Pink Floyd, the Romanian Carpathians, a tribute to the master and... a new species in the cattle trough...

We are delighted to share further results of our long-standing research! The latest issue of the prestigious scientific journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society features an article describing three new, interesting species of gammarus from the genus Gammarus. This publication is the result of collaboration between a team from our department (Luiz F. Andrade, Tomasz Mamos, Michał Grabowski) and Denis Copilas-Ciocianu from the Nature Research Centre (Lithuania), as well as numerous field expeditions organized by MG, TM, and DCC to various regions of the Carpathians over the past twenty years.

A few behind-the-scenes facts:

• A musical touch: One of the new species, Gammarus pinkfloydorum, was named after the legendary band Pink Floyd. Why? It's simple – Michał is a huge fan of this British band, and their music has accompanied him in his research for years! This species is endemic to the streams of the picturesque and still poorly explored Piatra Craiului massif in the Southern Carpathians.
• Unusual habitat: Another species, Gammarus dobrogicus, was first discovered in... a cattle trough, over 130 years old and dating back to the time when southeastern Romania was part of the Ottoman Empire (you can find the fascinating history of this trough in the MG comment below). As you can see, scientific surprises can await us in the most unexpected places. This crustacean is endemic to the springs and streams of the extremely valuable natural region of the Dobrogea Upland on the border between Romania and Bulgaria.
• A Tribute to a Master: The third species, Gammarus carausui, honors the distinguished Romanian-Moldovan carcinologist and ichthyologist, Professor Sergiu Caraușu (1907-1997), who, in the first half of the 20th century, was the first to conduct extensive research on Romania's amphipod crustacean fauna. This species is endemic to the Apuseni Mountains (Munții Apuseni) in the Bihor Massif.

Although the newly described gammarids are very similar in appearance (so-called pseudocryptic species), genetic studies have precisely defined the morphological features that distinguish them. Amazingly, DNA analysis has revealed that their paths diverged as early as the Miocene. These small crustaceans have been evolving independently for several million years – a period twice as long as the time since the divergence of human evolutionary lineages from our closest ape relatives. The Carpathians are a key refuge (refugia) enabling organisms to survive environmental changes, including the last Ice Age. Today, many of these species may be threatened with extinction before we even know them.

Congratulations to the entire team and encourage you to read on!

https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf178