula not only as a cradle of lineage diversifications but also as a source of lineage dispersal. Finally, the extant genetic variation within A. saxatilis is congruent with the taxonomic separation of peripatric A. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis and A. saxatilis subsp. orientalis, whereas the taxonomic status of A. saxatilis subsp. megalocarpa remains doubtful.

The taxonomy of Leucanthemum ircutianum (Asteraceae, Anthemideae) in the Apennine Peninsula based on AFLP fingerprinting, plastid DNA sequence variation and eco-climatological niche reconstruction

Abstract The tetraploid species Leucanthemum ircutianum (Asteraceae, Anthemideae) is represented in the Apennine Peninsula by three infraspecific taxa, L. ircutianum subsp. ircutianum, L. ircutianum subsp. asperulum and L. ircutianum subsp. leucolepis. The present study uses AFLP fingerprinting and sequencing of the petN–psbM intergenic spacer (IGS) region of the plastid genome for inferring genetic relationships among these three subspecies and aims at the elaboration of an appropriate taxonomic treatment of these taxa. Due to the amphi-Adriatic distribution of these taxa, additional samples from the Balkan Peninsula and representatives of L. ircutianum subsp. ircutianum from north-western Italy, south-eastern France, Romania and southern Germany were included. Genetic analyses reveal that L. ircutianum subsp. asperulum from southern Italy and L. ircutianum subsp. leucolepis from the Balkan Peninsula and the northern and central Apennine Peninsula are identical and should be treated as a single taxon. The observation of genetically intermediate individuals throughout the overlapping distributional ranges of L. ircutianum subspp. ircutianum and leucolepis and in a surveyed mixed stand of the two taxa indicate that these are not reproductively isolated from each other. The analysis of eco-climatological niches of the two subspecies indicates that L. ircutianum subsp. ircutianum is found in more temperate regions, whereas L. ircutianum subsp. leucolepis prefers the Mediterranean fringe of the total distributional range of the species. A hybrid-zone analysis based on AFLP ‘allele frequency’ clines along a transect from Germany to southern Italy is interpreted as supporting a scenario of secondary contact of the two entities after some diversification in allopatry. On the basis of our results, we provide a taxonomic treatment of the species L. ircutianum for Italy, including the designation of three lectotypes.

ВИЗАНТИЙСКИЕ ГАРНИЗОНЫ В ИТАЛИИ В VI ВЕКЕ: ПРОБЛЕМА ЛОЯЛЬНОСТИ ИМПЕРАТОРУ

The article examines the relations between Byzantine garrisons on the Apennine Peninsula and the emperors in the 6th century. Already during the (re)conquest of Italy, measures were taken to integrate these territories into the Byzantine structures of the civil and military administration. However, the remoteness of the region periodically led to the interruptions of material supply of the Italian troops. These difficulties negatively affected the authority of the emperors among the military men. Another major problem was the scarcity of forces stationed in Italy. In addition, among them, there were many soldiers and commanders of barbarian origin, whose loyalty to Byzantium was largely situational. For these reasons, when faced with a numerous and successful enemy, they could defect to its side. Such was the situation on the Apennine Peninsula in 541, when the Ostrogoths, led by King Totila, went over to a counteroffensive. In all likelihood, the situation was similar during the Lombard conquest of Northern Italy in 568. The remoteness from the capital of the empire also led to the fact that the soldiers were more focused on loyalty not to the Byzantine rulers, but to local military leaders. These factors caused the weakness of imperial positions on the Apennine Peninsula.

THE ETRUSCANS AN EXTINCT INDO-ARYAN CIVILIZATIONOF ANCIENT EUROPE

Who were the mysterious Ancient Apennine tribe called Etruscans and what was the language they actually used to speak? Despite numerous attempts at decipherment and some claims of success, the Etruscan records still defy translation. Paradoxically, though the Etruscan letters derived from Euboean Greek alphabet are well known and easily readable, the Etruscan language itself still remains an enigma and is only partly understood. There is no literature in Etruscan left behind, but rather several thousand inscriptions, mostly of religious significance, engraved on sarcophagi and cremation urns. The present paper following the authentic Etruscan emphasis on the importance of the religious content of the inscriptions, coupled with the latest genetic studies of the Etruscan population, attempts at decoding anew the real origins of the ancient Etruscan people in the Apennine peninsula.

