Pensoft blog - Part 6

Pensoft at the European Congress of Conservation Biology 2026 in Leiden

Highlights from Pensoft’s booth from the 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB 2026) in Leiden.

Between 6-10 July, more than 850 participants from 25 countries gathered in Leiden, the Netherlands, for the 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026.

Table of Contents

Effective Biodiversity Conservation
Pensoft’s booth
Our journal portfolio on display
Familiar faces at the stand
Looking ahead

The congress was organised by the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and hosted at Leiden University (FWN/CML), in partnership with Hortus botanicus, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and NIOO-KNAW, with support from the Leiden Biodiversity Network.

Opening ceremony of ECCB 2026
Head of PR and Journal Development representing Pensoft at ECCB 2026.
Exhibitor and poster hall at ECCB 2026.

Effective Biodiversity Conservation

Under the theme “Effective Biodiversity Conservation,” the congress brought together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to explore how biodiversity can be safeguarded over the long term. Its core message was that effective conservation cannot rest on the efforts of conservationists alone. It requires coordinated, multidisciplinary, science-based action across society.

Opening ceremony of ECCB 2026.
Prof. Dr. Geert de Snoo and his “1% of GDP for safeguarding nature!” presentation

Dr. Laura Bosco, President of SCB Europe, opened the congress and set the scene for the week ahead. Prof. Dr. Geert de Snoo, one of the congress’s co-organisers, followed with the presentation: “1% of GDP for safeguarding nature!” – a call to set aside 1% of global GDP to help close the biodiversity funding gap, given that half of the world’s GDP depends on natural ecosystem services, and to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and oceans by 2030.

From there, the programme ran packed with symposia, roundtables, and workshops covering policymaking and effectiveness, conservation planning, new methods for measuring and quantifying biodiversity, eDNA for conservation, citizen science, and remote sensing, alongside a poster session held each day.

Pensoft’s booth

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Pensoft at he 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026.

Our stand stood out with professionally designed booth walls and enjoyed a strong flow of visitors throughout the congress. Delegates met Pensoft’s Head of Journal Development and PR, Iva Boyadzhieva, who answered questions about publishing opportunities and scholarly resources, including Advanced Books, Pensoft’s platform for publishing open-access monographs, edited volumes, and other book-length scholarly works.

She also shared updates from the Horizon Europe-funded projects Biodiversity Meets Data and SpongeBoost.

Pensoft’s Fortune Wheel at ECCB 2026.
People spinning Pensoft’s Fortune Wheel to win prizes.
People signing up to Pensoft’s newsletter and spinning the wheel.

For the first time, our booth also ran an interactive game, where visitors could spin a wheel to win some prizes. The game rules were simple: visitors filled out a subscription form for one or more journals, spun a wheel featuring the names of journals relevant to the congress, and won a sticker matching the journal they landed on.

Visitor at Pensoft’s booth at the 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology, interacting with the wheel.

Curiously, the illustrations on the vivid stickers are not coincidental: each features a scientific illustration by Denitsa Peneva of a species discussed in a publication from across Pensoft’s scholarly portfolio – a nod to the authors who chose one of our journals to share their research.

Our journal portfolio on display

Visitors had the chance to explore Pensoft’s diverse open-access portfolio, from conservation-focused titles like Nature Conservation and Neotropical Biology and Conservation, to ecosystem-focused journals such as One Ecosystem, Frontiers of Biogeography, and NeoBiota.

Several journal materials at Pensoft’s booth at ECCB 2026.
Several journal materials at Pensoft’s booth at ECCB 2026.

The stand also showcased more specialised outlets, including Biodiversity Data Journal and Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, alongside our fungi-focused IMA Fungus and MycoKeys, and our vegetation titles Vegetation Classification and Survey and Vegetation Ecology and Diversity. Attendees also had the chance to learn more about our newly launched diamond open-access Journal of Regeneration.

Close up of Individual-Based Ecology and Agricultural and Environmental Modelling journals. — Individual-Based Ecology and Agricultural and Environmental Modelling on focus at ECCB 2026.

A particular highlight was our trio of diamond open-access journals, free to publish in and free to read, that drew considerable interest from attendees:

Individual-Based Ecology promotes a distinctive individual-based perspective on ecology, aiming to bridge individual behaviour and broader ecological patterns.
Advances in Pollinator Research covers the full spectrum of pollinator science, from pollination ecology to conservation, designed as an innovative platform for the full spectrum of pollinator science, from pollination ecology and pollinator-plant interactions to molecular ecology, conservation and more.
Agricultural and Environmental Modelling, meanwhile, offers an innovative approach to publishing, dedicated to advancing both the science and practice of modelling across Agriculture, Food Systems, Natural Resources, and Environmental Sciences.

Familiar faces at the stand

Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nature Conservation, Dr. Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth, at Pensoft’s booth at ECCB 2026.
Prof. Davy McCracken, Subject Editor at Nature Conservation.
Dr. Niels Raes, project coordinator of Biodiversity Meets Data at ECCB 2026.
Martina Viti and Annika Zuleger, authors that have published across Pensoft’s journal at ECCB 2026.

