Biodiversity down by the flow: new records of monogonont rotifers for Italy found in the Po River

Surveys on the zooplankton of the middle reach of the Po River (Northern Italy) carried out from 2008 to 2010 led to the discovery of 24 species of monogonont rotifers that are new for Italy. Among the 17 recorded genera, six are new for the Italian fauna, while three species have never been reported in the Palaearctic Region before. Temporal patterns, abundance and site of occurrence of the species are provided. Available information on the ecology and distribution of each taxon was derived from the literature and is also reported. Most of the new records are littoral and/or benthic-periphytic taxa. Results of the present study underline the still unsatisfactory status of present biogeographical knowledge on monogonont rotifers and the need for detailed taxonomic surveys in order to improve our understanding of the ecology and distributional patterns of this group.