Where did the Central European populations of Ornatoraphidia flavilabris (Costa) come from? (Neuropterida, Raphidioptera, Raphidiidae)

Ornatoraphidia flavilabris (Costa, 1851) is one of 15 snakefly species occurring in southern parts of Central Europe. It is a polycentric Mediterranean faunal element with refugia in the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula. Two phylogeographic questions are dealt with in this paper: (1) Is it possible to differentiate, morphologically or genetically, the Balkanic populations from the Italian? (2) Did the species reach Central Europe from the Balkan or Apennine Peninsula? These questions were investigated using morphological and molecular biological methods. No morphological characters were uncovered which could serve to differentiate specimens from either distribution center. However, differences were detected in cox1, cox3 and 28S genes which allow for a reliable differentiation. Central European populations were largely identical with populations from Italy, but distinctly different from specimens from Greece. This could lead one to assume that the species migrated from Italy to Central Europe, although colonization from the southeast would appear easier due to more favorable orographic conditions. This discrepancy may be explained by the apparent absence of O. flavilabris from the large central part of the Balkan Peninsula, so that a gap exists between the southern and northern areas inhabited by O. flavilabris. Moreover, the species does not occur in eastern parts of Europe. Thus it would be more probable to assume that the occurrence of the species in the northwest Balkan Peninsula can be traced to migrations from the Apennine Peninsula to areas north and northeast of the Adriatic Sea, where O. flavilabris may have colonized the southeast of Central Europe. A migration of Adriatomediterranean faunal elements from the northwest Balkan Peninsula to Central Europe might be of more significance than previously assumed.

Commercial practices of the Italian merchantry during the XIII–XV centuries: cross-cultural communication

The problem of cross-cultural contacts is one of the most relevant topics in the research field of culturology. This article turns to the question of cross-cultural interaction on the example of medieval colonization of the maritime republics of the Apennine Peninsula. The object of this research is the economic and cultural processes of Italian expansion in the XIII–XV centuries. The subject is the commercial practices of the merchants, specifically from the republics Amalfi, Genoa, Venice, Pisa, and Florence. The goal of this article consists in the analysis of operations and practices introduced into the European economy from the culturological perspective. The leading methodological vector relies on the theory of cultural transfer developed by the French researcher Michel Espagne. It is established that that a range of economic and cultural phenomena is the product of cultural transfer. The application of M. Espagne’s theory of cultural transfer to the analysis of the phenomenon of Italian colonization is carried out for the first time, which defines the novelty of this work. The research results lies in the analysis of establishment of the economic and cultural phenomena, determination of cooperation of the republics of the Apennine Peninsula within the region and other European states and Arab culture, as well as the consideration of the republics of the Apennine Peninsula as trade partners, rather than competing countries alone. The provided materials can me valuable in the sphere of Mediterranean studies, for the development of cross-disciplinary scientific projects in the area of culturology and economics, as well as for profound research of Italian culture and the phenomenon of expansion of the republics of the Apennine Peninsula in the Middle Ages.

AN OVERVIEW ON THE LATE MIOCENE VERTEBRATES FROM THE FISSURE FILLINGS OF MONTICINO QUARRY (BRISIGHELLA, ITALY), WITH NEW DATA ON NON-MAMMALIAN TAXA

The latest Messinian Monticino Quarry fissure fillings, near Brisighella in Italy, are well known for their diverse mammal fauna. Conversely, little is known about other vertebrates from this rich site. Beside presenting an overview of the mammals, here we describe fish, amphibian, reptile, and bird remains, identifying three, eight, at least 18, and five taxa, respectively. Some of these represent the oldest occurrences either worldwide (an erycine snake related to Eryx jaculus, Malpolon, and otidids birds) or locally (common toads in the Apennine Peninsula and eremiadine lacertids in Europe, the latter being also the only known occurrence of these lizards in Italy). Altogether, the vertebrate fauna from Monticino Quarry is indicative of a complex palaeoenvironment, which was warm and somehow dry. Water bodies were indeed present though, as well as a patchy set of habitats with loose or sandy soils, rocky outcrops, open biotopes, and (even though maybe to a lesser extent) wooded areas. Furthermore, estuarine or lagoonal conditions were likely present near the depositional site. From a palaeobiogeographical point of view, the non-mammal vertebrate assemblage from Monticino Quarry shows considerable Afro-Asian affinities at least for some components. In the context of the Italian late Miocene continental vertebrate assemblages, that of Monticino is remarkably similar to those from the Piedmont Basin, especially if compared with the Tusco-Sardinian area, Apulian Platform, Calabrian Arc and Sicily. This is consistent with the palaeobiogeographic scenario defined by mammal assemblages, with northcentral Italy, Tuscany and Sardinia, Apulian Platform, and Calabria and Sicily representing separated bioprovinces.

