A multi-taxon analysis of European Red Lists reveals major threats to biodiversity.

Biodiversity loss is a major global challenge and minimizing extinction rates is the goal of several multilateral environmental agreements. Policy decisions require comprehensive, spatially explicit information on species' distributions and threats. We present an analysis of the conservation status of 14,669 European terrestrial, freshwater and marine species (ca. 10% of the continental fauna and flora), including all vertebrates and selected groups of invertebrates and plants. Our results reveal that 19% of European species are threatened with extinction, with higher extinction risks for plants (27%) and invertebrates (24%) compared to vertebrates (18%). These numbers exceed recent IPBES (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) assumptions of extinction risk. Changes in agricultural practices and associated habitat loss, overharvesting, pollution and development are major threats to biodiversity. Maintaining and restoring sustainable land and water use practices is crucial to minimize future biodiversity declines.

Dinarippiger gen. nov. (Tettigoniidae: Bradyporinae: Ephippigerini), a new saddle bush-cricket genus for Ephippiger discoidalis Fieber, 1853 from the Dinaric karst.

A new genus of the tribe Ephippigerini, Dinarippiger Skejo, Kasalo, Fontana et Tvrtkovic gen. nov., is described based on the characters of occiput coloration, tegmina coloration, cerci and pronotum shape. The new genus is morphologically intermediate between the genera Ephippiger Berthold, 1827 and Uromenus Bolívar, 1878, and presently includes only Dalmatian Saddle Bush Cricket, Dinarippiger discoidalis (Fieber, 1853) comb. nov., hitherto known as Ephippiger discoidalis Fieber, 1853. The species inhabits NE Italy (mainly Carso Triestino), SW Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro, i.e., islands and karst habitats along the eastern Adriatic coast, with isolated findings in Albania and Italy. Its prominent variation in size and coloration has already produced many synonyms (= limbata Fischer, 1853, = limbata var. major Krauss, 1879, = limbata var. minor Krauss, 1879, = selenophora Fieber, 1853, = sphacophila Krauss, 1879), which may suggest that what is currently regarded as a single species could represent a complex of distinct species with restricted distributions. This study also presents an annotated distribution map and a bioacoustic analysis of D. discoidalis comb. nov. Further research, especially adopting molecular methods, is necessary to assess possible cryptic diversity within the genus Dinarippiger gen. nov. and elucidate its evolutionary history.

A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic genus Roeseliana (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae: Platycleidini): a case of ongoing Mediterranean speciation.

The genus Roeseliana presently includes 10 specific or subspecific taxa, but following different authors some of them are considered synonyms. However, the authors who have treated these taxa often did not agree with the synonymies, in particular, concerning some taxa, such as R. fedtschenkoi (Saussure, 1874) and R. roeselii (Hagenbach, 1822). The present authors examined hundreds of specimens of different taxa, for the first time were able to obtain the translation from the Russian of the description of R. fedtschenkoi, compared the main morphological characters used to discriminate different taxa, biometrics, bioacoustics and genetics of some taxa. This allowed them to conclude that it is possible to recognize the following taxa: 1) Roeseliana roeselii (Hagenbach, 1822) widespread in the Palaearctic Region and imported in North America; 2) Roeseliana fedtschenkoi (Saussure, 1874) in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan; 3) Roeseliana pylnovi (Uvarov, 1924) in the Caucasian region; 4) Roeseliana bispina (Bolívar, 1899) in Turkey; 5) Roeseliana azami (Finot, 1892) from the Mediterranean France through Italian peninsula (formerly R. azami minor Nadig, 1961); 6) R. ambitiosa (Uvarov, 1924) on the Balkan peninsula; 7) Roeseliana n. sp. Lemonnier-Darcemont & Darcemont, (in press) on Epirus (Greece and Albania); 8) Roeseliana brunneri Ramme 1951 in north east Italy (Veneto, Friuli and Po Valley); 9) Roeseliana oporina (Bolívar, 1887) in Spain.

Sixty years of work on Italy's Orthopteroids biodiversity, the big data of Galvagni collection.

BACKGROUND: Historical natural history collections are very important for the study of nature and environmental protection of the environment, these being the depository of essential information. The Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto holds two major Orthopteroid insect collections that make this Museum a landmark on Italian and Mediterranean Orthoptera diversity. Databasing the Galvagni Collection allows considerations on geographic and taxonomic coverage by specialist researchers. NEW INFORMATION: Databasing of the Galvagni Collection makes possible considerations on the late specialist research, geographic and taxonomic coverage.

A new rare species of Oedipoda Latreille, 1829 (Orthoptera: Acrididae) from South Italy.

Oedipoda cynthiae n. sp. (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) is described from Apulia (South Italy). In the past, the same population here considered had been assigned to O. miniata and later to O. charpentieri. Morphological features, biogeographical considerations, and a preliminary molecular analysis confirm that this population must be assigned to a new species, which is described and illustrated here.

A new voice from Sardinia: Uromenus annae (Targioni-Tozzetti, 1881 (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Bradyporinae: Ephippigerini).

