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Environmental pollution, particularly in the marine environment, has become a significant concern due to the increasing presence of pollutants and their adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. This study focuses on the bioaccumulation of trace elements in the muscle tissue of the blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) from different areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Trace elements are of interest due to their persistence, toxicity, and potential for bioaccumulation. This research aims to assess the distribution and accumulation of trace elements in the muscle tissue of G. melastomus and investigate their potential impact on the deep-sea environment of the Mediterranean. The focused areas include the Ligurian Sea, the northern and central Tyrrhenian Sea, the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, the Ionian Sea, the Pantelleria Waters, and the Gela Waters. Samples were collected following established protocols, and trace element analysis was conducted using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The study provides data on the concentrations of 17 trace elements, namely aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, zinc, selenium, strontium, lead, chromium, iron, barium, bismuth, and uranium. The findings contribute to a better understanding of trace element bioaccumulation patterns in elasmobranch species, specifically G. melastomus, and highlight the potential risks associated with chemical contamination in the Mediterranean Sea. This research emphasizes the importance of studying the impacts of pollutants on marine organisms, particularly those occupying key ecological roles, like sharks, to support effective conservation and management strategies.

The first record of Tetragonurus cuvieri Risso, 1810 off Calabrian coast (Southern Italy, Central Mediterranean) is reported. The specimen, a male of 361 mm total length, was found at a depth of 7 m during a scientific visual census research activity, in March 2017. The sighting was located off the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria (Paola: 39.355453N, 16.029192E). The present finding represents the 1st documented record for the Tyrrhenian coast of the Calabria region.

The lesser spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula has an important role in the trophic web of demersal fish communities, representing an important trophic link between invertebrates and larger predatory fish. Despite its scientific interest, there is still scarce knowledge about many biological and ecological aspects of this shark. Parasitological, hematological and ecotoxicological analyses were carried out on a population of lesser spotted dogfish S. canicula from central Mediterranean. Parasitological analyses highlighted a poor helminthic community, highly dominated by a single taxon represented by the cestode Nybelinia sp. and no differences between females and males were observed. Hematological analyses showed that the number of leukocytes was significantly lower in the sharks that resulted parasitized: this was probably due to the ability of some trace elements (like As) in weakening of the immune system, exposing the animals to a higher risk of parasite infection. Trace elements analyses were performed in vertebrae, skin, and liver tissues and the most abundant and potentially toxic elements were: Pb, As, Cd, Mn, Zn, Ni and Fe. Pb, As and Mn showed the highest concentrations in vertebrae due to the diet of the sharks; Fe and Ni in the skin, due to their presence in the water column where animals were collected, and Cd and Zn in the liver, linked to their ability to induce trace elements binding metallothionein proteins (MT), which can reduce the concentration of Cd. These results confirm that elasmobranchs, being predators at the apex of the marine food chain, act as final receptors for a series of polluting elements regularly discharged into the sea that could weak their immune system increasing the parasitic load. For that reason, they could be considered as bioindicator of the health status of marine ecosystems.

Research on animal colouration has grown exponentially in the last decade thanks to multidisciplinary approaches. Most studies are focused on trade-offs between communication and mimicry, which represent the two main constraints and drivers of the evolution of body colourations. Reptiles are excellent model species for investigating this field of study and lizards in particular show great variability of body colourations and their functions. We studied the lizard Podarcis siculus, analysing the variations of dorsal colour of three populations and obtained clear patterns of seasonal and ontogenetical variation of dorsal colour. According to baseline colour, males were greener and brighter than females, although no difference in saturation was recorded. According to seasonal variations, analyses showed that both sexes significantly vary in colour over the year: males reached higher peaks of hue and saturation later than females during spring, while females showed higher peaks of brightness and reached earlier similarly to hue and saturation. Ontogenetic variations were recorded only in males, which become greener, less bright and saturated with growing size. Therefore, our results suggest the occurrence of two opposing strategies in colour expression between sexes: males’ dorsal colouration plays a major role in communication, while females are more crypsis-oriented., Summary: This research paper focuses on the dorsal chromatic variations in Mediterranean lizards, analysing the effect of seasonality and ontogeny.

We report the occurrence of the European Brook Lamprey, Lampetra planeri (Bloch, 1784), in the Lao river in the Calabria region (southern Italy). This record extends the species’ known distribution limit southwards. Information regarding some morphometric and ecological data are provided and discussed.

In this paper we report new faunistic findings concerning 15 moth species collected in forested habitats ofCalabria and Sicily regions, South Italy. Most interesting records concerned Eupithecia trisignariaand Orectisproboscidata,both recorded for the first time in southern Italy. Species with larval biology linked to the forest coverwere locally common, whilst species linked to herbaceous plants and shrubs were often collected as singletons or in onelocality, showing smaller populations. A study of a 658bp long sequence of the mitochondrial 5’ cytochrome oxidasegene, subunit 1 (COI) (barcoding analysis) was performed for five species, two of them showing a divergence fromclosest populations near to 1%, one a 2% divergence from northern populations, and two other species a perfect identitywith European populations. This study reinforced the role of forest habitats as biodiversity hot-spots in theMediterranean Basin and the importance of the Italian peninsula for biodiversity conservation at European scale as anincreased number of endemic or sub-endemic taxa and populations with endemic genetic lineages are recognized,underlining the existence of ongoing evolutionary processes. In the light of these results, faunistic surveys in forestecosystems are strongly needed to define sustainable management strategies.

20 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.25306, The Mediterranean Sea has a long-lasting history of fishery exploitation that, together with other anthropogenic impacts, has led to declines in several marine organisms. In particular, elasmobranch populations have been severely impacted, with drastic decreases in abundance and species diversity. Based on their experience, fishers can provide information on marine species occurrence, abundance and behavioural traits on a long-term scale, therefore contributing to research on the poorly studied biological aspects of elusive or rare elasmobranch species. In this study, for the first time, the use of the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of fishers was applied to study the behavioural traits of sharks, rays and skates in 12 FAO-GFCM geographical sub-areas (GSAs) of the Mediterranean Sea. This study found both new insight and proved the reliability of LEK-based catch seasonality, reflecting seasonal movements, by comparing LEK-based findings and available literature on five elasmobranch taxa (Mustelus spp., Squalus acanthias, Raja spp., Myliobatis aquila and Scyliorhinus stellaris) in the Adriatic Sea and 7 taxa (Mustelus spp., Raja spp., Prionace glauca, Scyliorhinus canicula, Torpedo spp., Pteroplatytrygon violacea and Isurus oxyrinchus) in the remaining Mediterranean GSAs. In addition, LEK provided new insights into a novel comprehensive representation of species aggregations (Mustelus spp., S. acanthias, M. aquila and S. canicula) in the sampled GSAs and supplied the first descriptions of the size, number of individuals and sex composition of the aggregations. When the limits and shortcomings of LEK-based research are considered, this methodology can be a complementary and cost-effective tool used to study elasmobranchs in either a data-poor scenario or a scenario in which a baseline is missing. LEK can also be useful for the evaluation and inclusion of fishers’ perceptions on bottom-up management and to provide important evidence for conservation plans, This work was supported by funding of Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (MIUR) to CM, With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)

The illegal trade has been threatening tortoise populations worldwide for decades. Nowadays, however, DNA typing and forensic genetic approaches allow us to investigate the geographic origin of confiscated animals and to relocate them into the wild, providing that suitable molecular tools and reference data are available. Here we assess the suitability of a small panel of microsatellite markers to investigate patterns of illegal translocations and to assist forensic genetic applications in the endangered Mediterranean land tortoise Testudo hermanni hermanni. Specific allelic ladders were created for each locus and tested on several reference samples. We used the microsatellite panel to (i) increase our understanding of the population genetic structure in wild populations with new data from previously unsampled geographic areas (overall 461 wild individuals from 28 sampling sites); (ii) detect the presence of non-native individuals in wild populations; and (iii) identify the most likely geographic area of origin of 458 confiscated individuals hosted in Italian seizure and recovery centers. Our analysis initially identified six major genetic clusters corresponding to different geographic macro-areas along the Mediterranean range. Long-distance migrants among wild populations, due to translocations, were found and removed from the reference database. Assignment tests allowed us to allocate approximately 70 % of confiscated individuals of unknown origin to one of the six Mediterranean macro-areas. Most of the assigned tortoises belonged to the genetic cluster corresponding to the area where the respective captivity center was located. However, we also found evidence of long-distance origins of confiscated individuals, especially in centers along the Adriatic coast and facing the Balkan regions, a well-known source of illegally traded individuals. Our results clearly show that the microsatellite panel and the reference dataset can play a beneficial role in reintroduction and repatriation projects when confiscated individuals need to be re-assigned to their respective macro-area of origin before release, and can assist future forensic genetic applications in detecting the illegal trade and possession of Testudo hermanni individuals.