Arganiella Giusti & Pezzoli, 1980 (Caenogastropoda: Truncatelloidea: Hydrobiidae): a widespread genus or several narrow-range endemic genera?

Most valvatiform genera of the gastropod family Hydrobiidae are narrow-range taxa. One exception is the genus Arganiella, which is comprised of three congeners: the type species A. pescei from the Apennine Peninsula, A. wolfi from the Iberian Peninsula and A. tabanensis from the Balkans. The genus assignment of the latter two species was based on morphological similarities with A. pescei in the shell, operculum, radula and genitalia. Given that the morphology of hydrobiids is sometimes susceptible to convergence, this study re-evaluates the taxonomic status of species of Arganiella by analysing mitochondrial (mtCOI) and nuclear (18S rRNA) sequences of topotypes or near topotypes to infer their phylogenetic position. Our phylogenetic analyses depicted Arganiella as a non-monophyletic group within Hydrobiidae, and sequence divergence among the three species ranged from 14.5 to 16.7% for mtCOI and 2.0 to 3.8% for 18S. We also re-examined the extent of morphological variation among species of Arganiella and found a few differences among them and other valvatiform genera. Consequently, we propose two new genera for A. wolfi and A. tabanensis. Our results conflict with the classification of valvatiform hydrobiid species solely based on traditional phenotypical methods and suggest further taxonomic evaluation within a molecular framework.

The Overall assessment of the dynamics of dust load over the South-East European region

This paper presents a general view of the aerosol presence over the southeastern region of Europe. Analyses are presented in terms of the aerosol optical depth and fraction areas covered by dust plumes. The overall results show a relatively high dust load over the region, compared to the northern European regions. Almost similar results are obtained in the case of the other southern European regions, such is Iberian and Apennine Peninsulas. However, the annual cycles also clarify the differences on AOD maxima over this region in relation with other southern regions. The southeastern region is more affected by the dust intrusions especially during spring season whilst the south-western region is affected with more intensity during the summer season.

Helminth communities of endemic cyprinoids of the Apennine Peninsula, with remarks on ectoparasitic monogeneans, and a description of four new Dactylogyrus Diesing, 1850 species.

The fauna of the Apennine Peninsula is, in comparison to other southern European peninsulas, relatively species-poor regarding the number of endemic cyprinoid species. Nonetheless, the recent introduction of non-native species has significantly increased the total number of freshwater species in this region. Such invasive species may represent a threat to the native fauna, associated among other things with the introduction of non-native parasites with their original hosts.In the present study, we investigated endemic cyprinoid species for the presence of helminth parasites. A total of 36 ectoparasitic monogenean species and five endoparasitic helminth species were collected from ten cyprinoid species in five localities in northern Italy. Out of 20 Dactylogyrus species (gill monogeneans specific to cyprinoids), four were identified as new to science and herein described: Dactylogyrus opertus n. sp. and Dactylogyrus sagittarius n. sp. from Telestes muticellus, Dactylogyrus conchatus n. sp. from T. muticellus and Protochondrostoma genei, and Dactylogyrus globulatus n. sp. from Chondrostoma soetta. All new Dactylogyrus species appear to be endemic to the Apennine Peninsula; however, they share a common evolutionary history with the endemic Dactylogyrus parasitizing cyprinoids of the Balkans. This common origin of cyprinoid-specific parasites supports a historical connection between these two (currently separated) geographical regions.