Our booth was visited by Nature Conservation’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth. Earlier that week, she also co-organised a symposium, “How can Wildlife Detection Dogs contribute to effective biodiversity conservation in Europe?” As well as one of Nature Conservation’s Subject Editor, Prof. Davy McCracken and Dr. Niels Raes, the project coordinator of Biodiversity Meets Data.

We also met one of our authors, Andra Neagu, in person. We recently ran a PR campaign on her and her team’s research analysing more than 1,100 media reports from 2007 to 2024 to uncover patterns in wildlife poaching across Romania, which you can read here.

Andra Neagu, an author at Nature Conservation at Pensoft’s booth at ECCB 2026.
Andra Neagu next to her scientific poster at ECCB 2026.

Looking ahead

Closing ceremony of ECCB 2026.
Closing ceremony of ECCB 2026.

It was a pleasure to be part of ECCB 2026 and to connect with so many researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working toward effective biodiversity conservation.

Save the date: SCB’s 33rd International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2027) will be held in Puebla, Mexico, at the end of June or beginning of July 2027.

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn for more future updates.

Pensoft Welcomes Immunology in Medicine to Its Open-Access Journal Portfolio

Pensoft welcomes Immunology in Medicine, the official journal of the Bulgarian Association of Clinical Immunology (BACI).

Immunology in Medicine, the official journal of the Bulgarian Association of Clinical Immunology (BACI), has joined Pensoft’s open-access publishing platform ARPHA. The journal was first launched in 2007 as BACI’s annual publication, and from 2020 until early 2026 it was published as the Bulgarian Journal of Clinical Immunology. With its recent move to ARPHA, the journal is now titled Immunology in Medicine and has a refreshed look and streamlined publishing workflow.

The journal’s core mission is to bridge basic immunological science with its clinical applications, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue on immune-mediated mechanisms in human health and disease. It welcomes research that translates immunological knowledge into diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies, with a particular focus on innovative diagnostics, biomarkers, and immunotherapies.

Homepage of Immunology in Medicine — The new homepage of the journal.

Its scope spans the full breadth of immunology, including research on fundamental immunology such as cellular and molecular mechanisms of innate and adaptive immunity. As well as clinical immunology pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of immune-mediated diseases, autoimmunity and autoinflammatory disorders and more, transplantation immunology, tumor immunology and immunotherapy and many more.

Thanks to the generous support of BACI, publishing in the journal remains entirely free for authors.

As an ARPHA-hosted journal, Immunology in Medicine benefits from the platform’s fast-track, end-to-end publishing system, which carries every manuscript through review, editing, publication, dissemination, and archiving within a single collaborative online environment. Articles are freely available in PDF, indexed in CrossRef, and archived in CLOCKSS and Zenodo for long-term preservation.

Since its move to ARPHA, the journal has already published two studies. The first, by Vasilev et al. (2026), presents a case of an 18-year-old male whose mononucleosis triggered an atypical immune response mimicking a T-cell malignancy, until a novel flow cytometry technique, TCRβC1/C2 typing, confirmed it was a harmless, reactive expansion of immune cells rather than cancer, helping clinicians reach an accurate diagnosis faster.

The second, by Garev et al. (2026), analyzed 52 patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and found that a simple, routine blood marker, baseline eosinophil counts, could help predict which patients face the highest risk of severe side effects from immunotherapy, offering a low-cost tool for early risk stratification.

Further to this, the journal invites researchers and clinicians from Bulgaria and around the world to submit their work and to take part in its editorial and peer-review processes.

Our vision for Immunology in Medicine is to establish the journal as a trusted international platform for high-quality translational and clinical immunology research. By joining the Pensoft publishing family, we hope to increase the visibility, accessibility, and scientific impact of the work published in the journal, while fostering collaboration across disciplines and countries. I believe this transition will help build a vibrant community of researchers and clinicians dedicated to advancing immunology and translating scientific discoveries into better patient care.
Dr. Emiliana Konova, Editor-in-Chief of Immunology in Medicine.

We are very pleased to welcome another journal in the field of medical sciences to our growing portfolio of open-access journals, and we look forward to supporting the journal’s important research through our modern publishing platform.
commented Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO of Pensoft and ARPHA.

About the Bulgarian Association of Clinical Immunology (BACI)
Founded in 2005, BACI is Bulgaria’s primary professional and scientific organization for immunologists. It unites specialists, promotes research, hosts national congresses, and publishes Immunology in Medicine (formerly the Bulgarian Journal of Clinical Immunology).

About ARPHA
ARPHA is a full-featured, end-to-end publishing platform for journals, books, conference materials, and preprints, offering flexible business models and a wide range of automated and human-provided services designed to boost the visibility and impact of academic output.

About Pensoft Publishers
Founded in 1992 “by scientists, for scientists,” Pensoft is known worldwide for its cutting-edge publishing tools and workflows for text and data publishing. In 2010, it became the first scientific publisher to introduce semantic enrichments into scholarly publications, and its Research and Technical Development department continues to drive innovation through numerous research and technology projects.

Two Rare Orchids, One Vanishing Forest: Ecuador’s Newest Dracula Species

The genus Dracula is one of the more theatrical corners of the orchid world, containing more than 130 species.

A new species of vampire orchid, described in the open-access journal PhytoKeys, was recently discovered in the cloud forests of southwestern Ecuador, and with it comes the long-awaited confirmation of where a second, mysterious species actually lives in the wild.

The genus Dracula is one of the more theatrical corners of the orchid world. It contains more than 130 species, most found in the northern Andes of Colombia and Ecuador, and is known for its dramatic and often dark-coloured flowers with long tails. These blooms are pollinated by small flies rather than by bees or butterflies, that mistake the flower’s lip for a mushroom!

The newly described species, Dracula aguilarii, was found in El Oro Province, in a region of premontane and cloud forest that sits between 900 and 1,200 metres above sea level. Its cream-coloured flowers are suffused with brown-red tones and covered in short, dense hairs. It closely resembles a related species, D. hirtzii, but can be told apart by its blunt-tipped leaves, a deep and broadly rounded cup formed by the fused sepals, and notably shorter tails on those sepals.

*Dracula* *aguilarii* Baquero, M.M. Jiménez & Iturralde in vivo. A. Flower in ¾ view, showing the deep center, the convex sepals toward the apex, the short pubescence, and the proportionally small lip in relation to the sepals; B. Close-up of the petals and lip, frontal view; C. Close-up of the column, petals, and lip, lateral view; D. Side view of the flower, the deep and large mentum is visible as well as the convex towards the apex and pubescent sepals. Photographs by Luis E. Baquero.

The species owes its name to Mario Aguilar, a farmer and orchid enthusiast from El Oro with a remarkable knack for spotting rare orchids in the field. It was Aguilar who first came across a small population of around fifteen plants in a patch of remnant forest near the town of Balsas, more than a decade ago. Researchers later confirmed, through further fieldwork and herbarium comparisons, that his discovery represented a species new to science, and named it in his honour.

Only three populations of Dracula aguilarii are currently known, all within a fairly small area, which has led researchers to recommend the species be classified as Endangered. The forests it depends on are being steadily cleared for cattle pasture, and like many showy orchids, it also faces pressure from illegal collection for the horticultural trade.

Colour variation in *Dracula* *aguilarii* Baquero, M.M. Jiménez & Iturralde. A. Photo by Mario Aguilar from near Piñas; B. Photo by Marco M. Jiménez from a plant in situ at the southernmost known population near Balsas; C. Photo by Luis E Baquero from Holotype, *LB 3142*, QCNE (near Balsas); D. Photo by Marco M. Jiménez from a cultivated plant collected near Balsas.

This same study resolves a smaller mystery that has lingered for well over a decade. Dracula soennemarkii was first described in 2012 from a plant bought at a nursery and grown in Sweden, with no idea of where it had originally come from in the wild. The researchers have now traced a wild population of this species to the same general region of El Oro, giving it a confirmed home for the first time. Given that it is known from just a single location, D. soennemarkii has been assessed as Critically Endangered, an even more precarious position than its newly described neighbour.

Known species and natural hybrids of *Dracula* from El Oro province, southwestern Ecuador. A. D. *aguilarii* Baquero, M.M. Jiménez & Iturralde; B. D. *woolwardiae* (F. Lehmann ex Kraenzlin) Luer; C. D. *cordobae* Luer; D. D. *mopsus* (F. Lehmann & Kraenzlin) Luer; E. D. × *pinasensis* Zambrano & Solano; F. D. *soennemarkii* Luer & Dalström. A. From holotype, *LB 3142* QCNE, and **B–F**. From near Piñas. Photographs by Luis E. Baquero (**A–E**), and Mario Aguilar (F).

*Dracula* *aguilarii* Baquero, M.M. Jimenez & Iturralde. **A, B**. Flower and plant in situ near El Caucho; **C, D**. Photographs of other plants in cultivation. Photographs by José Bustamante.

Together, these findings demonstrate just how much remains to be discovered, and how quickly it could be lost, in Ecuador’s shrinking cloud forests. El Oro Province alone now hosts six recognised species of Dracula, yet only a fraction of its once-extensive humid forest cover remains intact. Each new species description is as much a conservation appeal as it is a taxonomic milestone.

Distribution of the known populations of *Dracula* *aguilarii* Baquero, M.M. Jiménez & Iturralde and morphologically similar species, and confirmed locality of D. *soennemarkii* Luer & Dalström, in the northern Andes. Base map layer was obtained from Google Satellite imagery (Google LLC; https://www.google.com/earth/).

Original study:

Baquero R. LE, Jiménez MM, Iturralde GA (2026) Dracula aguilarii (Orchidaceae, Pleurothallidinae), a new species from southwestern Ecuador and the first confirmed location for Dracula soennemarkii. PhytoKeys 273: 281-297. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.273.182821

Make sure to follow PhytoKeys on Facebook and Bluesky for more interesting articles on plants.

New Hyperparasitoid Wasp Named After Ernest Hemingway Amid Efforts to Control Destructive Sugar Beet Pest

An international team of researchers has discovered a new hyperparasitoid wasp species, Chlorocytus papahemii, named in honor of Ernest Hemingway, and we’re sharing it today to mark his birthday.

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” – Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1940

Earth remains full of undiscovered species and unexplored interactions that continue to fascinate us, including, in the most ordinary of places, the fields where our food is grown.

The weevil beetle Lixus subtilis is a highly destructive insect that frequently damages agricultural crops, particularly sugar beets, across Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, and China, Until now, scientific understanding of this beetle’s natural parasitic complexes, specifically the complete food chains involving parasitoids and hyperparasitoids (parasites of parasites) has been very limited.