Recent findings of the Sardinian endemic Bushcricket Uromenus annae (Targioni Tozzetti, 1881) allowed the authors to retrace the nomenclatorial history of the species. The rearing of living specimens resulted in the recording of the male song, previously unknown. Since the Neotype previously established by Fontana Buzzetti (2001) is lost, a new Neotype is here designated. Affinities with other congeneric species are discussed.

The "Italian hebrid", Hebrus franzi (Wagner, 1957): disentangling a half-century dilemma (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerromorpha).

Hebrus franzi (Wagner, 1957) was described from the Apuan Alps (Tuscany, Italy) and not found again for several decades despite intensive search. We report on new collections that expand the known distribution area considerably, provide a redescription, and give first insights regarding the ecology of this remarkable flightless species.

First records of Croatian and Serbian Tetrigidae (Orthoptera: Caelifera) with description of a new subspecies of Tetrix transsylvanica (Bazyluk & Kis, 1960).

A review of the Croatian and Serbian Tetrigidae is given and first records of Tetrix undulata (Sowerby, 1806) for Croatia and Serbia as well as Tetrix tuerki (Krauss, 1876) and Tetrix transsylvanica (Bazyluk & Kis, 1960) comb. nov. for Croatia are presented. The status of the genus Uvarovitettix Bazyluk & Kis, 1960 and the taxonomic position of T. transsylvanica comb. nov. are discussed. The genus Uvarovitettix Bazyluk & Kis, 1960 syn. nov. is synonymised with the genus Tetrix Latreille, 1802. A new subspecies from Croatia and Slovenia, Tetrix transsylvanica hypsocorypha Skejo, 2014 subspecies nova, is described. Tetrix pseudodepressa (Ingrisch, 2006) comb. nov. and Tetrix depressa (Brisout de Barneville, 1848) comb. nov. are moved to the genus Tetrix and the genus Depressotetrix Karaman, 1960 syn. nov. is synonymised with the genus Tetrix. Tetrix gibberosa (Wang & Zheng, 1993) inc. sed. and T. nodulosa (Fieber, 1853) inc. sed. are now considered to be species of uncertain placement within the genus Tetrix. New combination is also given to Paratettix tuberculata (Zheng & Jiang, 1997), primarily placed within the genus Mishtshenkotetrix: Tetrix tuberculata (Zheng & Jiang, 1997) comb. nov., but its placement within the genus Tetrix is also uncertain. 

A molecular phylogeny of the pan-tropical pond skater genus Limnogonus Stål 1868 (Hemiptera-Heteroptera: Gerromorpha-Gerridae).

We investigated phylogenetic relationships among pond skaters (Heteroptera: Gerridae) of the genus Limnogonus Stål 1868 by performing separate and combined parsimony analyses of DNA sequences from three mitochondrial (COI+II, 16SrRNA) and one nuclear (28SrRNA) gene(s). The taxon sample represented almost two thirds of the known diversity, and with most taxa represented by two or more individuals. A simultaneous analysis of all data showed that L. luctuosus Montrousier 1865 was paraphyletic and suggests that "L. luctuosus" from Australia and possibly also a population from the Society Islands (Moorea) each represents unrecognized species. L. fossarum F. 1775 was strongly supported, but the two subspecies L. f. fossarum F. 1775 and L. f. gilguy Andersen and Weir 1997 were paraphyletic. The two currently recognized subgenera Limnogonus (s. str.) Stål 1868 and L. (Limnogonoides)Andersen 1975 were paraphyletic, and were accordingly broken up in several monophyletic groups, each containing one or more species. From Limnogonus (s. str.) we delimited five clades: I (comprising L. aduncus Drake & Harris 1933, L. recens Drake and Harris 1934, L. profugus Drake & Harris 1930 and L. ignotus Drake and Harris 1934, all from the Neotropical Region), II (comprising L. nitidus Mayr 1865 from the Oriental Region), III (comprising L. franciscanus (Stål 1859) from the New World and L. cereiventris (Signoret 1862) from the Afrotropical Region), IV (comprising L. hungerfordi Andersen 1975 and L. luctuosus Montrousier 1865 from the Oriental and Australasian Regions) and V (comprising L. fossarum F. 1775 from the Oriental and Australasian Regions). From L. (Limnogonoides) we delimited two clades: VI (comprising L. intermedius Poisson 1941 from the Afrotropical Region and L. pectoralis (Mayr 1865) from the Oriental Region) and VII (comprising L. hypoleucus (Gerstaecker 1873), L. nigrescens Poisson 1941, L. poissoni Andersen 1975, and L. capensis China 1925 from the Afrotropical Region). Finally, L. (s. str.) windi Hungerford & Matsuda 1961 from Australia was placed as sister to clades I-VI. A manual optimization of geographical distribution onto the strict consensus tree suggests that Limnogonus is primarily an Old World group with independent transitions to the New World in L. franciscanus and in the common ancestor of Clade I.