DNA barcodes combined with geometric morphometry challenge species hypothesis in palaemonid shrimp

Although the Mediterranean Region is known as a hotspot for biodiversity and endemism its freshwater fauna is still greatly unexplored, and even the emblematic taxa such as decapods require in-depth integrative investigation. In our research we used integrative approach composed of various geometric morphometric and molecular methods to challenge the taxonomic status of two freshwater shrimps representing Palaemonidae: Palaemon antennarius and Palaemon minos. Basing on 352 COI sequences, three Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) were defined. Two of them belonged to P. antennarius: first inhabiting Apennine Peninsula and Sicily, the second one from the Balkan Peninsula. The third MOTU corresponded to Palaemon minos from Crete. The Balkan MOTU of P. antennarius was closer to P. minos in terms of genetics, than to the other conspecific MOTU. The carapace shape variation, studied on 180 individuals, was mainly explained by the geographic distribution. Balkan and Cretan groups were clearly distinguished, while other samples were distributed along the shape gradient from Sicily and southern Apennine Peninsula to the Balkans. The results of our study showed that, either the MOTU assigned to the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily constitutes a separate species or, alternatively, P. minos should be synonymised with P. antennarius.

Is cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) the right DNA barcoding marker for the Chaetopteryx villosa group?

Chaetopteryx villosa (Fabricius, 1798) is a caddisfly species distributed throughout Europe, except in the Balkan and Apennine Peninsula. However, phylogenetically close species belonging to the C. villosa group are widespread throughout entire Europe. Species of this group (C. villosa, C. gessneri, C. fusca, C. sahlbergi, C. atlantica, C. bosniaca, C. vulture, and C. trinacriae) have distinct distributions with some overlaps. Adult forms of these species are morphologically similar, whereas larval morphology is only known for some species. There are also indications of species hybridization (e.g., C. villosa x fusca). Presumably, the molecular approach for the species determination of this group would be highly beneficial. In the BOLD database, there are 154 specimens with COI-5P barcodes of C. villosa species. Out of the remaining species, C. sahlbergi has 27 specimens with a barcode, C. fusca 20, C. gessneri 5, C. bosniaca 5, and C. atlantica 1, whereas sequences from the species C. vulture and C. trinacriae are missing. Therefore, we tested the power of discrimination of the COI-5P marker in the C. villosa group, as the most common barcoding markers for species identification in animals. Only sequences from public records originating from experienced research groups or taxonomists and containing a specimen photograph were taken as input. A total of 75 sequences from the BOLD database were obtained. Out of these sequences, 11 belonged to C. fusca, 5 to C. gessneri, 52 to C. villosa, 5 to C. bosniaca, and 2 to C. sahlbergi. For the generation of overview trees, COI-5P barcodes of Rhyacophila fasciata and Rh. nubila were used as outgroups. All sequences were trimmed at 5’ and 3’ ends, resulting in a final alignment length of 516 base pairs. Multiple sequence alignments and editing were done in the MEGA-X software. Analysis of nucleotide polymorphism was done in DNASP6 software. MEGA-X was used to calculate the pairwise distance and overall mean p-distance, and to construct the overview trees. Analysis of DNA polymorphism revealed 14 haplotypes of C. villosa, 3 haplotypes of C. fusca, 2 haplotypes of C. gessneri, and one for species C. bosniaca and C. sahlbergi. There were no significant interspecific and intraspecific differences among haplotypes based on pairwise distances. The p-distance between one of the haplotypes of C. fusca and C. villosa was 0.000, whereas the p-distance among haplotypes of C. villosa varied from 0.001 to about 0.055. The mean overall p-distance among haplotypes of all species equaled 0.03. No species-specific clusters were observed when phylogenetic trees were constructed except for C. gessneri, regardless of the method used (i.e., NJ, UPGMA, ML, ME, or MP). To minimize the possibility of species misidentification, we used only records submitted by NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway), SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen (Germany), Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig (Germany), University of Oulu, Zoological Museum (Finland), prof Hans Malicky and prof Mladen Kučinić. No records identified as hybrids were included in the analyses. With the exception of C. gessneri, COI-5P marker failed to separate the species of the C. villosa group. However, it is highly unlikely that poor species determination was the basis for such a result. To enable the comprehensive and unbiased evaluation of the relationships within this group, data coverage in BOLD database for most of the studied species should be enhanced, encompassing different geographical distribution of samples. Further studies are needed to detect the array of molecular markers suitable for the species delineation in a complex group such as C. villosa.

