Scientiae biologicae

A new alien species, Ornithogalum montanum Cirillo, is reported here as naturalised in several localities in the wider vicinity of the Ostrava city, northern Moravia/Silesia. It represents the ninth species of the genus Ornithogalum occurring in Czechia. It belongs to Ornithogalum subgen. Ornithogalum and differs from other members of the subgenus occurring in Czechia by its wide, shiny, mid-green leaves without white or silver stripe, and by long, arcuately reaching branches of inflorescence. The chromosome number of naturalised plants is established as 2n=16.

In the Middle East, the genus Cynoglossum has traditionally been represented in the literature and in herbaria by only two taxa: the relatively common Mediterranean C. creticum and, as the second species, either C. nebrodense or C. montanum – neither of which actually occurs in the studied region. However, based on the revised plant material available, three new endemic species, C. levanticum sp. nov., C. cedrorum sp. nov. and C. abietinum sp. nov. are described here.

Correspondence of the outstanding Czech bryologist Josef Duda (1925-–2012) from the active professional part of his life (1950–-1991) is presented. It contains letters of 235 writers from 31 countries. Extensive correspondence was held with I. I. Abramov and A. L. Abramova, A. Boros, J. Fitzgerald., J. Futschig., R. Grolle, M. Kuc, Z. Pilous, J. Szweykowski, L. Vajda, and J. Váòa. Letters are deposited in the Department of Botany, Moravian Museum, Brno.

A new species of Heteroceridae, Augyles gurkoi sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Heteroceridae), from Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province) is described and illustrated. Five species of Heteroceridae are added to the latest checklist of Pakistan species and eight species are recorded as new occurrences for individual provinces of Pakistan. A. ivojenisi (Mascagni, 1995) is synonymized with A. bellus (Grouvelle, 1911). The following species are recorded for the first time from the respective countries: A. hiekei (Mascagni, 1995) for Thailand and Indonesia (Sumatra), H. dubius Fabricius, 1798 for Vietnam, H. mus Charpentier, 1965 for Jordan and Oman and H. virgatus Mamitza, 1933 for Vietnam.

A new genus and species of histerid beetle is described from Cameroon: Cordister prodigiosus Vienna, Simon-Pražák, Lackner & Baòaø gen. et sp. nov. Seven specimens of this rare species were collected using flight interception traps in Mt. Cameroon National Park, Cameroon, Africa. The species is characterised by small size and uniquely shaped and deep elytral striation.

This article presents new records of the calanoid species Arctodiaptomus bacillifer in Czechia, outside Lednice fishponds. All of the new sites are located in lowlands where former salt marshes occurred. Furthermore, we found that the sites where the species occurred were characterized by significantly higher amounts of nutrients (TP and TN) and higher concentrations of chloride and potassium ions compared to sites in southern Moravia, where the species was not found. We also observed large intraspecific variation in the P5 legs of males, a crucial feature commonly used in the identification of Calanoid species.

The study deals with an important area around the confluence of the Morava and Dyje rivers, which is the last integrated complex of floodplain forests in South Moravia. In the course of three years 2021-–2023, 49 sites were subject to systematic amphibian monitoring. The occurrence of 10 amphibian species, including their reproduction, was detected in the Soutok game reserve area. The results indicate a critical state of populations which are strongly dependent on local, especially hydrological, conditions.