New Snail Species Discovered in Lake Skadar
Posted on March 29, 2013
A new snail species has been discovered in Lake Skadar, the largest on the Balkan Peninsula. The new species, Karucia sublacustrina, inhabits the beautiful ancient lake of Skadar that is situated at the border between Montenegro and Albania. An image of the snail is pictured above. The image below shows Spring Karuc on the bottom of Lake Skadar.
Scientists Vladimir Pesic from the University of Montenegro and Peter Gloer from the Biodiversity Research Laboratory discovered the new snail species. The research was published here in ZooKeys.
Vladimir Pesic, lead author of the study, says, "Ancient lakes are among the most vulnerable and threatened ecosystems, and their faunas are frequently under extreme anthropogenic pressure. The small range of many endemic species living in the Skadar Lake system - together with ever increasing human pressure - make its fauna highly endangered. This becomes even more important in light of ongoing eutrophication, pollution and sand and gravel exploration activities in the lake and its basin. Therefore, knowledge on their inhabitants are of primary importance for timely and efficient conservation and preservation."