Zoological Studies最新文献

{"title":"Altitudinal Distribution of Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) in the Tacaná Volcano, Mexico.","authors":"Víctor I López-Paz, Eduardo R Chamé-Vázquez, Viridiana Vega-Badillo, Benigno Gómez Y Gómez, Karen B Hernández-Esquivel","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-19","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-19","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) serve as bioindicators due to their sensitivity to environmental changes; however, their ecological distribution remains insufficiently documented. The Tacaná Volcano in Chiapas, Mexico, represents a biodiversity hotspot with diverse altitudinal ecosystems. This study investigates the altitudinal distribution of fireflies in this region through systematic sampling at four sites ranging from 278 to 2181 m a.s.l. between July and November 2023, employing both aerial nets and Malaise traps. A total of 226 specimens, representing 20 species across seven genera and five tribes, were identified. The greatest species richness was observed at mid-elevations (740-1191 m a.s.l.), particularly in shade-grown coffee plantations, where humidity and canopy cover emerged as significant environmental variables. Species richness was quantified using Hill numbers, while the Jaccard index assessed compositional similarities among sites. Generalized linear models (GLMs) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) evaluated the relationships between firefly abundance, species richness, and environmental parameters. Firefly abundance demonstrated positive correlations with temperature, humidity, and canopy cover, while precipitation exhibited a negative correlation. Nevertheless, no single environmental variable was identified as a definitive determinant of species richness. New distributional records reinforce the conservation significance of the Tacaná Volcano. Malaise traps proved to be an effective complement to traditional sampling techniques, facilitating the capture of diurnal and non-bioluminescent species. The highest species diversity and abundance were recorded in shaded coffee plantations, which provide stable microclimatic conditions conducive to firefly populations. Conversely, lower diversity was documented at the lowest and highest elevations, likely attributable to habitat constraints. This study highlights the importance of continued research to elucidate the ecological drivers influencing firefly distribution and to inform conservation strategies. Given the identification of novel species and new distributional records, the Tacaná Volcano should be recognized as a priority site for biodiversity conservation and entomological studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e19"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13291898/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148334090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fauna of Louse Flies (Hippoboscidae) from Scops Owls (<i>Otus</i>: Strigidae) of the Nansei Islands, Japan, with Information on Their Phylogenetic Positions and Population Structure.","authors":"Tomoki Hirose, Mizuho Munakata, Naoki Kanasugi, Akira Sawada, Mari Esashi","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-13","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-13","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Louse flies (Hippoboscidae) are ectoparasitic dipterans found on the body of birds and mammals. They have been reported from a wide geographic range, and eight species from four genera have been recorded from the Nansei Islands, a stretch of islands lying between Southwestern Japan and Taiwan. However, due to difficulties in obtaining samples, we are yet to have a complete understanding of the fauna and our knowledge on their distribution remains limited. Here, we collected louse fly samples from two scops owl species (<i>Otus elegans</i> and <i>O. semitorques</i>) from three islands within the Nansei Islands, and identified them based on their morphological characteristics. Three species, <i>Ornithoica exilis</i>, <i>Ornithomya avicularia</i> and <i>Icosta amamiensis</i>, were reported with different appearance of species on each island. This is the first record of <i>Om. avicularia</i> for Okinawajima, and the first record of this family for Haterumajima (<i>Oc. exilis</i> and <i>Om. avicularia</i>) and Minami-Daitojima (<i>Om. avicularia</i>). We also sequenced mitochondrial <i>COI</i> gene to estimate their phylogenetic positions, and also to understand the inter-insular population structure of <i>Oc. exilis</i> and <i>Om. avicularia</i>, which were collected from multiple islands. We found no inter-insular genetic differentiation between the populations, despite the host owls having low dispersal ability, indicating low host specificity and host switch of these species. We provide a complete list of all 422 specimens examined and identified in this study, along with records of phoresy by mites and chewing lice. We also present an updated key to bird-parasitising Hippoboscidae species reported from the Nansei Islands and unreported potential species.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13291902/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148334135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New and Known Species of Tardigrada from the Coast of Vietnam.","authors":"Anastasiia A Saulenko, Anastassya S Maiorova, Viktoriia D Yagodina, Vu Viet Dung, Thi-Lan Nguyen, Trong Huan Phan, Vladimir V Mordukhovich","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-20","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-20","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Four species of tardigrades have been found in the meiofauna communities of the seagrass meadows and adjacent areas off the coast of Vietnam. For two of them, <i>Batillipes binhdinhicus</i> sp. nov. and <i>Batillipes ampullus</i> sp. nov., integrative descriptions are presented. <i>Batillipes binhdinhicus</i> sp. nov. belongs to the B1 subgroup of species by having toe 3 shorter than toe 4 on legs IV, while <i>Batillipes ampullus</i> sp. nov. with toes 3 and 4 on legs IV of equal length belongs to the A group of species. <i>Batillipes binhdinhicus</i> sp. nov. can be distinguished from all previously described species by a set of features: very long cephalic cirri and leg sensory spines, both with swollen tips, presence of a single pair of conical lateral body projections between all pairs of legs and simple triangular caudal appendage. The distinctive features for <i>Batillipes ampullus</i> sp. nov. are short sensory organs on the fourth pair of legs, which consists of two parts and have swollen tips with a tuft of additional sensory filaments that are structurally similar to those found on the cephalic appendages. In addition, <i>Batillipes ampullus</i> sp. nov. does not have noticeable lateral body projections between the legs, and the body ends in a semi-circular tail appendage. Based on the obtained data on the nucleotide sequences of 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA, the distinction between the new species was confirmed.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13291901/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148334133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonal Differences in Community-level Mobbing Responses of Passerines Toward a Diurnal Owl in Taiwan.","authors":"Ta-Chih Chen, Jo-Szu Tsai","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-18","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-18","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Prey use a variety of anti-predator behavior, including alarm calling and approaching predators, and may adjust these behaviors by evaluating their benefits and costs. However, it remains unclear how prey expresses anti-predator behavior across seasons, when both breeding status or predator diet may influence perceived risk. We conducted nine-minute playback surveys (six-minute quiet period and subsequent three-minute playback) using calls of Collared Owlet (<i>Glaucidium brodiei</i>), a diurnal owl that preys on passerines, at 93 sites during breeding season and non-breeding season in Taiwan. We quantified whether the small passerine birds approach and make alarm call or not to quantify mobbing response. We found that probability of making alarm calls did not differ between seasons (30.88% and 29.15% in breeding and non-breeding season, respectively), whereas probability of approaching was higher in breeding (25.63%) than in non-breeding season (13.28%). To verify that responses were specific to predator cues rather than to loud vocalizations in general, we conducted supplementary playbacks using calls of a non-predatory species, Taiwan Barbet (<i>Psilopogon nuchalis</i>), which elicited markedly lower mobbing responses. Together, these results indicate that small passerine birds mob in both seasons but reduce the use of higher-risk behaviors against predators during the non-breeding season, consistent with seasonal variation in predation risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e18"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13291897/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148334077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aspects of the Postembryonic Development of the Mud Dragons <i>Campyloderes</i> cf. <i>vanhoeffeni</i> and <i>Ryuguderes casarrubiosi</i> (Kinorhyncha, Campyloderidae).","authors":"Birger Neuhaus, Nuria Sánchez, Alberto González-Casarrubios","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-24","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Seven late juvenile stages or young males, two late juvenile stages or males fixed in the process of moulting, three stage-1 and seven stage-2 females, and 17 juvenile specimens of <i>Campyloderes</i> cf. <i>vanhoeffeni</i> Zelinka, 1913 from various locations as well as a late juvenile or male and a juvenile specimen of <i>Ryuguderes casarrubiosi</i> Cepeda et al., 2022 were studied by light microscopy. The investigation yielded important insights into the life history of mainly the former species, viz, (1) establishment of clear distinctive characters between late juvenile and female as well as more maturated male life history stages, (2) the principal developmental series of juvenile stages, (3) development of spines via anlagen and modified spines, and (4) dissolution of septa in the primary spinoscalids of the head during moulting.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e24"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13223058/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148152025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First Fossil <i>Faorina</i> (Echinoidea: Spatangoida) from the Bhuban Formation (Miocene), Northeastern India.","authors":"Chia-Hsin Hsu, Lalramengi Fanai, Kongrailatpam M Sharma, Malsawmtluanga, Jehova Malsawma, Paul Lalnuntluanga, Raghavendra P Tiwari, Rajeev Patnaik, Ammu Sankar Senan, Jih-Pai Lin","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-21","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-21","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Heart urchins of the genus <i>Faorina</i> are now endemic to the Indo-West Pacific, but their fossils were previously known from the Miocene of Mediterranean, indicating a wider geographic distribution in the past. Here we describe <i>Faorina mizoramensis</i> sp. nov. from the Lower to Middle Miocene Bhuban Formation (Surma Group) in northeastern India, identified by their meridoplacous plating in interambulacrum 1 adorally. These fossils demonstrate that the distribution of <i>Faorina</i> had reached the eastern Indian Ocean (or Ceno-Tethys) by the Early to Middle Miocene. This study shows that <i>Faorina</i> likely expanded widely, extending into the Mediterranean during the Miocene. Following the closure of the Tethyan Seaway, they experienced local extinction. Today, they are restricted to Taiwan, southern China, Vietnam, Australia, Sulu Sea, Burma, and the Andaman Islands. We therefore hypothesize that <i>Faorina</i> may have originated in the Mediterranean, with the Indo-West Pacific later becoming a refugium for this genus and some of the tropical to subtropical Ceno-Tethyan echinoid faunas.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e21"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13223057/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148151973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-modal Scutes Patterns in the Green Turtle Hatchlings: a Possible Effect of Clutch Mass on the Frequency.","authors":"Bektaş Sönmez, Cemil Aymak, Aşkın H Uçar, Remziye S Ergene Üzdiyen","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-23","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-23","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In order to gain insight into the field of embryonic developmental biology, the study of scute patterning in green turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) has been a subject of considerable attention. Numerous factors, including genetic, environmental, and physiological are known to affect the formation of scute patterns. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between estimated clutch mass (ECM), volume of the sand at the top of the eggs (sand volume), and nest depth (ND) with the number of individuals exhibiting non- modal scute patterns (NMSP) at Alata beach in the eastern Mediterranean during the 2009 nesting season. We also conducted an investigation into the prevalence of NMSP frequencies. Using generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) analyses, we evaluated 5 covariates, including ECM, sand volume, ND, distance from sea and vegetation, that could affect NMSP. A total of 1,064 hatchlings from 33 nests were examined, and 801 exhibited the modal scute pattern, while 263 exhibited NMSP. The prevalence of NMSP was found to be 24.8%. The GAMM model showed a significant relationship between ECM and the frequency of NMSP, which was supported by correlation. ECM was found to account for 26% of the observed variation in the model, while ND and sand volume were found to account for less. The limited effect of ND and sand volume on NMSP, when considered alongside the modest proportion of ECM alone in explaining NMSP frequency, suggests that ECM may play a role in NMSP frequency with other environmental factors. This is the initial study to provide preliminary information into the association between ECM and NMSP frequency. In future studies, experimental studies involving ECM and environmental factors will be crucial in terms of revealing the contribution and joint role of ECM on NMSP frequency.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e23"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13223056/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148151989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Holothuroidea of the Emperor Seamount Chain: Taxonomy, Morphology and Molecular Data.","authors":"Antonina Kremenetskaia, Zoya I Dudnik, Andrey V Gebruk","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-15","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-15","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present paper provides first data on the fauna of Holothuroidea of the Emperor Seamount Chain (ESC, northwestern Pacific). Samples were collected using ROV <i>Comanche 18</i> from four guyots, Kinmei, Koko, Nintoku and Ojin, in 2019 and 2021 at depths from 750 to 2240 m during two cruises of RV <i>Akademik M.A. Lavrentyev</i>. Sixteen species were recognized. Orders Elasipodida and Synallactida were the most diverse. Here we provide morphological descriptions and molecular data on <i>COI</i> and <i>16S</i> rRNA for nine species belonging to eight genera and also for three taxa identified to the family level. One genus and two species are described as new: <i>Parvathuria dautovae</i> gen. et sp. nov. and <i>Peniagone koko</i> sp. nov. Two representatives were assigned to the genus <i>Hansenothuria</i>; we discuss the phylogenetic position of this genus based on molecular data. Only one of the recorded taxa is known outside the Pacific Ocean. More than a half of the examined species has the closest genetic affinity to holothuroids from the Pacific, indicating predominantly local origin of the ESC holothuroid fauna.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e15"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13294814/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148347015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reproduction and Sex in the Androdioecious Barnacle <i>Scalpellum scalpellum</i>: Darwin's Model for Studying Reproductive System Evolution.","authors":"Jens T Høeg, Niklas Dreyer, Yoichi Yusa","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-10","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-10","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Based on recent studies using both field surveys and laboratory experiments, we review a number of central reproductive traits of the androdioecious barnacle <i>Scalpellum scalpellum</i>. For the first time in any scalpellid species, development has been followed from cypris settlement until a mature dwarf male and compared with the early ontogeny of hermaphrodites. Cyprids settled in preformed receptacles on mature hermaphrodites started to deviate structurally from hermaphrodites almost immediately after attachment. After 14 days they had matured into adult dwarf males that do not resemble any stage in hermaphrodite ontogeny. Therefore, <i>S. scalpellum</i> males are not hermaphrodites arrested in development but the result of a much more profound evolutionary history. Settlement experiments showed that all cyprids are capable of settling and developing into hermaphrodites. Development into males happens only in cyprids attached in receptacles on adult hermaphrodites and must therefore be governed by environmental sex determination (ESD), presumably induced by some chemical factor(s) present only in the receptacle area. We observed mating between hermaphrodites and between a hermaphrodite and its dwarf males. Hermaphrodite to hermaphrodite mating resembles that seen in balanomorphan barnacles, except that adjacent specimens often check their environment with their cirri for the presence of a mating partner. Dwarf male mating is by means of a unique penis structure, made almost exclusively of cuticle and extending from inside the male and bending down into the brood chamber of its partner. This male penis is much larger (relatively to body size) than the structurally very different penis of the hermaphrodite individuals. The hermaphrodite recognizes when the dwarf male extends its penis and arrests its cirral motion so as not to damage or disturb its tiny partner. For the adult hermaphrodites we showed that their allocation of resources to male and female functions is in agreement with predictions from sex allocation theory. As predicted, solitary hermaphrodites allocated fewer resources to male function than those settled gregariously, where one or several hermaphrodite partners are within mating distance. The solitary individuals had both a shorter penis and less developed testes than the gregarious ones. As also predicted, solitary hermaphrodites were more likely to carry males than the gregarious ones.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e10"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13143791/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147845145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revised Checklist of Branchiopoda (Crustacea) in Uzbekistan Highlights Existing Blind Spots in the Knowledge of Regional Fauna.","authors":"Ivan A Dadykin, Polina A Volkova, Maqsadjon J Madumarov, Saodatxon O Madumarova, Elena N Ginatullina, Alexey A Kotov","doi":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-07","DOIUrl":"10.6620/ZS.2026.65-07","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>After ca. 150 years of faunistic and taxonomic research, the branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) of Central Asia still remain one of the poorly studied groups, despite their importance for freshwater ecosystems. Within the region, the most actively investigated country is Uzbekistan, containing a large diversity of water bodies. However, to date a large body of published literature devoted to the local branchiopod fauna lacks critical reviews. Here, we aim to summarize the existing knowledge of Uzbek Branchiopoda based on previous studies and original samples collected in twelve regions of Uzbekistan. Of 47 branchiopod taxa collected in this study, two species-<i>Camptocercus uncinatus</i> Smirnov, 1971 and <i>Ilyocryptus spinifer</i> Herrick, 1882 (Cladocera: Anomopoda)-are new records for the local fauna. Also, we confirm the presence of four more rare taxa in Uzbekistan and provide a list of branchiopod records for each province of the country. With the new records, the list of Branchiopoda in Uzbekistan contains 107 species, which are unequally distributed within the country: Karakalpakstan has the richest fauna (82 species), followed by provinces of northeast Uzbekistan (40 or more taxa), while local faunas of Kashkadarya, Khorezm, Navoiy and Syrdarya Provinces include fewer than 25 taxa each. Such inequality might be due to several reasons, of which research effort seems to be the most significant. Faunistic compositions of the species-rich provinces appear to be uniform and are similar to those of West and South Tajikistan, comprising high proportions of cosmopolitan, boreal and thermophilic south temperate/ tropical taxa. The best studied cladoceran local faunas of the Karakalpakstan and the Fergana valley resemble that of Tajikistan and, to a lesser extent, those of the Mediterranean countries. Thus, these local faunas together form West Eurasian cluster, which fits the biogeographic pattern observed in the northern Palearctic. However, final conclusions about Uzbek Branchiopoda and similarity of the local faunas should not be made to date, as our study highlights a lack of research in several regions, taxonomic groups (Anostraca, Notostraca, Spinicaudata) and particular water body types (temporary pools, montane water bodies). Also, faunistic composition might be distorted by cryptic endemism or extinction of some branchiopod species due to environmental changes. We hope that the presented checklist will encourage further faunistic, taxonomic and phylogeographic research in Uzbekistan.</p>","PeriodicalId":49331,"journal":{"name":"Zoological Studies","volume":"65 ","pages":"e7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13139731/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147845112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}