In this contribution the checklist of chondrichthyans of Calabria (Central Mediterranean, southern Italy) is reported. Data presented is derived from twenty years of opportunistic and active surveys from 2000 to 2020. A total of 55 species of chondrichthyans is present in Calabrian seas: 33 sharks, 20 rays, and 2 chimaeras. These species represent approximately 62% of the total reported for the Mediterranean. Approximately 71% of Calabrian species have been reported in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 49% in the Ionian Sea, and 33% in the Strait of Messina. According to IUCN criteria, new records of Endangered and Critically Endangered species (i.e., Carcahrodon carcharias [Linnaeus, 1758], Lamna nasus [Bonnaterre, 1788], Cetorhinus maximus [Gunnerus, 1765], Mobula mobular [Bonnaterre, 1788], Sphyrna zygaena [Linnaeus, 1758]) are reported, together with the first record of Raya brachyura Lafont, 1873 for the Ionian coasts and probably third confirmed record of the rare chimaera Hydrolagus mirabilis (Collett, 1904) for the Mediterranean.

Vengono segnalate 17 specie appartenenti alle famiglie oggetto di studio tra le quali Anchinia daphnella (denis and Schiffermüller, 1775) e Oecophora bractella (Linnaeus, 1758), segnalate per la prima volta in Italia peninsulare, Diurnea lipsiella (denis and Schiffermüller, 1775), segnalata per la prima volta in Italia meridionale, Diurnea fagella (denis and Schiffermüller, 1775), Metalampra italica Baldizzone, 1977, Epicallima formosella (denis and Schiffermüller, 1775), Kasyniana diminutella (Rebel, 1931), Pleurota (Protasis) punctella (o. Costa, 1836), Pleurota (Pleurota) aristella (Linnaeus, 1767), Stathmopoda pedella (Linnaeus, 1761) e Carcina quercana (Fabricius, 1775) non ancora note con certezza per il territorio calabrese. Inoltre, vengono aggiornati i dati di presenza di alcune specie segnalate in Calabria oltre un secolo fa.

Chondrichthyans are one of the most threatened marine taxa worldwide. This is also the case in the Mediterranean Sea, which is considered an extinction hotspot for rays and sharks. The central position of the Italian peninsula makes it an ideal location for studying the status and changes of this sea. There is a lack of biological, ecological and historical data when assessing shark populations, which is also highlighted in the Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Historical data can provide important information to better understand how chondrichthyan populations have changed over time. This study aims to provide a clearer understanding of the changes in distribution and abundance of eight shark species in the Italian seas that are currently classified as at risk of extinction by the IUCN. In this respect, a bibliographic review was conducted on items from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, focusing on the selected species. The results show that all sharks were considered common until the beginning of the 20th century but have declined since, with a clear negative trend, mainly in the past 70 years. The strong local decline has been attributed to overexploitation, bycatch, habitat loss, depletion of prey items and environmental pollution. Furthermore, historical data also allow us to avoid the issue of a &lsquo, shifting baseline&rsquo, in which contemporary abundances are assumed to be &ldquo, normal&rdquo, Using historical data to further our knowledge of the marine environment is becoming increasingly common, and is fundamental in understanding human impact and evaluating mitigation measures to manage and conserve marine species and environments.

Illegal trade is threatening tortoise populations worldwide since decades. Nowadays, however, DNA typing and forensic genetic approaches allow to investigate geographic origin of confiscated animals and to relocate them into the wild, provided that suitable molecular tools and reference data are available. Here we assess the suitability of a small panel of microsatellite markers to investigate patterns of illegal translocations and to assist forensic genetic applications in the endangered Mediterranean land tortoiseTestudo hermanni hermanni. We used the microsatellite panel to (i) increase the understanding of the population genetic structure in wild populations with new data from previously unsampled geographic areas (overall 461 wild individuals from 28 sampling sites); (ii) detect the presence of non-native individuals in wild populations; and (iii) identify the most likely geographic area of origin of 458 confiscated individuals hosted in Italian seizure and recovery centers. Our analysis initially identified six major genetic clusters corresponding to different geographic macro-areas along the Mediterranean range. Long-distance migrants among wild populations, due to translocations, were found and removed from the reference database. Assignment tests allowed us to allocate approximately 70% of confiscated individuals of unknown origin to one of the six Mediterranean macro-areas. Most of the assigned tortoises belonged to the genetic cluster corresponding to the area where the respective captivity center was located. However, we also found evidence of long-distance origin of confiscated individuals, especially in centers along the Adriatic coast and facing the Balkan regions, a well-known source of illegally traded individuals. Our results clearly show the role for reintroduction projects of the microsatellite panel, which was useful to re-assign most of the confiscated individuals to the respective macro-area of origin. At the same time, the microsatellite panel can assist future forensic genetic applications to detect illegal trade and possess ofTestudo hermanniindividuals.