| Popis: |
Available data on Sicilian entomostracans allowed an initial characterization of the freshwater crustacean biota of the island and to formulate some hypotheses on its origin.The absence of supra-specific endemic taxa and the current regional distriburion of the investigated species suggest a late Pleistocene colonisation of the island by temperate taxa with a northern affinity, currently confined to the coolest areas of the island, followed by a Holocene arrival of thermophilous species coming from the Maghreb, which is still in progress. The importance of Sicily as a "crossroad" for the faunas of the circum-Mediterranean countries is thus confirmed.Unfortunately, and in spite of the EU directives, Sicilian temporary waters are crrently threatened by reclamations and spreading urbanization; the progressive loss of these environments, which are water bodies typical of the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the region, is causing the fragmentation and, eventually, the local extinction of their own fauna, which constitutes the most representative autochthonous biota of Sicilian inland waters. |