However, developing biological methods of controlling plant pests should be based on an understanding of real, comprehensive regulatory systems within complete food chains.
the researchers emphasise in the article.

To investigate these relationships, researchers from Xinjiang University in China, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), and the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences joined forces on a collaborative study, now published in the open-access, peer-reviewed ZooKeys journal.

The team conducted field research in the sugar beet fields of Yining City and Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County in China’s Xinjiang region, an area that has experienced repeated outbreaks of the weevil pest. By carefully collecting damaged sugar beet leaf petioles and rearing the infected larvae in laboratory climate chambers, the scientists made two significant discoveries about the local wasp populations.

First, they recorded Eurytoma curculionum, a wasp that is already known to parasitise weevil larvae, in China for the very first time. Second, and more strikingly, they discovered an entirely new species of pteromalid wasp.

The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend

The research team officially named the newly discovered wasp Chlorocytus papahemii, in honor of Ernest Hemingway, one of the most prominent literary figures of the 20th century.

the Hemingway hyperpasitoid wasp Chlorocytus papahemii — *Chlorocytus* *papahemii* Tselikh & Li, sp. nov., female, holotype. 24. Same, Body, lateral view; 25. Same, Head, frontal view; 26. Same, Fore wing; 27. Same, Head and pronotum, dorsal view; 28. Same, Antenna; 29. Same, Metasoma, dorsal view; 30. Same, Mesosoma, dorsal view; 31. Same, Body, dorsal view. Credit to Li et al., 2026.

Beyond its striking iridescent coloring, what makes Chlorocytus papahemii especially interesting is its behaviour: rather than attacking the crop-destroying weevil directly, it is a hyperparasitoid, meaning that it is parasitising Eurytoma curculionum, the very wasp that preys on the weevil.

This highly specialised behavior places hyperparasitoids at a complex fourth trophic level within ecosystems, one that can complicate biological control efforts, since hyperparasitoids often kill the beneficial primary parasitoids.

By meticulously documenting the morphology and biology of both wasp species, the study sheds new light on the hidden ecological dynamics at work in agricultural fields, particularly within economically important sugar beet crops. This work paves the way for more advanced, biologically informed strategies to manage weevil outbreaks and protect vital crop yields.

Original source:

Li Q, Liu Z, Li X, Yin H, Delvare G, Tselikh EV (2026) The hymenopteran parasitoid complex (Hymenoptera, Eurytomidae and Pteromalidae) of the weevil beetle Lixus subtilis Boheman, 1836 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) in China. ZooKeys 1279: 345-356. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1279.188643

Green Guardians: How Moss is Helping Monitor Chicago’s Air Pollution

Researchers used simple moss bags and portable X-ray technology to track urban heavy metal pollution, offering a cheap, effective tool for environmental monitoring.

Air pollution is an invisible threat in our urban environments, heavily impacting cardiovascular and respiratory systems and standing as the single largest environmental cause of disease and premature death globally.

Often, monitoring the heavy metals and particulate matter that fill city air involves expensive equipment, heavy use of chemical reagents, and time-consuming laboratory preparation. However, researchers in Chicago have been exploring a much cheaper, greener alternative that might already be growing nearby: moss. The full research is available in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal BioRisk.

Because mosses lack true root systems, they absorb the vital nutrients they need to survive, along with any environmental contaminants, directly from the atmosphere, making them exceptionally effective living records of long-term air pollution.

To test the viability of this biological monitoring, the team systematically deployed small, one-gram mesh bags of carefully cleaned Sphagnum moss across various locations in the Chicago area.

The scientists strategically hung these “green guardians” in diverse environments, including an industrial metals recycling facility, a marshland corridor, a commuter railroad station, and a semi-natural reference area in Lake County.

Moss biobags — A. Biobags attached to branches in a semi-natural reference area; B. Biobags taped to the exhaust of a Ford F-350 diesel truck. Credit to Campbell et al., 2026

In a direct test of vehicle emissions, they even taped several moss bags straight to the exhaust pipe of a diesel truck. After leaving the moss bags exposed to the urban elements for roughly three to four weeks, the team brought them back to the lab, crushed them into a homogeneous powder using liquid nitrogen, and analyzed them using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) technology

The living monitors proved incredibly adept at capturing location-specific pollution footprints. Unsurprisingly, the moss placed near the metals recycling facility showed elevated levels across all the measured heavy metals, acting as a clear multi-metal emission source. The bags stationed near the commuter railroad exhibited significant spikes in iron, a likely consequence of the friction and wear on the steel rail infrastructure.

Alarmingly, even the moss placed in the semi-natural Lake County area absorbed elevated concentrations of nickel, demonstrating that pollution from a major highway less than one kilometer away can travel far into a seemingly pristine environment.

Ratio of pXRF counts for exposed samples to pXRF counts for unexposed samples for six metals. The horizontal line represents a ratio of 1, i.e., no net accumulation of that metal in the exposed samples. Error bars represent the standard deviation of the ratio of the measurements of the exposed samples to the unexposed samples. Credit to Campbell et al., 2026

Furthermore, the moss bags directly attached to the diesel truck showed a rapid accumulation of metals like iron, zinc, copper, titanium, and manganese within just three days, though a heavy Chicago rainstorm on the fourth day washed some of that accumulated particulate matter away.

