Plecoptera are one the most endangered groups of insects in running waters. Due to their strict ecological needs and to the growing pollution of water courses, many species are in fact reduced to small isolated populations and many others have already become extinct. With the aim of compiling the taxonomic and faunistic lists of European Plecoptera (within the project Fauna Europaea, ref. EVR1‐CT‐1999‐2001), we catalogued a total of 426 species included in 35 genera and seven families and reviewed their present diversity and conservation status. Historical knowledge and geographical information on Plecoptera diversity in Europe are presented. Data on the conservation status of the European stonefly fauna are discussed as well. The whole Plecoptera fauna of lowland rivers in Europe can be considered threatened. The situation is particularly critical for several species, known from a small number of individuals and/or from restricted areas, and that of relict species. Despite this situation, no European Plecoptera species are included on any official lists of threatened species.

The stonefly genus Tyrrhenoleuctra includes species living in western Mediterranean temporary freshwater streams, sometimes also at sea level, a very unusual habitat for most Plecoptera. Traditional morphological approaches proved unsuccessful in drawing both taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns, thus hampering discussion of biogeographical patterns for this interesting group. We aimed at: (a) assessing the taxonomic status of populations of Tyrrhenoleuctra covering the geographic range of the genus; (b) studying the phylogenetic relationships among the recognized species; and (c) describing biogeographic patterns. We used phylogenetic analyses to infer the phylogenetic history of this group of stoneflies based on a combined data set of 1666 bp including fragments of the 12S ribosomal (12S) and cytochrome oxidase I (CO-I) mtDNA genes, with maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Two main clades have been identified: a Sardo-Corsican one, including Tyrrhenoleuctra zavattarii, and an Ibero-Maghrebian one including four lineages of unkown taxonomic rank from the Balearic Islands (Maiorca), from northern Africa (Ceuta) and southernmost Spain (Algeciras), and a complex preliminarily referred herein to T. minuta (Klapálek, 1901), which includes two lineages, one from Cordoba, and one from Sierra de Grazalema (El Cerro) and Portugal (Tellhares) respectively. Dating the nodes by fixing the split of the Ibero-Maghrebian clade from the Sardo-Corsican one at 29 million years ago (Mya), yielded dates referring to the major geological events in the Mediterranean basin. Estimated molecular evolutionary rates ranged from 0.02-0.09% per million years (my) in the T. zavattarii lineages, to 0.2-0.7% per MY in the Ibero-Maghrebian clade. The phylogenetic pattern emerged from the present study is congruent with the known paleo-history of the western Mediterranean basin, with the divergence of the two main Tyrrhenoleuctra lineages corresponding to the split of the Sardo-Corsican microplate from the Iberian block. Vicariance events have characterized the history of this stonefly group along its entire biogeographical history. Surprisingly low evolutionary rates, previously supposed by Fochetti (1991, 1994) and Fochetti et al. (2004) based on nuclear markers (allozymes), have been herein found also in mitochondrial markers.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'edditore http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Remarks on the endemicity of the Italian stonefly-fauna are presented. Notes on conservation issues are also given, together with the updated list of stoneflies of Italy.

Freshwater makes up 3% of the planet's water, 67% of which is ‘trapped’ in glaciers and polar caps. Lakes, ponds, streams, etc. (excluding subterranean waters) constitute approximately 6.5% of freshwater, which is less than 0.2% of the earth water and 0.8% of its surface. Nevertheless, beyond supporting the livelihood of billions of people, especially in poor countries, according to the different estimates 100,000/126,000 animal species are known for inland waters, from 6 to 9.5% of the total animal described. As far as Italy is concerned, there are 5496 freshwater animal species out of 55,732 total; that is, around 10% of its fauna (terrestrial species are 41,923, while marine are 8330, several eurialine species being considered as present in both marine and freshwater environments). This fauna is highly specific: we can estimate a percentage of Italian freshwater endemics that could exceed 10%. Unfortunately, freshwater species are extinct or at risk with loss rates which could be of the same extent of those of previous transitions between geological epochs like the Pleistocene-to-Holocene. In Italy it is difficult to evaluate the conservation status and trends of aquatic faunas due to the lack of previous studies. The analysis of selected taxa seems to depict a critical situation. Besides, inland waters only recently have been addressed by conservation politics and only a reduced part of their fauna is involved in preservation measures. As regards protection politics in Italy, we can safely say that those regarding freshwater animals are badly addressed: out of 841 protected species only 100 are from inland waters, and only 15 of them are invertebrates. Proposals and priorities for conservation and management of Italian freshwaters are discussed.

Protonemura aroania sp. n. and the unknown male of Leuctra moreae are described from Greece. The first country record of Perlodes dispar and some new findings for the Peloponnes region (Amphinemura quadrangularis, Nemoura apollo, Leuctra olympia) are presented. L. moreae, previously known from the Peloponnes, is cited for the first time from the Parnassos. An updated list of the stoneflies of Greece is also given.