The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. The lack o... more The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. The lack of detailed knowledge on the status and trends of species, populations and communities hampers a thorough risk assessment and precludes effective conservation. This paper reviews PC biodiversity trends in the BSB ( Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia) using endemic molluscs as a model group. We aim to assess changes in PC habitats, community structure and species distribution over the past century and to identify direct anthropogenic threats. Presence/absence data of target mollusc species was assembled from literature, reports and personal observations. Pontocaspian biodiversity trends in the north-western BSB coastal regions were established by comparing 20th and 21st century occurrences. Direct drivers of habitat and biodiversity change were identified and documented. A pronounced decline of PC species and communities is driven by a) damming of rivers, b) habitat modificatio...
The dataset consists of records of protected plant and fungi species published in a series of pub... more The dataset consists of records of protected plant and fungi species published in a series of publications specially prepared by the Institute of Zoology: 1) Materials for the 4th edition of the Red Book of Ukraine. Fauna / Series: «Conservation Biology in Ukraine». – Vol. 6, Т. 1. – Kyiv, I. I. Schmalhausen institute of zoology NAS of Ukraine, 2018. – 438 p. 2) Materials for the 4th edition of the Red Book of Ukraine. Fauna / Series: «Conservation Biology in Ukraine». – Vol. 6, Т. 2. – Kyiv, I. I. Schmalhausen institute of zoology NAS of Ukraine, 2018. – 450 p. 3) Materials for the 4th edition of the Red Book of Ukraine. Fauna (Series: «Conservation Biology in Ukraine». – Vol. 7, T. 3). - Kyiv, 2019. - 416 p.
The genus Diodora Gray, 1821 is widely represented in the Middle Miocene of the Central Paratethy... more The genus Diodora Gray, 1821 is widely represented in the Middle Miocene of the Central Paratethys with specimens usually attributed to D. graeca (Linnaeus, 1758) or D. italica (Defrance, 1820), well-known recent species of the Atlantic / Mediterranean Basin. In samples from the Upper Badenian of Western Ukraine we found two clusters of Diodora specimens, showing a similarity with these species, but a review of shell diagnostic characters using a statistical approach has revealed their clear conchological separateness. The first species from Varovtsi and Horodok is attributed herein to D. nodosa (Eichwald, 1830), whereas the second species from Maksymivka is described as a new species, D. stalennuyi sp. nov. We consider that these molluscs inhabited the Polish-Ukrainian marginal part of the Late Badenian Basin. Detailed descriptions of the protoconch and teleoconch morphology of the taxa involved, including SEM images, are presented.
The radula morphology and variability in four European species of the family Viviparidae viz. Viv... more The radula morphology and variability in four European species of the family Viviparidae viz. Viviparus viviparus (Linnaeus, 1758), V. sphaeridius (Bourguignat, 1880), V. ater (Cristofori et Jan, 1832) and Contectiana listeri (Forbes et Hanley, 1853) were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Statistical methods reveal a certain value of rachidian tooth dimensional parameters as an efficient tool for taxonomy and discrimination of closely related species of the family.
Conchological Variability of Anadara inaequivalvis (Bivalvia, Arcidae) in the Black-Azov Sea Basi... more Conchological Variability of Anadara inaequivalvis (Bivalvia, Arcidae) in the Black-Azov Sea Basin. Anistratenko, V. V., Anistratenko, O. Yu., Khaliman, I. A. - An alien species in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov - Anadara inaequivalvis (Bruguiere, 1789) - was recently discovered to have a wide range of shell variability. From the investigated samples (over 900 valves) six basic types of the shell commissural opening were defined; they are not, however, discrete conditions. Th e presence of intermediate variants reveals a gradual (continuous) character of the shell variability and indicates that all the samples investigated belong to the same species. Th e variation of some other Anadara characteristics is also discussed, including: quantity and ornamentation of the ribs on the surface of the valves, quantity of chevrons on the ligament area, shape of the hinge plate and quantity of hinge teeth. A comparison of conchological characteristics of Anadara from the Black-Azov Sea Basin...