Ultimately, this exploratory study demonstrates that combining simple moss bags with portable X-ray technology can serve as a highly accurate, cost-effective alternative to conventional air monitoring. Since the preparation is cost-effective and the screening process is relatively quick, this methodology has the potential to make environmental science more affordable and accessible; therefore, this study warrants further research.

Moving forward, resource-limited communities that are disproportionately burdened by poor air quality could utilize these green guardians to document local contamination hotspots. By doing so, they can gather the vital data needed to fiercely advocate for environmental justice, targeted remediation, and healthier urban spaces for everyone.

Original source:

Campbell T, Gwilliam III GF, Evans NM, Peltz K, Simpson G, Dussubieux L, Erazo E, Guare K, Krechner A, Long E, Maari S, Oguike I, Rice K, Zinke A, Christian C, Qazi-Lampert A, Henkin JM, Kreider D, Maves C, Merrill G, Moy P, Rodriguez Y, Ryan Z, von Konrat M (2026) Green guardians: Mosses as potential low-cost biomonitors of air pollution in urban Chicago. BioRisk 24: 55-67. https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.24.180507

A New Class Of Fungi Named After The King Of Sweden

A newly discovered fungal species has been named after the King of Sweden to mark the 50th anniversary of his reign.

Originally published by Uppsala University

Researchers at Uppsala University have discovered a completely new fungal species, which they chose to name after the King of Sweden. The species has been given the Latin name Semicentenialea rex, which means fifty-year anniversary of the King. It is the first known representative of a new class of fungi that will be called Semicentenialomycetes.

The new fungus was isolated from roots in the ground in Jädraås in the province of Gästrikland, and represents a new lineage among what are primarily rust fungi. Rust fungi are a type of fungi that causes diseases in plants, usually by infecting the leaves. Based on DNA sequencing from soil samples, the researchers know that the class occurs in soil and roots from different ecosystems across almost the entire world, but rarely at high abundance.

the new fungi Semicentenialea rex — The images show *Semicentenialea rex* both as a colony and under the microscope. After eight weeks of growth, the fungus forms a small colony on the culture plate. The microscopic images reveal a network of hyphae with so-called clamp connections – structures that connect adjacent cells in the hyphae of basidiomycete fungi. To follow fungal development, the researchers stained the nuclei pink and the cell walls blue. Three types of swollen cells can be observed within the hyphae: basidium-like cells, teliospore- or probasidium-like cells, and intercalary swellings. These structures are examined in greater detail in the following figures. Credit to Anna Rosling.

There are probably at least two other species in the class, but they do not appear to be as common as Semicentenialea rex. Since it only seems to live deep down in the ground, we are curious about what life strategy it has. We are going to study how it affects the roots of plants in the soil and how it propagates.
says Anna Rosling, professor at Uppsala University and one of the researchers behind the study.

Several million species of fungi

phylogenetic tree of Semicentenialea rex — The researchers analysed hundreds of genes to determine where the newly discovered fungus *Semicentenialea rex* belongs in the fungal tree of life. The results show that *S. rex*, previously known as GS25, forms a distinct lineage within the *Pucciniomycotina*. To confirm its placement, genes from both closely related and more distantly related fungi were compared, including species from both the Basidiomycota and the Ascomycota. Credit to Anna Rosling.

The species diversity in kingdom Fungi is largely unexplored. Based on sequencing of environmental DNA, it is estimated that there are several million species of fungi across the globe. But because most live concealed in the soil, wood or insects for example, it has only been possible to describe and name a small proportion of them. Without names, it is difficult to communicate about these species, genera, classes and even phyla of hitherto unknown fungi.

It was during a study root fungal diversity, when the researchers were culturing fungi from pine tree roots collected from mineral soil at Ivantjärnheden field station near Jädraås that the researchers identified a new fungal species that turned out to represent a new class of fungi.

Exciting with a root-associated fungus

Veera Tuovinen-Nogerius and Anna Rosling, both of Uppsala University, have led an international team of researchers in the work of characterising the morphology of the new species and its phylogenetic placement. The results have now been published in the International Mycology Association’s journal IMA Fungus.

A new class is exciting enough but in this case, it’s especially exciting because we have a root-associated fungus that evolutionarily speaking sits among the rust fungi in Puccinomycotina. Rust fungi are obligate parasites that infect plants and cause diseases above ground.
says Anna

Suitably named after the King of Sweden

This figure presents additional structures that are likely to play a role in the fungal life cycle. Among them are intercalary swellings and teliospore-like cells, which contain spore-like structures with one or more nuclei. The researchers documented several stages of development, ranging from young swellings and spore formation to germination and the emergence of new hyphae. Some structures produce thick promycelium-like hyphae, while others release small yeast-like cells through budding. These observations suggest that *Semicentenialea rex* has a complex life cycle involving several different cell types and spore forms. This resembles rust fungi within the *Pucciniomycotina*, which are known for producing multiple types of spores. Credit to Anna Rosling/Uppsala University.

Finding names for new species is a pleasant challenge for all researchers doing this type of research. This particular one was named Semicentenialea rex to pay tribute to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden when he celebrated 50 years on the throne in 2023.

During his reign, the King has worked tirelessly for biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of our natural resources. What could be better than to have a previously undescribed fungus named after you.
says Anna Rosling, who in connection with the official celebration of the King’s golden jubilee presented a picture and a description of the species to him.

Now that the species has a new name, it will facilitate future communication and studies of the role of Semicentenialea rex in the ecosystem.

Original source:

Nogerius VT, Sánchez-García M, Kluting K, Heinonsalo J, Ryberg M, Toome M, Haridas S, Mondo S, LaButti K, Nolan M, Lipzen A, Koriabine M, Bauer D, Barry K, Grigoriev IV, Aime MC, Rosling A (2026) Another dark taxon comes to light: Semicentenialomycetes, a new class within the Pucciniomycotina (Basidiomycota), and its first described representative, Semicentenialea rex. IMA Fungus 17: e189848. https://doi.org/10.3897/imafungus.17.189848

Understanding Ecosystems Through Vegetation: Highlights from the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium

Pensoft attended the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium in Gijon, Spain.

This summer, Gijón, Spain played host to the 68th Annual Symposium of the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS), welcoming 465 participants from 49 countries for five extraordinary days under the theme “Understanding Ecosystems Through Vegetation.“

Held from 22-26 June 2026, the symposium brought together researchers working across the full spectrum of the field, from Earth Observation and vegetation databases to plant community interactions, seed regeneration, and long-term vegetation dynamics. From opening keynotes to the closing ceremony, the energy, curiosity, and collegiality of our community made this one for the books.

A Packed Scientific Programme

The opening ceremony of the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Pensoft’s stand at the 68th Annual Symposium.
Pensoft’s stand at the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.

Alongside the core symposium topics, this year’s programme featured seven special sessions on some of the field’s most pressing questions, including bringing different vegetation classification approaches together, plant biogeography and macroecology, scaling laws in vegetation ecology, belowground functional ecology and more.

Moreover, the session themed “Bringing the different vegetation classification approaches together”, sponsored by the IAVS Vegetation Classification Working Group, will be used as a basis for assembling a Special Collection in the open-access journal Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS).

Two of VCS’ Editors-in-Chief also took the stage this year: Prof. Jürgen Dengler shared a presentation called “Plant invasions in grasslands of Switzerland: invaders, spatial patterns and effects on biodiversity”.

While Dr. Idoia Biurrun presented “The power of scale: uncovering biodiversity patterns and environmental drivers in riparian forests”.

Spotlight On Our Vegetation Science Journals

Speaking of that journal, we’ve been proud collaborators with IAVS since 2020, when we launched Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) together as the association’s newest journal. At this year’s symposium, we had the chance to showcase both VCS and our other flagship vegetation title, Vegetation Ecology and Diversity (VED), to the community.

Vegetation Classification and Survey promotional materials from the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.

Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) is an international, peer-reviewed, online journal on plant community ecology, published on behalf of IAVS. It is devoted to vegetation survey and classification at any organisational and spatial scale, welcoming original papers that develop new vegetation typologies as well as applied studies, from vegetation mapping and ecosystem modelling to nature conservation and land-use management.

Five years after launch, VCS is boasting a 2025 Scopus CiteScore of 4.7 (up from 3.6 the year before), and the journal is now ranked Q1 across all the categories in which it is indexed.

Vegetation Ecology and Diversity promotional materials from the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.

Vegetation Ecology and Diversity (VED) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal owned by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science (SISV). It publishes original research covering all aspects of vegetation, from plant communities to landscapes, with a particular focus on plant community ecology and vegetation surveys used to advance ecological models, classify vegetation, map ecosystems, and monitor and conserve European habitats.

A Productive Conversation About VCS’s Future

Pensoft’s team presenting during the Editorial Meeting at the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Editorial meeting at the 68th IAVS Symposium.
Editorial Meeting at IAVS 2026.

For Pensoft, one of the standout moments of the symposium was the VCS editorial meeting, where we had the chance to sit down with members of the journal’s editorial board for a candid and productive discussion about Vegetation Classification and Survey‘s current position and its prospects for future growth. It was a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the people shaping the journal’s direction and to plan the next steps together.

Pensoft's Head of Marketing, Sales and Events with Susan WiserP resident of IAVS during the 68th Annual Symposium. — Pensoft’s Head of Marketing, Sales and Events with Susan WiserP resident of IAVS during the 68th Annual Symposium.

During the symposium, Pensoft’s stand was visited by Susan Wiser, President of IAVS, giving our on-site team the chance to discuss our ongoing publishing collaboration.

Our Diverse Journal Portfolio On Display

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Beyond VCS and VED, our stand featured a wide range of open-access, peer-reviewed journals from our vegetation science and biodiversity portfolio – spanning plant-focused scientific outlets like Plant Ecology and Evolution, Italian Botanist, and PhytoKeys to conservation and ecosystem titles such as Nature Conservation, One Ecosystem, NeoBiota, Frontiers of Biogeography, and Neotropical Biology and Conservation. On display were also Pensoft’s fungi-focused journals: IMA Fungus and MycoKeys.

