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The Mediterrane an Sea is a biodiversity hotspot, being home to a vast array of marine species. Furthermore, seawater warming is facilitating the arrival and spread of new thermophilic species, posing a severe threat to biodiversity. Among the species currently extending their range and increasing in abundance in Mediterranean waters, sea chubs (genus Kyphosus) are one of the most enigmatic. One challenge arises from the high phenotypic similarity between the two congeneric species documented in the basin: Kyphosus vaigiensis and Kyphosus sectatrix. Their resemblance has often led to identification challenges, resulting in incorrect or omitted species-level classifications. Therefore, despite the growing presence of these fish in the Mediterranean, it remains unclear whether only one or both species are experiencing a demographic increase and range extension. To date, there have been 26 reports of Kyphosus individuals in the Mediterranean Sea, documented in 24 separate papers. Here, we reviewed the history of the genus in the basin and provided 13 new records of these fish from multiple localities along Mediterranean coasts. In addition, we sequenced the entire mitogenomes of two specimens, assessed their phylogenetic relationships with published Kyphosus mitochondrial DNAs from around the world, and conducted detailed morphological and meristic analyses on one of them, allowing us to provide accurate species-level identifications. Our results indicate that K. vaigiensis is the species currently expanding its range in the Mediterranean Sea, while K. sectatrix is still very rare and only sporadically reported. Notably, our mitogenome data indicate that Mediterranean K. vaigiensis individuals most likely came from Atlantic waters, while there is no evidence to support an entrance through the Red Sea or any other anthropogenic vector. Finally, the potential ecological and fishing impacts associated with the proliferation of these fish in the region are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of thermophilic species invasion in the eastern Mediterranean is well-noted in the literature. During the last decade in western Greek waters, small-scale fisheries (SSF) catches exhibit increased relative contribution of rabbitfishes, which have originated from the Red Sea and inhabited the country's southeastern part since the Second World War. This study has used quantitative and qualitative information to assess the short-term economic effect of the rabbitfishes' expansion in the SSF métier targeting the indigenous thermophilic parrotfish in the South Ionian Sea. The short-term micro-level negative economic effects of the rabbitfishes' invasion and the corresponding adverse effects on fishers' economic wealth have been estimated. The results indicate attitudinal differences among fishers, although their local ecological knowledge may enable them to avoid rabbitfishes' hot spots and mitigate the respective economic losses, that particularly for smaller SSF vessels already seem to be quite important. As climate warming may further facilitate the expansion of rabbitfishes, outcompeting parrotfish, the latter métier may eventually become economically unsustainable. Fine-scale analysis at the métier level enables addressing the specificities of social-ecological systems and can contribute to informed and more effective decision making related to SSF, which is an important building block of Mediterranean coastal communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean Sea biodiversity is undergoing a rapid reshaping due to different factors, many of which are directly related to human activities (e.g., pollution, habitat destruction, overfishing and introduction of non-indigenous species). In this context, climate changes, and in particular water warming, are the main factors that favor the arrival and subsequent spread of thermophilic species, regardless of their area of origin (e.g., Red Sea, Atlantic Ocean). In this research, we report the third and eastern-most well-documented record of the thermophilic species Parapristipoma octolineatum (Valenciennes, 1833) in the Mediterranean Sea, providing new morphological, genetic, ecological and biological data on this rare species in the basin. The integrative taxonomical approach was robust and unambiguously identified the species as P. octolineatum. The specimen was a large-sized female in maturation. The first high-quality photographic illustrations of otoliths were provided. Recent direct observations of fishermen in the area suggested a species abundance increase. However, data from the Mediterranean Sea remain scarce and further efforts are needed to better understand the abundance and distribution of this species. Modified keys for a rapid color pattern-based determination of all Haemulidae species recorded in the Mediterranean Sea to date are also provided. Finally, the potential further expansion under the future prediction of climate changes of this Atlantic origin fish in the Mediterranean Sea is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of Scorpaenidae was investigated in the Nature Reserve of Scàndula (Corsica, France, NW Mediterranean). While absent from Corsica a few decades ago, the Madeira rockfish Scorpaena maderensis is now the most abundant scorpaenid species in shallow rocky reef areas, far outnumbering Scorpaena notata and Scorpaena porcus. Considered as a subtropical species of Atlantic origin, the northward progression of the thermophilic S. maderensis and its dominance in Corsican waters is further evidence of the ongoing warming of the Mediterranean Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is focused on distribution of the spider Brigittea civica (Lucas, 1850). It is probably a non-native species in the Czech Republic, which occurs synanthropically in central European conditions. It is well adapted to coexistence with humans, and since there is no natural enemy, it may freely redistribute. The aim of this study was to supplement the knowledge of distribution of this species in South Moravia. The present occurrence data were recorded from a total of 92 towns and villages via observing typical cobwebs. In 86 cases, the incidence was observed, in only six cases, there was not found even a single cobweb of the spider. Based on our records, we can suggest that B. civica is much more common than was previously mapped and the presence of this species in the Czech Republic was underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2010, 16 macrofungi species were found in greenhouses of the Botanical Garden in Warsaw-Powsin. These included 8 species of lepiotaceous fungi and a few species known from warmer areas. For 3 species identified, which are new to Poland ( Agaricus subrufescens, Leucocoprinus heinemannii, Marasmius teplicensis), a description is given, with drawings of their microscopic features and photographs. Species composition of macrofungi is compared in 5 complexes of greenhouses (Bayreuth, Graz, Jena, Paskov, Warsaw) in 4 countries from Central Europe. The total number of species in these 5 studies is 206, including 27 (13.2%) lepiotaceous fungi. The smallest number of species identified was in Warsaw (16). More than twice this number was recorded in Jena (33) and Graz (34), while the richest fungal biotas were in Bayreuth (79) and Paskov (88). Of the 16 species found in Warsaw, 8 were also found in other greenhouses. In the group of 33 species recorded in at least two complexes of greenhouses, the most abundant were the lepiotaceous fungi (39.4%) and mycenaceous fungi (15.1%). Leucocoprinus cepistipes and L. straminellus were recorded most often, in 4 of the 5 studied greenhouse complexes. CCA analysis demonstrated that the highest impact on species diversity is the area of greenhouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blue runner Caranx crysos is a thermophilic species poorly investigated in the Mediterranean Sea. Although considered a typical inhabitant of the southern regions, it has recently established in northwest Sicily and, according to the data presented in this study, is now regularly caught in the central-southern Tyrrhenian Sea up to the Gulf of Naples. Some occurrences of the species were also documented in the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea) and in more northerly localities of the Tyrrhenian Sea, such as Gaeta and Civitavecchia. These recent distributional records are in contrast with historical literature and museum collections which depict this species as very rare in the Italian seas and only sporadically occurring above the Strait of Sicily. In this paper, literature and museum collections were thoroughly investigated in order to obtain a satisfactory understanding of the species distribution in the Mediterranean. In addition, the hypothesis of a recent displacement of the northern limit of this species distributional range in the Mediterranean is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermopsis thermophila n. gen. n. sp., a new freshwater ostracod species is described from hot springs in Nevada, U.S.A. The animals were collected within a temperature range of 40–55 °C. The new genus belongs to the Ostracoda Podocopida Cypridoidea Cyprididae Cypridopsinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper a specimen of the blue runner Caranx crysos, a thermophilic species commonly found in subtropical Atlantic waters, was newly reported from the Mar del Plata coast. The presence of the blue runner in Argentine waters could be explained by the warm drift theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]