The Geology of Central Europe Volume 2: Mesozoic and Cenozoic
Palaeogene and Neogene MICHAEL W. RASSER, MATHIAS HARZHAUSER (co-ordinators), OLGAY. ANISTRATENKO... more Palaeogene and Neogene MICHAEL W. RASSER, MATHIAS HARZHAUSER (co-ordinators), OLGAY. ANISTRATENKO, VITALIY V ANISTRATENKO, DAVIDE BASSI, MIRKO BELAK, JEAN-PIERRE BERGER, GIANLUCA BIANCHINI, SAFET CICIC, VLASTA ...
The species of the Ponto-Caspian gastropod genus Clathrocaspia Lindholm, 1930 have been recorded ... more The species of the Ponto-Caspian gastropod genus Clathrocaspia Lindholm, 1930 have been recorded so far from the Caspian Sea Basin only from marine waters, whereas they inhabit the estuarine areas as well as the purely freshwater environments in the Azov–Black Sea Basin. This genus has recently been assessed as putatively extinct in the Caspian Sea. A new purely freshwater species Clathrocaspia laevigata sp. n. from the water-flows of the Samur River delta in Dagestan, Russia, is described. A morphological comparison of the new species with C. brotzkajae (Starobogatov in Anistratenko & Prisjazhnjuk, 1992) from the Caspian Sea and C. knipowitschii (Makarov, 1938) inhabiting the Azov–Black Sea Basin shows their overall similarity. The major difference is that C. laevigata sp. n. almost completely lacks the reticulate teleoconch sculpture, whereas it is well-developed in all known Clathrocaspia species. The molecular data revealed probable sister relationships between the new species a...
Though spring snail Marstoniopsis insubrica is widespread in Europe it has been rarely recorded i... more Though spring snail Marstoniopsis insubrica is widespread in Europe it has been rarely recorded in Ukraine yet only in the northwestern part. Newly found specimen of M. insubrica in the central part of Ukraine (Olshanka River, middle part of the Dnieper basin) extending the south-eastern limit of the species distribution range. All known records of M. insubrica in Ukraine are restricted to several isolated occurrences and snails are occurring solitary. As of today only few specimens accumulated in the Ukrainian museums collections over the century. It evidences this is regionally extremely rare species. Considering rarity, populations’ low-density and occurrences on a very edge of the species natural range M. insubrica we recommend to include this species into the next edition of the Red Data Book of Ukraine with an endangered conservation status.
The Caspian Sea has been a highly dynamic environment throughout the Quaternary and witnessed maj... more The Caspian Sea has been a highly dynamic environment throughout the Quaternary and witnessed major oscillations in lake level, which were associated with changes in salinity and habitat availability. Such environmental pressures are considered to drive strong phylogeographic structures in species by forcing populations into suitable refugia. However, little is actually known on the effect of lake-level fluctuations in the Caspian Sea on its aquatic biota. We compared the phylogeographic patterns of the aquatic Neritidae snail genus Theodoxus across the Pontocaspian region with refugial populations in southern Iran. Three gene fragments were used to determine relationships and divergence times between the sampled populations in both groups. A dated phylogeny and statistical haplotype networks were generated in conjunction with the analyses of molecular variance and calculations of isolation by distance using distance-based redundancy analyses. Extended Bayesian skyline plots were co...
The dataset includes the (semi)landmark configurations for 41 specimens of the brackish-water gas... more The dataset includes the (semi)landmark configurations for 41 specimens of the brackish-water gastropod genera Abeskunus and Zagrabica from Miocene to Holocene deposits of southeastern and eastern Europe/western Asia. The 83 points cover six landmarks (points 1, 2, 3, 4, 33, 34) and two semilandmark curves. The data were generated in the software tpsDIG v. 2.26. See linked paper for details about the specimens.