Some of the journal materials on display wtih Denitsa Peneva’s beautiful illustrations.
Vegetation Classification and Survey along with Check List and Neotropical Biology and Conservation promotional materials at IAVS 2026.
Biodiversity Data Journal, IMA Fungus and MycoKeys on focus wtih Denitsa Peneva’s beautiful illustrations.
Agricultural and Environmental Modelling flyer in front of the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium banner.
Frontiers of Biogeography in focus, alongside stickers illustrated by Denitsa Peneva.
Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, Individual-Based Ecology and Nature Conservation brochures in focus at IAVS 2026.

Аttendees also stopped by to explore and learn more about Pensoft’s more specialised outlets such as Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, Biodiversity Data Journal, Individual-Based Ecology and the recently relaunched Agricultural and Environmental Modelling as well as Check List, all of which sparked great conversations at the stand.

Our recently launched diamond open-access journal, Advances in Pollinator Research, also drew plenty of interest.

Celebrating The Next Generation Of Vegetation Scientists

Celia González-López receiving the Young Scientist Award at the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.

Оne of the many highlights that week was seeing the Young Scientist Award go to Celia González-López, recognising her outstanding early-career contributions to the field. Curiously, González-López is among the co-authors of a recent paper in Natural History Collections and Museomics, describing a workflow for creating 3D-printed insect replicas to make museum collections more accessible for education and outreach.

Looking Ahead

IAVS group photo — Group photo at the end of the conference. Credit to IAVS.

It was a great pleasure to become part of the IAVS community, and we look forward to an even stronger collaboration and many productive achievements together in the years to come.

Save the date: the 69th IAVS Annual Symposium will be held in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, from 12-16 July 2027.

You can follow Pensoft on Bluesky, Facebook, X and LinkedIn to keep up all the latest updates and the events we are attending.

Cave-Dwelling Snail Discovered in Greece, Named for Hermes and the Nymph Who Nurtured Him

Deep in a single Greek spring, scientists discovered a new cave-dwelling snail and named it after Hermes and the nymph who raised him.

Thousands of years ago, according to Greek myth, the nymph Cyllena nurtured the infant Hermes, messenger of the gods and famously the swiftest of the twelve Olympians, on Mt. Kyllini in southern Greece.

Now, in that same mountain, researchers from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens have identified a completely new genus and species of subterranean freshwater snail living in a single isolated spring on its slopes. In a fitting nod to the area’s mythology, and perhaps a bit of irony, given the messenger god’s legendary speed, they named it Cyllena hermes.

The full details of the discovery have been published as a research article in Subterranean Biology, a peer-reviewed open-access journal published by the International Society for Subterranean Biology.

Live specimens of *Cyllena* *hermes* gen. et sp. nov. **A–F** live mature specimen, shown from the moment of emergence from the shell to active locomotion while foraging **G–I** another mature specimen; White arrows indicate the direction of movement J immature specimen floating at the water surface while feeding K caddisfly case (Insecta, Trichoptera) constructed from gastropod shells, including shells of *Cyllena* *hermes* gen. et sp. nov. Scale bars: 1 mm. Credit to Radea et al., 2026

So far, the snail is known from just one place on Earth: a karstic spring roughly 610 meters up the mountain’s foothills, in the Korinthia region of the Peloponnese. There, groundwater seeps out of carbonate bedrock and forms a small stream that feeds toward Lake Stymphalia, part of the sprawling underground hydrological network beneath the Stymphalia closed karst basin.

habitat of Cyllena hermes — Type locality of *Cyllena* *hermes* gen. et sp. nov., Korinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Karstic spring waters emerging from Mt Kyllini and forming a stream flowing toward Lake Stymphalia. Credit to Radea et al., 2026

Because the snail relies entirely on this single, isolated water source, it is highly sensitive to environmental stressors such as prolonged droughts and water extraction for surrounding neighboring areas, leading the research team to classify the species as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List criteria.

When establishing this new monotypic genus and species, the researchers chose a name steeped in ancient Greek mythology tied to the mountain itself. The genus honours Cyllena, the nymph who raised Hermes there, while the species name pays tribute to Hermes himself, who legend says was born in a cave on that same mountain, where the new snail species was found.

immature speciemen of the snail Cyllena hermes — *Cyllena* *hermes* gen. et sp. nov. Views from a single immature specimen. A dorsal view B ventral view **C, D** lateral view **E–G** scanning electron micrographs of shell and protoconch respectively. Scale bars: 1 mm (**A–E**); 100 μm (F); 50 μm (G). Credit to Radea et al., 2026

This significant finding highlights the rich, yet often undocumented biodiversity dwelling within Greece’s extensive underground karst ecosystems, while also bringing attention to the fragile nature of these highly localized environments.

Original source:
Radea C, Protopapas D, Parmakelis A, Koskeridou E (2026) From the dark to the light: A new genus and species of stygobiont hydrobiid (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from southern Greece. Subterranean Biology 57: 1-21. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.57.189090

New Species of Giant Salamander Discovered in Anhui, China

With the discovery of a new giant salamander of the genus Andrias, the total number of globally recognised species has risen to 6.

Giant salamanders of the genus Andrias are the largest living amphibians on Earth and, it turns out, more diverse than previously known. For many years, Chinese giant salamanders were classified as a single widespread species. But through recent molecular and morphological research, they have been shown to harbor far greater species richness than previously recognised.

