Emys orbicularis is receding from Europe, mainly due to anthropogenic habitat changes. Its parasite, Placobdella costata, is widely distributed within both the former and the present distribution range of the host. Though closely associated with the mud turtle, it may have other hosts (birds, amphibians, reptiles). Its reproductive period coincides with that of its host's migration to the breeding grounds, thus facilitating dispersal of the parasite. Based on literature data we have analyzed the geographic spread of P. costata and mud turtle to observe the possible overlap of their habitats. Observations on the population of mud turtle and the associated leech species (P. costata) were carried out in eastern Poland -Podlasie Lowland. The studies were conducted in spring and summer in 1986-1993. The leeches were collected from the turtles caught in the water and on land. Observations showed that most leeches were found on turtles inhabiting the lake or moving to a breeding area. The greatest intensity of invasion was observed in June and July and that most leeches were observed in female E. orbicularis characterized by greater length of the carapace and weight, compared with males and juvenile individuals.

Using the multiple tools available to support an online collaborative environment, we surveyed 62 morphological features from the hyoid arch and gill arches of 53 species of cypriniform fishes that matched those sampled in recent molecularanalyses and two sets of outgroup species (‘Saitoh outgroups’ and ‘Basal outgroups’). This is a skeletal region whose variation is considered historically significant within fishes and Cypriniformes in particular, and we review previous work in light of our own. The clarity of description of characters was enhanced by the use of a community reference ontology, the Teleost Anatomy Ontology. Terms, synonyms, and definitions for skeletal features from this region were contributed to this ontology, and links to these terms and relationships are included in our character descriptions. One thousand two hundred sixty-three images of features from this region were linked to ontology terms and deposited in a community image repository, Morphbank; these are linked to the characters described herein. Character data were analyzed using parsimony and Bayesian methods for two sets of outgroups, one of which matched that used in previous molecular analyses. The parsimony results, using either outgroup set, indicated similar higher-level relationships, including a sister group relationship between cyprinids and loaches. A basal trichotomy among Gyrinocheilus, catostomids and cyprinids + loaches was the result of Saitoh outgroup analysis in contrast to a sister group relationship between Gyrinocheilus and catostomids discovered in the Basal outgroup analysis. Interestingly, analyses including basal outgroups recovered a monophyletic Cyprinidae, consistent with all previous studies. Character evolution that supports higher-level nodes of interest in the consensus tree is described. In some respects, it might be a surprise that 62 morphological characters from a small skeletal region for only 53 cypriniform species (out of over 3,200 total species) could provide as much resolution as it does. We expect, however, further phylogenetic resolution as morphological data from across skeleton regions are combined, species sampling is increased, and molecular data are added.

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INTRODUCTION Zope (blue bream), Abramis ballerus, is a cyprinid fish occurring in Europe. Zope inhabits mainly lower stretches of bigger rivers and prefers slowly running and steady waters. It is most common in waters of southeastern Europe (Tadajewska 2000). In Poland it has sporadically been observed in rivers Brda, Drw´ca, Bzura, and Warta (Rolik and Rembiszewski 1987). According to Kompowski (1991) A. ballerus used to be a rare fish in Polish waters before the Second World War. Since the mid-1960s an abundance of zope has been observed in Lake Dàbie, the Szczecin Lagoon, and the lower Odra River. Zope is not a valuable fish and has no economic importance (Tadajewska 2000). The zope is a representative of the order Cypriniformes, family Cyprinidae, subfamily Leuciscinae (cf. Nelson 1994). Howes (1991) identified three monophyletic lineages in this subfamily: Abramin, Aspinin, and Phoxinin. The lineage Abramin consists of eight genera, four of which (Abramis, Rutilus, Chondrostoma, and Acanthobrama) occur in Western-and Eastern Europe, and do not reach central Asia. The genus Abramis accommodates 4 species: zope, Abramis ballerus (Linneaus, 1758); white bream, Abramis bjoerkna (Linnaeus, 1758); carp bream, Abramis brama (Linnaeus, 1758); and whiteeye bream, Abramis sapa (Pallas, 1814). Its monophyly remains unclear (Hensel 1978). A molecular phylogenetic study revealed that the genus Abramis is paraphyletic. Abramis ballerus and Abramis sapa are placed basal to a group of species including, among others, A. brama, A. bjoerkna, and Vimba spp. (Durand et al. 2002). All the four species are present in Polish waters. Among them the zope is the most slender and the only planktivorous species. There are few papers dealing with the morphological features of zope from Polish waters. Studies on this species have covered the growth rate, some meristic features, food and feeding behaviour, and parasites, in zope

JUCHNO D., BOROÑ A., SZLACHCIAK J., KUJAWA R. 2016. Early development and post embryonic skeletal morphology of the progeny of Cobitis taenia (Teleostei, Cobitidae) and its naturally occurring allotriploids. Folia Biologica (Kraków) 64: 153-162.Polyploid fishes of the genus Cobitis represent a valuable model system to study the origin and consequences of hybridization and polyploidization within vertebrates. These naturally accessible polyploids are an excellent subject to determine the advantages or disadvantages of polyploidy. We investigated the embryonic and larval development with skeletal morphology of diploid and polyploid Cobitis progeny, obtained from crosses between females and males of Cobitis taenia and between allotriploid Cobitis females and C. taenia males. Observations were made during first fourteen days post fertilization. The pattern of development of all investigated individuals was the same. However the diploids developed synchronically, achieving successive stages faster than the polyploid ones; hatching was observed at 50 and 63 hours post fertilization, respectively. Statistically significant differences in hatching success and survival rate between diploid and polyploid progeny were not observed. All newly hatched larvae were characterized by a large amount of yolk, forty myomeres, body pigmentation and four external gills. Skeletal elements of the chondrocranium in the first days post hatching consisted of the otic capsule, ethmoid plate, trabeculae cranii and Meckel's cartilage. In contrast to the diploids, the polyploid larvae were characterized by a higher number of deformities. This study gives new comparative data on the features of early development of diploid and polyploid Cobitis progeny.

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The Kessler's gudgeon (Gobioninae) collected in 2009 from the San River at Sanok (Poland) has been described morphologically. This is the only known population outside of the Black Sea basin. For each fish, 35 biometric features of the body were measured. Selected meristic features were determined. Osteology was studied from cleared and stained specimens. The coefficient of variation for the body proportions ranges from 1.04% to 11.31% and its basic meristic formula was as follows: D III 7-8; A III 5-6; ll 41-44. The sensorial system was characterised by a connection of the canals: infraorbital with the supraorbital and the preoperculomandibular with the supratemporal; the presence of an opercular canal and a well developed supraorbital bone. In the branchial apparatus the presence of a 4 th cartilaginous hypobranchial and the presence of a single sublingual bone was observed.