The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. The lack o... more The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. The lack of detailed knowledge on the status and trends of species, populations and communities hampers a thorough risk assessment and precludes effective conservation. This paper reviews PC biodiversity trends in the BSB ( Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia) using endemic molluscs as a model group. We aim to assess changes in PC habitats, community structure and species distribution over the past century and to identify direct anthropogenic threats. Presence/absence data of target mollusc species was assembled from literature, reports and personal observations. Pontocaspian biodiversity trends in the north-western BSB coastal regions were established by comparing 20th and 21st century occurrences. Direct drivers of habitat and biodiversity change were identified and documented. A pronounced decline of PC species and communities is driven by a) damming of rivers, b) habitat modificatio...
The dataset consists of records of protected plant and fungi species published in a series of pub... more The dataset consists of records of protected plant and fungi species published in a series of publications specially prepared by the Institute of Zoology: 1) Materials for the 4th edition of the Red Book of Ukraine. Fauna / Series: «Conservation Biology in Ukraine». – Vol. 6, Т. 1. – Kyiv, I. I. Schmalhausen institute of zoology NAS of Ukraine, 2018. – 438 p. 2) Materials for the 4th edition of the Red Book of Ukraine. Fauna / Series: «Conservation Biology in Ukraine». – Vol. 6, Т. 2. – Kyiv, I. I. Schmalhausen institute of zoology NAS of Ukraine, 2018. – 450 p. 3) Materials for the 4th edition of the Red Book of Ukraine. Fauna (Series: «Conservation Biology in Ukraine». – Vol. 7, T. 3). - Kyiv, 2019. - 416 p.
The genus Diodora Gray, 1821 is widely represented in the Middle Miocene of the Central Paratethy... more The genus Diodora Gray, 1821 is widely represented in the Middle Miocene of the Central Paratethys with specimens usually attributed to D. graeca (Linnaeus, 1758) or D. italica (Defrance, 1820), well-known recent species of the Atlantic / Mediterranean Basin. In samples from the Upper Badenian of Western Ukraine we found two clusters of Diodora specimens, showing a similarity with these species, but a review of shell diagnostic characters using a statistical approach has revealed their clear conchological separateness. The first species from Varovtsi and Horodok is attributed herein to D. nodosa (Eichwald, 1830), whereas the second species from Maksymivka is described as a new species, D. stalennuyi sp. nov. We consider that these molluscs inhabited the Polish-Ukrainian marginal part of the Late Badenian Basin. Detailed descriptions of the protoconch and teleoconch morphology of the taxa involved, including SEM images, are presented.
The radula morphology and variability in four European species of the family Viviparidae viz. Viv... more The radula morphology and variability in four European species of the family Viviparidae viz. Viviparus viviparus (Linnaeus, 1758), V. sphaeridius (Bourguignat, 1880), V. ater (Cristofori et Jan, 1832) and Contectiana listeri (Forbes et Hanley, 1853) were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Statistical methods reveal a certain value of rachidian tooth dimensional parameters as an efficient tool for taxonomy and discrimination of closely related species of the family.
Conchological Variability of Anadara inaequivalvis (Bivalvia, Arcidae) in the Black-Azov Sea Basi... more Conchological Variability of Anadara inaequivalvis (Bivalvia, Arcidae) in the Black-Azov Sea Basin. Anistratenko, V. V., Anistratenko, O. Yu., Khaliman, I. A. - An alien species in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov - Anadara inaequivalvis (Bruguiere, 1789) - was recently discovered to have a wide range of shell variability. From the investigated samples (over 900 valves) six basic types of the shell commissural opening were defined; they are not, however, discrete conditions. Th e presence of intermediate variants reveals a gradual (continuous) character of the shell variability and indicates that all the samples investigated belong to the same species. Th e variation of some other Anadara characteristics is also discussed, including: quantity and ornamentation of the ribs on the surface of the valves, quantity of chevrons on the ligament area, shape of the hinge plate and quantity of hinge teeth. A comparison of conchological characteristics of Anadara from the Black-Azov Sea Basin...
