Joachim Langeneck

The present work is aimed at providing a general outline of the marine shelled molluscan fauna of the area of Calafuria (Livorno, Italy), established in 2020 as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) under the EU Habitat Directive, which was studied through samples obtained by scuba-diving or free-diving. Aside from a study of the death assemblage based on samples collected between 2018 and 2022, historical collections were also examined, with the final checklist including 695 species overall. Among the species identified in this study, 23 are not reported for sector 1 of the latest update of the Italian checklist; another five species possibly representing first records for sector 1 have been identified only tentatively. Lastly, some taxa were identified only to the genus level, as they belong to groups in which identification based on shell features only is not reliable; this group might include undescribed species belonging to the genera Curveulima, Vitreolina, Ammonicera, Ebala, Haminoea, Laona, and Turbonilla. Replicate samples obtained in 2018–2022 allowed us to obtain accumulation curves and variability estimates for different depth ranges. Moreover, we calculated Shannon-Wiener’s and Simpson’s diversity indices, which show values typical of environments characterised by high diversity and evenness, and the absence of dominant species.

Annelids are widely recognized as a major taxonomic and functional component of marine benthic systems. With more than 20,000 species formally described and a comparable number likely awaiting desc...

Exploring the Nudibranchia diversity, a specialized group of gastropods, from ports and marinas revealed a powerful way to early detect Mediterranean non-indigenous species and to uncover overlooked endemic diversity. During a survey in the Port of Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy (Tyrrhenian Sea), one specimen belonging to the neglected genus Vayssierea Risbec, 1928 was detected. Morphological and molecular analyses, based on the COI mitochondrial marker, confirmed it belongs to this Indo Pacific genus and they revealed Vayssierea sp. 1 is another case of challenging species identification. In fact, all the known species belonging to this genus share a similar external morphology and lack reliable diagnostic features, which make a comparison with the original descriptions of the species impossible, currently preventing identification at the species level. This is the first record of this genus in the entire Mediterranean Sea, and it highlights the importance of continuous monitoring of heavily human-impacted areas, such as ports and marinas, to early detect non-indigenous and/or neglected and overlooked taxa.

The pharyngeal muscular system of polychaetes is highly complex and shows remarkable variation in structure and function among taxa. In this study, the functional anatomy of the pharynx of G. tridactyla was investigated using micro‐computed tomography (micro‐CT). Sixteen Glycera specimens were imaged in different pharyngeal positions to examine the roles of key muscular structures in pharyngeal movement. The high‐resolution imaging provided by micro‐CT allowed visualisation of the pharyngeal muscles in their original topography, revealing essential components for pharyngeal function, including the ring muscle, retensor muscles, intestinal retractor muscles, and longitudinal muscles of the buccal tube and oesophagus. Comparison with previous studies addressed gaps in our knowledge of Glyceridae functional anatomy. Specifically, detailed analysis of the muscular system in different pharyngeal positions clarified the mechanisms of proboscis movement, which indicate the rapid and effective responses of these worms during burrowing and feeding behaviour.

A series of sampling activities in the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve, on the Southern coast of Lebanon, in the context of the project Blue Tyre - Local Partnership for Sustainable Marine and Coastal Development, allowed for the collection of material to study the polychaete fauna of the area, with particular focus on Non-Indigenous Species (NIS). The detection of several taxonomical novelties resulted in the description of five new species belonging to four families: Dorvilleidae, Eunicidae, Nereididae, and Sabellidae. Based on clear differences compared to the historical polychaete fauna of the Mediterranean Sea and on the presence of morphological similarities or genetic correspondence with Indo-Pacific taxa, we suggest that, despite having Mediterranean type locality, the newly described species should be considered NIS in the Mediterranean. Thus, the present data reaffirm the importance of the Levantine Sea and the Lebanese coast as an outpost for the early tracking of bioinvasions in the Mediterranean area. Specific epithets of Pseudobranchiomma Jones, 1962 species are amended to their correct Latin gender, following article 30.1.2 of the I.Z.C.N. Lastly, a review of the available literature on both the genera Nereis Linnaeus, 1758 and Lysidice Lamarck, 1818 reveals the necessity of corrections to the taxonomic status of some species within these genera.

The genus Loimia Malmgren, 1866 (Annelida: Terebellidae) represents a taxonomically challenging group of tubicolous polychaetes, with many species showing high morphological conservatism and unresolved systematic boundaries. The presence of Loimia medusa (Savigny, 1822) along the Mediterranean coasts has historically been reported, but recent studies suggest that this species is restricted to the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, with the Mediterranean records likely reflecting misidentifications. Here, we use an integrative taxonomic approach combining detailed morphological analyses and mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S rDNA) to reassess the diversity in Loimia along the coasts of Israel, Cyprus, and Lebanon. Specimens were collected at shallow waters from Akhziv, Bat Yam, and Tel Aviv beaches (Israel, 2017 and 2025), Episkopi and Larnaka Bays (Cyprus, 2024), and Bar El Mubarakh and Bar es Slaiyeb Bays (Lebanon, 2022). Our results reveal the presence of two new species: Loimia hannae sp. nov. and Loimia saraiae sp. nov., both morphologically distinct from other known species in the genus, including Indo-Pacific relatives. Phylogenetic reconstructions further support their recognition as different species, with COI genetic distances exceeding 12% from closest congeners. Furthermore, observed intraspecific variability, particularly in L. hannae, confirms the importance of accounting for ontogenetic morphological variation when delineating species within this genus. These findings not only expand the known diversity of Loimia in the Mediterranean. While our integrative approach clearly distinguishes these two new species from known Indo-Pacific congeners, their status in the Mediterranean –whether native, non-indigenous, or cryptogenic– remains uncertain and can only be resolved through broader geographic sampling and historical evidence.

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature provides a number of rules for the creation of new names and the change of old names. However, such rules are understandable only in the light of a good knowledge of the lexicon and grammar of the Latin language, an expertise that is rapidly disappearing among the scientific community. This contribution aims to summarize those grammatical elements within the Latin language that are involved in the creation of scientific names and to provide a practical guide to the creation of descriptive names, in addition to eponymous names, detoponyms, and names inspired by pop culture. Finally, the cases in which the creation of a new name or the modification of an existing one is needed are discussed.