Geographic isolation and human-assisted dispersal in land snails: a Mediterranean story ofHelix borealisand its relatives (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Helicidae)

AbstractThe Mediterranean basin is a major centre for land-snail diversity, with many localized endemics, but there are also species widely spread by humans. Both endemics and introductions can be found in the snail genus Helix, which comprises many large-bodied species used for human consumption in the past and present. The Mediterranean clade of Helix is currently distributed throughout this region, but the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships among its forms from different parts of the basin remain enigmatic. The reasons include insufficient sampling, taxa with unclear taxonomy and a significant impact of human-assisted transport obscuring the natural distribution of phylogenetic lineages. We provide evidence that European and Anatolian populations of H. cincta and its relatives are not native to those regions, but originate from the northern Levant. These results have implications for taxonomy of the genus, but also for the understanding of its evolutionary history. We posit that the Mediterranean clade consists of four geographically separated groups, which diversified in Northern Africa, the Apennine Peninsula and Corsica, the Aegean and Greece, and the northern Levant. This geographic pattern has been subsequently blurred by multiple instances of human-assisted dispersal. However, revealing the founding populations with certainty requires thorough sampling in currently inaccessible countries.

An integrative approach challenges species hypotheses and provides hints for evolutionary history of two Mediterranean freshwater palaemonid shrimps (Decapoda: Caridea)

The Mediterranean Region is a biodiversity/endemism hotspot whose freshwater fauna remains largely unexplored. Our integrative study challenges the taxonomic status of two freshwater palaemonid shrimps, Palaemon antennarius and Palaemon minos. Three molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) were defined based on 352 cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences and 88 haplotypes. Two belonged to P. antennarius: one inhabiting the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily, and the other from the Balkan Peninsula. Palaemon minos was the third MOTU, found on Crete. The Balkan MOTU of P. antennarius was genetically closer to P. minos than to the other conspecific MOTU. Data from a nuclear marker (Histone 3) is congruent with such a pattern. The carapace shape variation (based on 180 individuals) was mainly explained by the geographical distribution. Balkan and Cretan groups were clearly recovered, while other samples clustered along a shape gradient from Sicily, through the Apennine Peninsula to the Balkans. Our results show that, for taxonomic consistency, the MOTU inhabiting the Balkan Peninsula should be either described as a new separate species or synonymised with P. minos. The third possible option would be treating all the populations as part of P. antennarius. Geometric morphometrics supports the first option, phylogenetic reconstructions point to the second one, yet the low genetic divergence favours the third one, illustrating that even emblematic taxa such as shrimps require an in-depth integrative approach.

Polskie głosy we włoskim eterze. Audycje polskojęzyczne w Radiu RAI w latach 1948–2007

Polish voices in the Italian ether. Polish language broadcasts on Radio RAI in the years 1948–2007 The article describes the history of the activity, the program and authors of programs in Polish broadcasted by Italian radio from the 1940s to the first decade of this century. These programs were directed to Poles living in the Apennine Peninsula, in their own homeland and in other countries, and at present a little knowledge about them is available from the preserved partial archival resources, the records in Italian Polonica and the interviews with some of their authors. Polish-language broadcasts on Radio RAI constitute an important part of Polonia and Polish-language media around the world.

The amphibians and reptiles from the Early Pleistocene of Coste San Giacomo (Anagni Basin, Italy)

ABSTRACT The site of Coste San Giacomo, in the Anagni Basin, is renowned for its mammal fauna of Early Pleistocene (Gelasian) age, including 32 taxa of small and large mammals. Adding to these, a small amount of remains of amphibians and reptiles was also recovered during recent excavations focused on collecting small vertebrates as well. The analysis of these remains resulted in the identification of a total of at least six different taxa: three anurans (Bufonidae indet., Pelophylax sp., and Rana sp.) and three reptiles (Lacertidae indet., Pseudopus sp., and Natrix sp.). This assemblage is comprised of taxa that are common in the Italian Quaternary, but also presents the first occurrence of the large anguid Pseudopus from the Apennine Peninsula in this period. On the whole, the herpetofauna indicates the presence of humid conditions in CSG at the moment of deposition of the bone bed that yielded the vertebrate remains.