Unusual Habitat Research Articles

Feeding adaptation of François' langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) to the fragmented limestone habitats in Southwest China.

Limestone forests are an unusual habitat for primates, especially fragmented limestone habitats. However, while some research has been conducted on François' langurs (Trachypithecus francois) in these habitats, there is still a need to improve the understanding of their behavioral adaptations to the fragmented limestone habitat. We collected data on the diet of François' langurs in a fragmented limestone habitat in Encheng National Nature Reserve, southwestern Guangxi, China using instantaneous scanning sampling, and their feeding adaptations to the fragmented forest were examined. The results indicated that a total of 101 species of plants were consumed by the langurs. They also fed on two non-plant components, including cliff minerals and at least one species of insect. The langurs ate a higher number of food species in Encheng when compared with the other geographic populations, and they maintained a high level of food diversity and ate more vines. Moreover, they were highly selective in their use of vegetation in their home range, and fewer plants provided a high-quality food source. During the season when food resources were scarce, the consumption of fruits and young leaves decreased as their availability decreased. This led to the use of other food components, such as mature leaves and seeds. The findings support that François' langurs adjust their feeding behavior to cope with seasonal and micro-variations in their dietary requirements and to adapt to their particular environment.

Assessment of macrozoobenthos baseline diversity for monitoring the ecological quality of Finima Nature Park Lake.

The scarcity of pristine, intact ecosystems limits opportunities to learn about succession and ecosystem evolution under conditions of limited human impact. Finima Nature Park (FNP) has been identified as a possible RAMSAR site. Its protected lake-"FNP Lake" (also known locally as "Bonny Lake")-is an unusual habitat that enables monitoring of aquatic ecological succession in the Niger Delta, where pristine and near-pristine ecosystems are becoming scarce. Macrozoobenthos are one of the best-known bio-monitors of ecological health integrity because they are widespread and long-lasting, with moderate mobility and high diversity, among other valuable characteristics. Monthly data of the community structure of macrozoobenthos and some of the FNP Lake's priority abiotic factors were collected in 2018, which provided a baseline for identifying future water quality changes and succession in the lake. Except for temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO), which were spatially uniform, the physico-chemical parameters varied spatio-temporally. The diversity indices values were low. According to the canonical correspondence abundance (CCA) plot, taxa distributions were influenced mainly by pH, DO, and temperature, which explains the prevalence of oxygen-insensitive species.

Adaptation and Survival of Marine-Associated Spiders (Araneae).

Aquatic environments are an unusual habitat for most arthropods. Nevertheless, many arthropod species that were once terrestrial dwelling have transitioned back to marine and freshwater environments, either as semiaquatic or, more rarely, as fully aquatic inhabitants. Transition to water from land is exceptional, and without respiratory modifications to allow for extended submergence and the associated hypoxic conditions, survival is limited. In this article, we review marine-associated species that have made this rare transition in a generally terrestrial group, spiders. We include several freshwater spider species for comparative purposes. Marine-associated spiders comprise less than 0.3% of spider species worldwide but are found in over 14% of all spider families. As we discuss, these spiders live in environments that, with tidal action, hydraulic forces, and saltwater, are more extreme than freshwater habitats, often requiring physiological and behavioral adaptations to survive. Spiders employ many methods to survive inundation from encroaching tides, such as air bubble respiration, airtight nests, hypoxic comas, and fleeing incoming tides. While airway protection is the primary survival strategy, further survival adaptations include saltwater-induced osmotic regulation, dietary composition, predator avoidance, reproduction, locomotory responses, and adaptation to extreme temperatures and hydrostatic pressures that challenge existence in marine environments.

The case for studying tadpole autecology, with comments on strategies to study other small,fast‐movinganimals in nature

AbstractTwo of the most fundamental questions in tadpole biology, also applicable to most small, under‐studied organisms are: (1) ‘Why are they built the way they are?’ and (2) ‘Why do they live where they do?’ Regrettably, despite significant progress in most aspects of tadpole biology, the answers to these questions are not much better now than they were in the last century. We propose that an autecological approach, that is the careful observation of individuals and how they interact with the environment, is a potential path towards a fuller understanding of tadpole ecomorphology and evolution. We also discuss why more attention should be given to studying atypical tadpoles from atypical environments, such as torrential streams, water‐filled cavities of terrestrial plants and wet rock surfaces neighbouring streams. Granted, tadpoles are rare in these settings, but in those unusual habitats the physical environments can be well described and characterized. In contrast, the more common ponds where tadpoles are found are typically too structurally complex to be easily delineated. This makes it difficult to know exactly what individual tadpoles are doing and what environmental parameters they are responding to. Our overall thesis is that to understand tadpoles we must see exactly what they are doing, where they are doing it, and how they are doing it. This takes work, but we suggest it is feasible and could greatly advance our understanding of how anuran larvae have evolved. The same strategies for studying tadpoles that we encourage here can be applied to the study of many other small and fast‐moving animals.

Metabetaeus lapillicola, a new species of alpheid shrimp (Decapoda: Caridea) from Japan, inhabiting unusual pebble beaches.

The alpheid shrimp genus Metabetaeus Borradaile, 1899 was previously known from two species associated with anchialine pools and caves, M. minutus (Whitelegge, 1897) and M. lohena Banner & Banner, 1960, and one species inhabiting in coral reef, M. mcphersonae Anker, 2010. In this study, a new species of the genus is described based on fourteen specimens collected from Shizuoka and Mie Prefectures, Honshu, central Japan. Metabetaeus lapillicola n. sp. inhabits interstitial spaces among small pebbles deposited in lower intertidal to upper subtidal zone, representing rather unusual habitat not only for Metabetaeus, but even for carideans. It is distinguished from three congeneric species by the presence of a pterygostomial spine on the carapace, greatly unequal chelipeds with the major one being substantially elongate, and the lack of a distinct distolateral spine on the uropodal endopod. Phylogenetic analyses using the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and COI genes support the recognition of the new species. The generic diagnosis of Metabetaeus is emended to accommodate the new species.

Spatial scales in instream flow modeling: Why and how to use ecologically appropriate resolutions

AbstractThis paper discusses why and how to use ecologically appropriate spatial resolutions (e.g., cell size or range of cell sizes) when modeling instream flow effects on aquatic animals. Resolution is important because relations between habitat and animal habitat use vary with spatial resolution, and different habitat variables may best predict habitat use at different resolutions. Using appropriate resolutions consistently would bring clarity and coherence to how we quantify and model habitat characteristics and habitat use by fish, facilitate the use of standard and more credible measures of habitat preference, incorporate more fisheries knowledge to improve models for different kinds of fish, and avoid well‐known (and perhaps unknown) biases. Doing so involves describing habitat, and habitat use by fish, with spatially explicit measures with clear resolutions; using the same resolution for physical habitat and fish habitat use; selecting that resolution for ecological reasons; and using habitat variables and fish observation methods appropriate for the resolution. The choice of resolution considers factors such as how much space fish use for specific activities and the size of important habitat patches. For drift‐feeders, cell sizes and fish habitat use observations should use a resolution no smaller than feeding territories. Piscivores typically hunt over large areas so should be modeled with larger habitat units. Models of small and less‐mobile organisms (e.g., benthic invertivores) may need fine resolutions to capture the small areas of unusual habitat they depend on. Because of such differences, instream flow studies (like any spatial ecology exercise) should clearly state what resolution(s) they use and why.

О статусе скопы в Грузии

At present Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is widespread and regular, but rare in small numbers passage visitor. Before the 1940’s it was a local breeder in small numbers at wetlands of the Black Sea coastlands, western part of Kolkheti Lowland and on wetlands in floodplains of some large rivers, and at large lakes in other regions of Georgia. Osprey extirpated as a regular breeder in the middle of 20th Century, no nests known since the late 1950’s. Last occupied nest was found in 1958 on Inkit Lake in Abkhazia. Analyzes of the historical data allows to suggest that before 1920’s osprey was widespread and regularly breeding species for some regions of Georgia. The most optimal conditions for breeding were in lower parts of large river valleys of the Black Sea basin – Rioni, Inguri, Chorokhi, Ajaristskali, Kintrishi, Supsa, Natanebi, Khobi, Gumista, Bzipi, Kelasuri, and large rivers of the Caspian Sea basin – Mtkvari (Kura) River and its tributaries. We do not have the precise data on the beginning of osprey disappearance in Georgia, it can be assumed that it happened in 1920–1930’s because of rapidly increasing human activity. In Georgia, where peculiarities of relief limit the possibility of some forms of human activity, coastal wetlands, flood-lands of rivers, large lakes (or the most preferred osprey breeding habitats), were transformed first. Large-scale reclamation work was carried out here, on the banks of the rivers and around large lakes, considerable massifs of floodplain forests were cut down. After the construction of hydroelectric power stations on some rivers, fish resources were reduced, and that undermined the food base for osprey. As a result of the powerful increase in human population, the level of the disturbance increased too. In the 1930’s mass raptor shooting campaigns were organized and lasted up to 1970’s. The use of DDT and some other heavy pollutants in the 1950–1960’s was also a major threat to the species. Prolonged and increasing effect of these threats led to the population decline – and later to complete disappearance of osprey in Georgia. Usually, osprey was recorded during migrations in Western Georgia, i.e. in the Black Sea basin: on the sea shore, coastal wetlands, wetlands of Kolkheti Lowland, in the lower parts of Rioni, Inguri, Chorokhi, Khobi, Bzypi, Kodori, Natanebi river valleys, on large lakes, fish-ponds, reservoirs, at sites with a regular supply of medium and large-sized fishes. Up to 95% of all ospreys observed from 1973 to 2023 were recorded in the Black Sea basin, mainly at seacoast, rarely on coastal wetlands. Much less often osprey was observed on alpine lakes of Javakheti Upland and on wetlands of Eastern Georgia, i.e. in the Caspian Sea basin. Vagrant individuals were recorded in very unusual habitats: in semi-deserts, in watershed areas at mountain ridges and on passes of the Great and Lesser Caucasus. In contrast to peculiarities of migration of majority of raptors, the osprey passage goes by wide front. This peculiarity explains the low number of ospreys recorded at permanent count-points on flyways and in bottlenecks in comparison with other raptors. The similar data were collected in Georgia – the average number of counted ospreys compiled in the average of 0.163–1.660 individuals/day, and their share in the total number of migratory raptors was quite insignificant. Spring passage takes place from mid-March through the early May, with a more-or-less visible peak in early April. First records of spring transients were on 7 March 1981, 19 March 1999 and 27 March 2015; last transients were observed on 28 April 1991, 30 April 2010, 1 May 1995, 16 May 2023 and 19 May 2017. About ⅔ of individuals observed in spring flown in the first half of April. Spring migration goes through quicker; birds rarely stay for several hours at sites suitable for feeding. The autumn migration has bigger intensity and lasts longer, autumn transit runs from mid-August to early November. Earliest transients were recorded on the Black Sea coast and coastal wetlands on August 14, 17, and 18, usually August 25–30. The latest transients typically were observed in late October, with solitary individuals recorded up to 2nd half of November on the Black Sea shore and coastal wetlands (19/11/1982; 21/11/1995). About ¾ of migrants were counted in second half of September – first half of October, with a soft visible peak in late September. From 300 to 500 individuals were considered to migrate per autumn season, mostly along the Black Sea shore. Typically solitary individuals were recorded, rarely pairs, never observed in flocks. However, in autumn birds, if they are not disturbed, can stay for several days at sites suitable for feeding. So, 2–3 ospreys simultaneously were watched in some halting sites on the Black Sea coastal wetlands.

Nowe stanowiska Polystichum aculeatum (Dryopteridaceae) na Podgórzu Wilamowickim i Pogórzu Śląskim (Polska południowa)

In the years 2014–2023, during the research conducted in Podgórze Wilamowickie and Pogórze Śląskie, 8 sites of Polystichum aculeatum were found in unusual habitats for this species. These sites were created as a result of colonization from the mountains to the lowlands. They are extremely rare and can be destroyed accidentally.

