Endemic plants in the flora of Shutman (Sharri Mountain), Kosovo – an analysis of phytogeographical elements and life forms

Abstract

This paper aims to present the diversity of endemic plants in the Shutman area and an analysis of chorological groups and life forms. The flora of Shutman comprises 31 endemic plant species. Among them, there are 20 Balkan endemics, 1 stenoendemic and 5 sub-endemic species. They belong to 20 genera and 13 families. The richest among the endemics are families Asteraceae and Caryophyllaceae, both with 4 species. All endemics are herbaceous perennials. Hemicryptophytes dominate among life forms, accounting for 58.06%. Most of the species are Balkan floristic elements (20 species or 64.52%), followed by Southeast European and South European floristic elements, both with 3 taxa (9.68%). A total of 27 species have national or international conservation status. Reporting of Ranunculus degenii Kümmerle & Jav. for the first time in Shutman makes this area the second distribution record of this plant in Kosovo.

Potamophylax humoinsapiens sp. n. (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae), a new species from the Sharr Mountains, Republic of Kosovo

“…The genetic distinction, calculated based on sequencing of the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) between Potamophylax humoinsapiens sp. n. and other of Potamophylax winneguthi Species Group, was found to be on par with those of the other morphologically recognised species in the group and especially the other five species of the P. winneguthi Species Cluster ( Ibrahimi et al 2021, Ibrahimi et al 2022. These molecular analysis showed that the closest species to Potamophylax humoinsapiens sp.…”

“…For comparative assessments of morphological features of Potamophylax humoinsapiens sp. n., we used specimens of Potamophylax juliani Kumanski, 1999, Potamophylax winneguthi Malicky, 1999(in Kumanski and Malicky 1999, Potamophylax idliri Ibrahimi, Bilalli & Kucinic, 2022(in Ibrahimi et al 2022 and Potamophylax coronavirus Ibrahimi, Bilalli & Vitecek, 2021(in Ibrahimi et al 2021, collected in Osogovo Mountain in Bulgaria, Zlatibor Mountain in Serbia, Jastrebac Mountains in Serbia and Bjeshkët e Nemuna in Kosovo, accordingly. For the lacking species, comparative assessment was done, based on literature (Kumanski and Malicky 1999, Malicky 2004).…”

“…Pongrácz 1923, Marinkovic-Gospodnetic 1975, Marinkovic-Gospodnetic 1980, Malicky 1986 and the number has increased to 169 now (e.g. Ibrahimi et al 2012, Ibrahimi et al 2014, Ibrahimi et al 2015, Ibrahimi et al 2016, Karaouzas et al 2018, Ibrahimi et al 2019a, Ibrahimi et al 2019b, Ibrahimi et al 2022. Despite this, there are still areas which are not completely investigated and new records, or even species, can still be expected from isolated habitats of different mountain ranges, such as the the Sharr Mountains, for example.…”

“…The Sharr Mountains are one of the most important hotspots of freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity in the Balkan Peninsula, with many endemic and rare plant and animal species (e.g. Ibrahimi et al 2016 , Ibrahimi and Vehapi 2017 , Komnenov 2017 , Grapci-Kotori et al 2022 , Halilaj et al 2021 ). This mountain range is shared between Kosovo and North Macedonia, while a smaller portion lies in Albania as well.…”

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“…Located between China in the northwest and Turkey in the east; Kazakhstan in the north, and the Arabian Peninsula in the south -Central Asia is rich in bluegrass, cabbage, legumes, saxifrage, stonecrop, borage, and lily families in the steppe zone. Mountain vegetation is represented by pine, deciduous-pine forests in combination with herbaceous and shrubby vegetation (Halilaj et al, 2021).…”