Three new species of Cobitis, C. fasciola sp. nov., C. crassicauda sp. nov. and C. stenocauda sp. nov. are found from the River Xinjiang and the River Le'anjiang, tributaries of Lake Poyang, belonging to the River Yangtze system, Jiangxi Province, China. These cobitid fish are described based on the morphology features such as the pigmentation pattern, shape of lamina circularis, body scales, mouth character and sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene, which can be used for molecular identification and diagnosis of these species. Illustrations of the morphology characters of new species are given, and phylogenetic analysis identifies deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) lineages closely related to these cobitid fish. Traditional taxonomy of cobitid fish of the subfamily Cobitinae is discussed based on the recent molecular phylogenies of these cobitid fish.

Lake Biwa consists of a large, deep north basin and a small, shallow south basin, and the body weights of bluegill Lepomis macrochirus in the north basin tend to exceed those in the south basin. To elucidate the cause of this phenomenon, the physical characteristics of the fish in the two basins were compared. The fish in the north basin had larger gonads and stomachs than did the fish in the south basin, but the contributions of these organs to the body weight were very small. The body weights of the fish in the north basin still exceeded those in the south basin after the subtraction of the weights of the gonad and stomach. Bluegill in the north basin had deeper bodies than those in the south basin. The heavier body tissues of bluegill in the north basin appear to be an adaptive response to the colder environment. Given the flourishing of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides in the littoral zone in the north basin, the deeper bodies of bluegill there may contribute to their increased survival rate by reducing their vulnerability to predation by largemouth bass.

Ageing precision from otoliths, vertebrae and pectoral spines was studied in Clarias batrachus, Heteropneustes fossilis and Wallago attu. In C. batrachus, otoliths showed the highest (92.9 %) agreement between readers followed by vertebrae (87 %) and pectoral spines (83.8 %). The highest percentage of agreement (87 %) and lowest average percentage of error (1.89 %) and coefficient of variation (3.81 %) values were observed between otoliths and vertebrae age estimates. In H. fossilis, vertebrae showed the clearest annual rings and had highest (90.8 %) PA values between readers, followed by otoliths (80.3 %) and pectoral spines (73.7 %). The highest PA and lowest APE and CV values were found between vertebrae and otoliths estimates. In W. attu, otoliths showed the highest PA (86.7 %) values between readers followed by pectoral spines (70.3 %) and vertebrae (67.9 %). The highest PA and lowest APE and CV values were found between otoliths and pectoral spines. On account of the highest PA, lowest APE and CV values, the most suitable ageing structure was otolith in C. batrachus and W. attu, while vertebrae in H. fossilis. If mean age estimates are considered then in the absence of the most suitable ageing structure, alternatively, vertebrae can be used in C. batrachus, otoliths in H. fossilis and pectoral spines in W. attu.

We examined condition factor, hepatosomatic index and stomach fullness in brown trout to study if feeding intensity can be related to fish condition. Trout were collected at three locations during the summer in temperate rivers (Galicia, NW Spain). Our findings suggest that the feeding intensity is inversely related with the fish condition because the stomach fullness decreases with fish age and size and the condition factor is the lowest in young-of-the-year (YOY). In general, no significant differences among age classes were found in the hepatosomatic index, except in one river (the River Lengüelle) in which YOY shows the highest value. The high feeding intensity of YOY during summer could be related with the increases in fish condition and survival in the later autumn and winter.

Recent surveys have shown that in Albania otters occur on rivers which had been judged unsuitable in the 1980s, pointing out the need for further investigations. We assessed otter distribution on a 60 km long stretch of the River Drinos, a major tributary of the River Vjosa. Marking intensity was assessed in two seasons, spring and summer 2010, corresponding to the highest and lowest river discharge levels, respectively. Otter signs (spraints and jellies) were searched for along 300 river stretches 200 m long (sampling stations). Vegetation coverage, hydraulic pattern and human disturbance were assessed visually for the whole length of each sampling station. Both the mean number of sprainting sites and otter signs per 200 m of watercourse were higher in spring (0.81 and 2.6, respectively) than in summer (0.55 and 1.25). In spring otter signs were recorded in 118 sampling stations (39 %), while in summer, when the first 24 km of the watercourse were completely dried up, 92 sampling stations were positive for otters (31 %). Considering only the permanent river course, the variation in otter distribution was less marked (58 % vs. 51 % of 181 sampling stations). According to previous studies, the number of sprainting sites was correlated to vegetation cover, whilst variation in the hydraulic pattern of the permanent river stretch did not influence marking intensity. Our results suggest that pollution control and habitat restoration can favour otter expansion in the river plains of central and southern Albania.

Two available subspecific names are used interchangeably for the Balkan lynx. In this contribution I demonstrate that the valid name is Lynx lynx balcanicus Bureš, 1941, and L. l. martinoi Mirić, 1978, is its junior synonym. The type locality of L. l. balcanicus is the Šara Mts. in the Republic of Macedonia. In reaching this conclusion, I refrain from infringing upon taxonomic judgment on whether or not the Balkan lynx is a subspecies in its own right. While addressing the Balkan lynx over the last decade, conservationists have largely ignored the older synonym balcanicus and used instead a junior synonym martinoi.

The phylogeny and taxonomic status of the red goral (Naemorhedus baileyi) is still unclear. We sequenced the complete cyt b (1140bp) gene extracted from hair samples from three animals from the Shanghai Zoo, and compared them with thirty sequences of Naemorhedus downloaded from GenBank. Our results show three distinct lineages within Naemorhedus. Two closely related N. baileyi haplotypes were found. They belong to the most basal group within Naemorhedus together with N. griseus haplotype 2 from Thailand, which is a sequence likely to be misidentified.

A design of a newly developed metal pipe-type trap for catching live mole rats is presented. In all field trials the trap was efficient and thus meaningful alternative to other types of live traps. This trap may prove to be useful also to catching the other subterranean mammal species.

Presented here are the results of research on spatial organisation among hares originating from enclosure-type rearing but released into a natural environment for them. The fates of the 60 animals were traced by radiotelemetry in the course of four successive years of research. The mean annual home range size was found to be 1.68 km2 in males, significantly greater than that noted for females (0.43 km2). Similar relationships were observed in the case of seasonal ranges. The mean distance of movements noted for hares between successive radio-locations in the first month after release (at 239 m) was significantly greater than that noted for the second month (103 m) or the third (116 m). The mean distance of movement within individual annual home range for the males hares was 335 m and was significantly greater than that for females (226 m). Similar findings were obtained for seasonal ranges.

Individuals can increase their fitness by searching for mates of an appropriate quality. We here report the results of a five-year study on the behaviour of peri-estrous female fallow deer to document examples of apparent mate-searching and the context in which it occurs. Using direct observation of 266 tagged does we collected spatial and behavioural data of does and the bucks with which they were seen, together with the identity of their mate. Movement of does was relatively unconstrained by bucks. Buck-switching by does was mostly due to apparently unprovoked movements by the does. Approximately half of the does were recorded with more than one buck on the day they mated. Mobile does encountered bucks at rates between 0.76 and 1.85 per hour and were more likely to transfer to a reproductively successful buck than an unsuccessful one. Does of all ages were equally likely to be recorded in multiple or in single consortships with no tendency for does to fall into the same category in two or more years. We suggest that the behaviour of fallow does in this population is consistent with the use of mate-searching by a variable proportion of the population as a condition-dependent mating tactic.

The craniometric variability of skulls of the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) from different countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany) and different regions within Germany was studied. The aim was to study the variability in different regions and to see if differences between populations exist now and might have existed in former times also. The discriminant analyses were performed for females and males separately. The material was assigned to three different age classes and tests were attempted with all age classes. For the largest sample from Saxony-Anhalt, differences could also be observed between the three selected time periods (1900–1930, 1931–1960 and 1961–1990). Discriminant analyses were performed by keeping the sexes, age classes, and time periods separate wherever the material allowed for it. Regional samples differed to some degree (depending on the set of samples used). Particularly the samples from Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands were more offset from the German samples; nevertheless, some overlap existed for the males of the third time period. The position of the small sample from the Rhineland was ambiguous in the different discriminant analyses but seemed rather to fall within the range of other German samples and not clearly in-between the German and the Dutch/Belgian samples. Overall variability, changes with time, and possible yearly fluctuations, as described in the literature, influenced the results and overlaid existing regional differences. The existence of a western subspecies could not be supported. The lack of substantial numbers of specimens illustrated the importance of collecting even the common species at all times for future research.