Ingression of the hydromedusa Neotima lucullana (delle chiaje, 1822) into the ecosystem of the Neretva river estuary (south-eastern Adriatic, Croatia

Hydromedusa Neotima lucullana is an endemic species of the Mediterranean Sea. In this study we document the first numerous and permanent occurrence of N. lucullana in the estuary of the Neretva River, an unusual habitat for this typical marine species. We provide COI barcode sequence of this species, which is also first genetic sequence ever published of N. lucullana. Weekly data on the occurrence and abundance of N. lucullana were obtained from reports and records of autonomous divers and local fishermen in the area from Opuzen to Metković from mid-June to the end of October 2021. The individuals were always located in the layer above the bottom with salinity between 35.2 and 38.2. The diameters of the jellyfish bells ranged from 15 mm to 72 mm, most of them between 40 mm and 58 mm. Differential development of the gonads was observed in all specimens larger than 25 mm. In mid-June, the specimens were common but solitary. A week later, the jellyfish were more frequent and in smaller aggregations. From late June to mid-September, the jellyfish were constantly observed in larger aggregations. Toward the autumn, the number of individuals gradually decreased, and by the last week of October, only single individuals were observed. Our results indicate significant changes in the ecosystem of the Neretva estuary and confirm the observed composition of zooplankton communities dominated by marine species in summer and autumn.

Antifungal metabolites, their novel sources, and targets to combat drug resistance.

Excessive antibiotic prescriptions as well as their misuse in agriculture are the main causes of antimicrobial resistance which poses a growing threat to public health. It necessitates the search for novel chemicals to combat drug resistance. Since ancient times, naturally occurring medicines have been employed and the enormous variety of bioactive chemicals found in nature has long served as an inspiration for researchers looking for possible therapeutics. Secondary metabolites from microorganisms, particularly those from actinomycetes, have made it incredibly easy to find new molecules. Different actinomycetes species account for more than 70% of naturally generated antibiotics currently used in medicine, and they also produce a variety of secondary metabolites, including pigments, enzymes, and anti-inflammatory compounds. They continue to be a crucial source of fresh chemical diversity and a crucial component of drug discovery. This review summarizes some uncommon sources of antifungal metabolites and highlights the importance of further research on these unusual habitats as a source of novel antimicrobial molecules.

China's wandering elephants: Integrating exceptional movements into conservation planning

AbstractIn May‐June 2021 a herd of wild Asian elephants made global headlines when they trekked hundreds of km into areas where elephants had been absent for centuries, mobilizing a response of unprecedented scale. Here, we analyze the movement attributes and body condition of these elephants to understand this unusual behavior and its implications for megafauna conservation in the Anthropocene. We propose that these movements are a form of partial and irruptive nomadic behavior, although the data is also compatible with a failed attempt of dispersal. In their path to Kunming, the elephants made unusual habitat choices, using landscapes with higher nightlight intensity, and moving close to towns and villages, while avoiding areas with high forest cover, which we interpret as habituation to feeding on crops and lack of fear of people. Fifteen months after starting their journey, the elephants showed high body condition scores and had successfully delivered two babies, both indicators of good health, suggesting that their decision to leave their previous home range had paid off. In China, we recommend an elephant conservation strategy founded on area‐based and area‐specific measures, including protected areas, landscape connectivity, and the mitigation of human‐elephant conflicts, as well as preparedness for expectable population range expansions, potentially on the scale of hundreds of km, in the coming decades. Our study highlights the ecological and behavioral plasticity of elephants and the importance of integrating movement ecology in conservation planning, especially for wide‐ranging species.

An indigenous inland genotype of the black yeast Hortaea werneckii inhabiting the great pyramid of Giza, Egypt.