Now, a collaborative team of researchers has formally described a new species: Andrias yaoluopingensis, discovered in the Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve in Yuexi County, Anhui Province, China. The full description is available in the open-access journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

New Giant Salamander from the Mountain Streams

The salamander was first found sheltering among stone crevices in the Macao River at an elevation of 948 meters. Researchers employed an integrative taxonomic approach, combining mitochondrial DNA analysis with detailed morphological examination, to confirm its status as a distinct species.

Holotype of Andrias yaoluopingensis (HSA25201) in life. A. Dorsal view; B. Lateral view (right side); C. Ventral view Photo credit to Zhihao Jiang and Song Huang.
Holotype of Andrias yaoluopingensis (HSA25201). A. Dorsal view of head; B. Ventral view of head; C. Ventral view of left fingers; D. Ventral view of left toes Photo credit to Zhihao Jiang and Song Huang.

Andrias yaoluopingensis, or the Yaoluoping Giant Salamander, is distinguished from other known giant salamanders by several physical characteristics: a notably flat head and trunk; slight webbing between the digits; a tan dorsal surface marked with darker blotches in life; and irregularly distributed tubercles above the eyes.

The discovery brings the total number of recognised Andrias species worldwide to six.

Conservation Implications

The discovery highlights the pressing need for deeper field surveys to uncover overlooked biodiversity in unexplored regions. Wild populations of Chinese giant salamanders have suffered severe declines across the country, primarily driven by overexploitation, as well as habitat loss and environmental degradation. The researchers stress that:

[…] for these critically endangered organisms, more field surveys and further classification at the species level are necessary and urgent.

The morphological and molecular data provided by this discovery will serve as a crucial reference for the targeted conservation of different giant salamander lineages, proper genetic management, and the successful release of artificially bred populations.

Original source:

Jiang Z, Huang R, Yang J, Zhao K, Zhang Y, Zhang T, Zhang Y, Chu J, Chen J, Huang S (2026) A new species of the Giant Salamander genus Andrias (Amphibia, Urodela, Cryptobranchidae) from Yuexi, Anhui, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 102(2): 649-658. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.102.179377

New Harvester Ant Species Discovered in Bulgaria’s Eastern Rhodopes Mountains

The new species, which was described based on morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding from worker, gyne and male castes, brings the total number of Messor species known from Bulgaria to nine.

An international team of researchers has announced the discovery of a new species of harvester ant, officially named Messor odrysarum. The discovery was made by researchers Albena Lapeva-Gjonova of Sofia University in Bulgaria and Lech Borowiec of the University of Wrocław in Poland.

The findings were recently published in the scientific journal ZooKeys and bring the total number of recognized Messor ant species in Bulgaria to nine.

A Nod to Ancient History

Messor odrysarum sp. nov., major worker: A. dorsal view; B. lateral view. Scale bar: 2 mm. Credit to L. Borowiec.
Messor odrysarum sp. nov., major worker: A. head and antennae; B. head sculpture Scale bar: 2 mm. Credit to L. Borowiec.

The newly identified ant is part of the Messor genus, a group well-known for their ecological role as grain and seed collectors in arid and semi-arid environments. The researchers chose the specific name “odrysarum” to honor the ancient Thracian state of Odrysia (roughly founded in early 5th century BC), whose historical geographical borders included the region where this new species was found.

Habitat and Behavior

*Messor* *odrysarum* sp. nov.: A. type locality; B. nest construction. Credit to A. Lapeva-Gjonova.

Messor odrysarum is a lowland species that has been documented at elevations up to 647 meters in the Eastern Rhodopes region of Bulgaria. Researchers discovered their nests situated along dirt roads within oak forests and open grasslands. The nest entrances are built at ground level and “in late summer, seed remains were observed near the nest entrances”.

Messor odrysarum sp. nov. is currently only known from the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria, possibly also occurring in the Thracian region of Greece and Türkiye.
explain the researchers in their article.

Distinct Physical Characteristics

Messor odrysarum sp. nov., gyne head. Scale bar: 1 mm. Credit to L. Borowiec.
Messor oertzeni, gyne head Scale bar: 1 mm. Credit to A. Lapeva-Gjonova.

Confirmed through both rigorous morphological analysis and modern COI DNA barcoding, Messor odrysarum belongs to the Messor structor species group. While it is closely related to the known Balkan-Anatolian species Messor oertzeni, there are several distinctive physical traits that make the newly discovered ant stand out.

It has a smaller overall body size compared to its close relatives and it is accented only by reddish hues on the lower genae (the cheek region of the head). It also has a narrowed head behind the eyes, longer and denser hairs (setae) on its head and midsection, and a longer antennal scape.

Scientific Significance

The formal description of Messor odrysarum helps to resolve ongoing taxonomic complexities within the Messor genus, which is known for cryptic diversity and remarkable reproductive strategies like hybridization or even xenoparity, where female gives birth to, or clones, offspring of a completely different species as part of its lifecycle.

In addition to introducing the new species, the researchers’ publication also provides a rare, updated redescription of the queen (gyne) caste of the related M. oertzeni based on newly collected specimens.

Original source:

Lapeva-Gjonova A, Borowiec L (2026) A new species of Messor from Bulgaria and redescription of the gyne of M. oertzeni Forel, 1910 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 1275: 145-168. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1275.181745