Autori: Demeter, L., Stoicescu, A.

Editorial: North Western Jorunal of Zoology, 4(2), p.203-223, 2008.

Rezumat:

Large branchiopods are among the most spectacular representatives of temporary
pond fauna, suitable as flagship species for the conservation of this habitat type. Romania has
one of the largest documented species numbers among European countries, but for most of
the country, very few recent data exist on the presence and status of this group. In this paper
we summarize the current knowledge on large branchiopod distribution, in order to have a
comparable picture of distribution patterns of species between regions, to highlight the gaps
and to encourage further research. One third of the Romanian large branchiopod fauna is
represented by endemic species localized to the country, to eastern or southeastern Europe.
Half of the species have been found in only one out of the seven regions investigated. These
data show the rarity and diversity of the fauna, and show that the conservation of the
Romanian large branchiopod fauna is important at a European level and Romania has a great
responsibility to preserve it. Almost one third of the species were last documented 10-100
years ago, indicating the need for further research.

Cuvinte cheie: filopode, distributie, conservare // large branchiopods, distribution, conservation