Within the context of cultural heritage conservation, the biological study of tangible archeological sites is an important task to extend their existence and strengthen the transmission of their cultural value to future generations. In Egypt, a hyper-arid region, a microcolonial fungus with inky black growth was observed on a stone surface in the royal corridor of the Great Pyramid of Giza (King Khufu’s pyramid). The isolate was studied and characterized by microscopic morphometric measurements, evaluation of enzymatic activities, and genotyping techniques. The isolate was identified as Hortaea werneckii, a pleomorphic black yeast that naturally inhabits hypersaline environments and infects human skin. It has been reported from humid temperate, subtropical, and tropical zones, mainly from marine habitats and adjacent areas, and is associated with marine life. Since it was observed in an unusual habitat, it raises the question of its type and origin, whether environmental or clinical. The Egyptian Hortaea werneckii GPS5 isolate was profiled and characterized by adaptive extremophilic tolerance to arid salt stress, low portability to infect human skin, and the capability of solubilizing calcite; besides it was phylogenetically clustered with previous recorded environmental accessions. A profile that matches the biodeterioration fungal agents known as rock-inhabiting fungi, a potential threat to cultural heritage sites that requires attention and prevention plans.

Liverworts of the South Kamchatka Nature Park: Survival in Active Volcanism Land

Kamchatka, due to its position in hemiarctic northeast Asia on the migration pathways of taxa from Asia to America and vice versa, which has an insular geographical position and provides numerous pieces of evidence regarding current active volcanism, has a peculiar flora. The study of the liverwort flora of the southeastern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula (South Kamchatka Nature Park), which, until now, has been very poorly explored, showed high taxonomic richness and some specificity due to volcanic evidence. In total, 132 species have been recorded in this sector of the “Pacific Ring of Fire”. This number is quite high compared to other floras of hemiarctic Asia. The influence of volcanism on flora formation is prominent due to the regular renewal of substrates, the appearance of specific habitats (for example, thermal water outlets), the displacement of vegetation belts, and ashfalls leading to the presence of extended spaces free of vegetation cover and is an area that is open for invaders. The altitudinal zonality, despite the difference of 2000 m in elevation, is not clearly expressed in the flora of the liverworts: arctomontane species descend far down the altitudinal profile, reaching the Betula ermanii forests. The “plantless” uppermost belt in the mountains, commonly described in floristic studies of vascular plants, is not actually free of plants if liverwort occurrences are considered. A number of species normally occupy unusual habitats in the studied flora due to contemporary volcanism evidence, e.g., sulfur-rich substrates.

A Rare Focal Inflammatory Process After a Pufferfish Bite

Aim: Attacks and bites of marine animals are very rare in Turkey. The highly venomous pufferfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), which often causes systemic toxicity with its toxin (tetradotoxin), could also cause focal toxicity due to bites. Case: A 57-year-old healthy female patient was admitted to the ED with the complaints of inflammation and wounds on the anterior aspect of the leg after a fish bite. 15 days before the admission, complaints of inflammation and pain occurred because of a pufferfish bite in the sea near the shore. In this case, we aimed to present the clinical changes detected after the 6-week follow-up of the patient who presented to the emergency department (ED) after a pufferfish bite that showed a local course. Conclusion: The tetradotoxin (TTX), which is especially found in the liver and reproductive organs of puffer fish. acts through sodium channels. There is no treatment or antitoxin available for enteral systemic poisoning. Symptomatic supportive treatment is recommended. In this patient who did not have any chronic disease, the healing process took over 2 months after puffer fish bite. In countries with a coast to the sea such as Turkey, it is necessary to be careful about the clinical situations that may occur after contact with sea creatures. Global warming and illegal hunting, can cause sea creatures to reproduce and live, in unusual habitats. This leads to unconventional and unknown medical conditions after wilderness contacts.

Evaluation of Different Standard Amino Acids to Enhance the Biomass, Lipid, Fatty Acid, and γ-Linolenic Acid Production in Rhizomucor pusillus and Mucor circinelloides.

In this study, 18 standard amino acids were tested as a single nitrogen source on biomass, total lipid, total fatty acid (TFA) production, and yield of γ-linolenic acid (GLA) in Rhizomucor pusillus AUMC 11616.A and Mucor circinelloides AUMC 6696.A isolated from unusual habitats. Grown for 4 days at 28°C, shaking at 150 rpm, the maximum fungal biomass for AUMC 6696.A was 14.6 ± 0.2 g/L with arginine and 13.68 ± 0.1 g/L with asparagine, when these amino acids were used as single nitrogen sources, while AUMC 11616.A maximum biomass was 10.73 ± 0.8 g/L with glycine and 9.44 ± 0.6 g/L with valine. These were significantly higher than the ammonium nitrate control (p < 0.05). The highest levels of TFA were achieved with glycine for AUMC 11616.A, 26.2 ± 0.8% w/w of cell dry weight, and glutamic acid for AUMC 6696.A, 23.1 ± 1.3%. The highest GLA yield was seen with proline for AUMC 11616.A, 13.4 ± 0.6% w/w of TFA, and tryptophan for AUMC 6696.A, 12.8 ± 0.3%, which were 38% and 25% higher than the ammonium tartrate control. The effects of environmental factors such as temperature, pH, fermentation time, and agitation speed on biomass, total lipids, TFA, and GLA concentration of the target strains have also been investigated. Our results demonstrated that nitrogen assimilation through amino acid metabolism, as well as the use of glucose as a carbon source and abiotic factors, are integral to increasing the oleaginicity of tested strains. Few studies have addressed the role of amino acids in fermentation media, and this study sheds light on R. pusillus and M. circinelloides as promising candidates for the potential applications of amino acids as nitrogen sources in the production of lipids.

3D-anatomy and systematics of cocculinid-like limpets (Gastropoda: Cocculiniformia): more data, some corrections, but still an enigma

New material and new methodologies substantially widen the anatomical knowledge on cocculinid limpets. We first provide 3D-anatomies of Fedikovella caymanensis and Teuthirostria cancellata based on serial sections. Both species differ in several major points (mainly the gill-type and several features of the alimentary tract) from typical cocculinids, accordingly they are classified in a new clade, Teuthirostriidae fam. nov. Specimens studied by McLean and Harasewych (LA County Mus Contrib Sci 453:1–33, 1995) under “Fedikovella beanii” probably represent another species new to science. Additional investigations of original (type) section series of Cocculina laevis Thiele, 1904 (type species of Paracocculina Haszprunar, 1987) and of Cocculina radiata Thiele, 1904 (type species of Coccocrater Haszprunar, 1987) imply some nomenclatorial revisions: Cocculina cervae Fleming, 1948 is designated as type species of Pedococculina gen. nov. Anatomical characters confirm the subsequent placement of Cocculina viminensis Rocchini, 1990 into Coccopigya Marshall, 1986, whereas the original generic status of the whale-fall inhabitant Cocculina craigsmithi McLean, 1992 is confirmed despite the unusual habitat. The latter species probably has symbiotic bacteria in the midgut gland; if so this might be due to the environmental and feeding conditions at whale cadavers or hydrothermal vents. Contrary to Lepetelloidea, the Cocculiniformia cannot be included in Vetigastropoda. Recent molecular data support a sistergroup relationship of Cocculiniformia with Neomphalida, and we add the phenotypic perspective on this so-called “Neomphaliones”-hypothesis. In particular, more phylogenomic data are needed to specify the position of Cocculinida among the rhipidoglossate Gastropoda.

Nicotianagandarela (Solanaceae), a new species of 'tobacco' highly endangered from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero in Brazil.

Nicotianagandarela Augsten & Stehmann (Solanaceae), sp. nov., a small ’tobacco’ known only from one locality at Serra do Gandarela, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically characterized by its rosulate basal leaves, red corolla with a short tube not inflated at the apex, and the peculiar habitat, a shaded site under a rocky outcrop ledge along a forested stream. Phylogenetic analyses based on a combined dataset of nuclear (ITS) and plastid (ndhF, trnLF, and trnSG) DNA sequences revealed that the species belongs to the Nicotianasect.Alatae and is sister to the clade with the remaining species in the section. A key for the identification of Brazilian species of the section is given. The unusual habitat, the small population size, and the intense pressure of mining activities in the surroundings made the species assessed as Critically Endangered (CR), needing conservation efforts to avoid its extinction.

