1. The golden jackal Canis aureus is one of the most widespread canid species with a range covering areas of central, eastern and southern Europe, northern Africa and parts of Asia. Distribution of the golden jackal in Europe has been dynamic, including dramatic declines (until the 1960s), recovery (1960s and 1970s) and expansion (from the early 1980s onwards). 2. We present up-to-date information on golden jackal status in Europe and range expansion. 3. For data collection we reviewed the scientific literature and contacted scientists from the relevant countries. We distinguished between vagrant animals and established populations. 4. In the last decade, there has been an increase in jackal records in areas where the species has not been reported before. Increased presence is recorded northwards and westwards of the distribution range of the golden jackal, specifically in Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. In Austria, the first case of reproduction was confirmed in 2007; reproduction has also recently been reported in Italy. 5.Results indicate an ongoing expansion in Europe's jackal population, with a particular spread of the Balkan populations towards central Europe. Although there are numerous reports of sightings, only few originate from confirmed sources and in many areas status is unknown or vague. There is a general lack of ecological data and almost no information on ecological consequences associated with the golden jackal expansion.

Small, scattered, but resident, populations of Golden Jackal Canis aureus occur along the coasts of the Balkan Peninsula. The bulk of these European Jackals is concentrated in the eastern parts of the Peninsula, mainly in Bulgaria. The northern border of the resident population lies along the Danube in the Walachian Plain of Romania, and in Srem (Yugoslavia). Vagrants may appear far outside the Balkans in north‐eastern Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. Whilst the species is in decline in Greece, it has expanded its area in Bulgaria from = 2400 km2 in 1962 to 80 000 km2 in 1985, i.e. a 33‐fold range increase within 23 years.

The Bukovina blind mole rat Spalax graecus is the westernmost representative of the genus and one of the least known European mammals. As currently understood, the species contains three isolates on both sides of the south‐eastern Carpathian Mountains. Our focus was on Bukovina blind mole rats from north‐eastern Romania and adjacent Ukraine, i.e. on the nominal subspecies Spalax graecus graecus Topachevskii 1976. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on 1140‐bp‐long cytochrome b sequence revealed a sister position of Spalax graecus against the genus Nannospalax. Pairwise Kimura two‐parameter genetic divergences were evidently higher between Spalax graecus and the three species of Nannospalax (mean distances ± standard errors between 0.177 ± 0.014 and 0.197 ± 0.016) than between the three species of Nannospalax (up to 0.128 ± 0.010). The two genera were separated by 178 mutational steps. The Bukovina blind mole rat is so far known from 13 localities in north‐eastern Romania and adjacent Ukraine. The most influential environmental factors in the Spalax graecus habitat model were seasonality in precipitation, type of soil and altitude. The elevational range of suitable habitats is 39–848 m. The area occupied is estimated at 15581 km2, but patches with high habitat suitability cover only 1604 km2. The main habitat for the Bukovina blind mole rat is likely to degrade and the conservation needs of the species will soon have to be taken into account. We recommend the inclusion of the species on Annex II or IV of the European Union's Habitats Directive on grounds of its (i) narrow endemism, (ii) small range of occupancy, (iii) small overall population size and (iv) vulnerability to changes in agricultural land use.

Phenetic and ecological plasticity in Arvicola has caused a long-standing dispute over the number of species within the genus, which is currently thought to consist of two aquatic (sapidus, amphibius) and one fossorial species (scherman). We used mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene sequences to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between the fossorial and the aquatic water voles from the various regions of their European and Asiatic range. These two types differed morphologically and exhibited allopatric ranges. Our study provided 50 new haplotypes, generating a total dataset of 70 different water vole cytb haplotypes. Phylogenetic reconstructions retrieved two major lineages that were in a sister position to A. sapidus: a fossorial Swiss lineage and a widespread cluster, which contained aquatic and fossorial water voles from Europe and western Siberia. The phylogeographic architecture in water voles is explained by Quaternary climatic dynamics. Our results show that A. scherman in its present scope is not a monophyletic taxon.

Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841) is an estuarine crab native to the East Coast of North America. This species has invaded both the West Coast of the United States and several European countries since the late 1800s where it has reportedly altered native ecosystems. This crab can tolerate a broad range of salinities and temperatures, which probably contributes to its success as an invader. In 1969, five specimens of R. harrisii were recorded in Panama, but subsequent surveys suggest it was not established. Here, evidence is reported of an established, reproducing population of R. harrisii in the Panama Canal. The crab's entire distribution within this waterway remains to be determined and potential changes in its ecology, especially given the imminent expansion of the Canal, need to be evaluated.