The Geology of Central Europe Volume 2: Mesozoic and Cenozoic
Palaeogene and Neogene MICHAEL W. RASSER, MATHIAS HARZHAUSER (co-ordinators), OLGAY. ANISTRATENKO... more Palaeogene and Neogene MICHAEL W. RASSER, MATHIAS HARZHAUSER (co-ordinators), OLGAY. ANISTRATENKO, VITALIY V ANISTRATENKO, DAVIDE BASSI, MIRKO BELAK, JEAN-PIERRE BERGER, GIANLUCA BIANCHINI, SAFET CICIC, VLASTA ...
The species of the Ponto-Caspian gastropod genus Clathrocaspia Lindholm, 1930 have been recorded ... more The species of the Ponto-Caspian gastropod genus Clathrocaspia Lindholm, 1930 have been recorded so far from the Caspian Sea Basin only from marine waters, whereas they inhabit the estuarine areas as well as the purely freshwater environments in the Azov–Black Sea Basin. This genus has recently been assessed as putatively extinct in the Caspian Sea. A new purely freshwater species Clathrocaspia laevigata sp. n. from the water-flows of the Samur River delta in Dagestan, Russia, is described. A morphological comparison of the new species with C. brotzkajae (Starobogatov in Anistratenko & Prisjazhnjuk, 1992) from the Caspian Sea and C. knipowitschii (Makarov, 1938) inhabiting the Azov–Black Sea Basin shows their overall similarity. The major difference is that C. laevigata sp. n. almost completely lacks the reticulate teleoconch sculpture, whereas it is well-developed in all known Clathrocaspia species. The molecular data revealed probable sister relationships between the new species a...
Though spring snail Marstoniopsis insubrica is widespread in Europe it has been rarely recorded i... more Though spring snail Marstoniopsis insubrica is widespread in Europe it has been rarely recorded in Ukraine yet only in the northwestern part. Newly found specimen of M. insubrica in the central part of Ukraine (Olshanka River, middle part of the Dnieper basin) extending the south-eastern limit of the species distribution range. All known records of M. insubrica in Ukraine are restricted to several isolated occurrences and snails are occurring solitary. As of today only few specimens accumulated in the Ukrainian museums collections over the century. It evidences this is regionally extremely rare species. Considering rarity, populations’ low-density and occurrences on a very edge of the species natural range M. insubrica we recommend to include this species into the next edition of the Red Data Book of Ukraine with an endangered conservation status.
The Caspian Sea has been a highly dynamic environment throughout the Quaternary and witnessed maj... more The Caspian Sea has been a highly dynamic environment throughout the Quaternary and witnessed major oscillations in lake level, which were associated with changes in salinity and habitat availability. Such environmental pressures are considered to drive strong phylogeographic structures in species by forcing populations into suitable refugia. However, little is actually known on the effect of lake-level fluctuations in the Caspian Sea on its aquatic biota. We compared the phylogeographic patterns of the aquatic Neritidae snail genus Theodoxus across the Pontocaspian region with refugial populations in southern Iran. Three gene fragments were used to determine relationships and divergence times between the sampled populations in both groups. A dated phylogeny and statistical haplotype networks were generated in conjunction with the analyses of molecular variance and calculations of isolation by distance using distance-based redundancy analyses. Extended Bayesian skyline plots were co...
The dataset includes the (semi)landmark configurations for 41 specimens of the brackish-water gas... more The dataset includes the (semi)landmark configurations for 41 specimens of the brackish-water gastropod genera Abeskunus and Zagrabica from Miocene to Holocene deposits of southeastern and eastern Europe/western Asia. The 83 points cover six landmarks (points 1, 2, 3, 4, 33, 34) and two semilandmark curves. The data were generated in the software tpsDIG v. 2.26. See linked paper for details about the specimens.
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