First report of the order Mysida (Crustacea) in Antarctic marine ice caves, with description of a new species of Pseudomma and investigations on the taxonomy, morphology and life habits of Mysidetes species.

SCUBA diving explorations of three islands off Dumont d’Urville Station at the coast of Adélie Land, East Antarctica, enabled the observation of marine ice caves. Sampling in this unusual habitat yielded a total of three species of Mysidae, altogether previously poorly known or unknown to science. Pseudommakryotroglodytumsp. nov. is described, based on the structure of the antennal scale, telson and on cornea-like lateral portions set off against the main body of eyeplates. Mysidetesilligi is re-established at species level after almost a century in synonymy. Re-descriptions are provided for M.illigi and M.hanseni, based on types and ice cave materials. Keys to the Southern Ocean species of Pseudomma and to the world-wide species of Mysidetes are given.Phylogenetic trees are provided for the genera Pseudomma and Mysidetes. 18S rDNA sequences of P.kryotroglodytum differ from GenBank sequences of other Pseudomma species. First sequence data are given for species of the genus Mysidetes: 18S differs between the two examined species and COI is quite diverse between and within species.We found previously unknown, probably sensorial structures in these ice cave species: in P.kryotroglodytum, the basal segment of the antennula shows a pit-like depression with striated pad on the bottom and a median cyst, connected with the bottom of the eyeplate cleft. M.illigi shows a female homologue of the appendix masculina bearing a field of modified setae. Subsequent investigations demonstrated these structures also in species from other habitats.The feeding apparatus and stomach contents of the three ice cave species point to brushing of small particles (detritus, microalgae) from available surfaces, such as sediment, rock and the ice surface. Differences in the feeding apparatus are very subtle between the two Mysidetes species. The high content of fat bodies in M.hanseni could help it to survive periods of starvation. The large storage volume of the foregut in P.kryotroglodytum points to the collection of food with low nutritional quality and could help to balance strongly fluctuating food availability.Summer specimens of M.hanseni showed a bimodal frequency of developmental stages in the marsupium and bimodal size-frequency distribution of free-living stages. The females with younger brood (embryos) were, on average, larger and carried more marsupial young than those with older brood (nauplioid larvae). All examined incubating and spent females showed (almost) empty foreguts and empty ovarian tubes, suggesting possible semelparity and death following the release of young. The absence of juveniles and immature females from summer samples suggests that growth and accumulation of fat and yolk occur outside ice caves, while such caves could be used by fattened adults as shelter for brooding. A provisional interpretation proposes a biannual life cycle for M.hanseni, superimposed with shifted breeding schedules, the latter characterised by early breeding and late breeding females, probably in response to harsh physical and trophic conditions along the continental coast of Antarctica.

News from the western front: occurrence of Mediterranea depressa (Sterki, 1880) (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Oxychilidae) in the Vosges and Jura Mountains (north-eastern France)

We report here the first record of Mediterranea depressa (Sterki, 1880) in the north-eastern quarter of France, in the Vosges and Jura massifs. After the fortuitous discovery of some shells attributed to M. depressa in the southern Vosges Mts., an extensive sampling campaign was carried out both in the Vosges and in the Jura Mts. In total, about 20 shells and seven live specimens were found at eight localities, which, according to the present state of our knowledge, represent its north-western range limit. The species was found exclusively under stones of rocky slope screes on siliceous and calcareous substrates. Some of these habitats could be described as Mesovoid Shallow Substratum. It is not clear whether the rarity of the species is an effect of under-sampling or of its small size and unusual habitat or/and to intrinsic rarity due to isolated populations at the distribution limits of the species. The extreme north-eastern quarter of France constitutes an oceanic-continental transition zone where about thirty gastropod species from Central and Eastern Europe are currently documented at the western limit of their ranges.

Noteworthy observations and records of rare bathyal gastropods from unusual habitats in Sagami Bay, Japan

Noteworthy observations and records of rare bathyal gastropods from unusual habitats in Sagami Bay, Japan