Bruno Zava

• Biodiversity Journal, 14 (4): 0765-0773

  Gianni Insacco, Bruno Zava & Marco Masseti
  Two late 1800s wolves, Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia Canidae), from the Hyblean Mountains, in eastern Sicily
  https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2023.14.4.765.773

  ABSTRACT
  The wolf, Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia Canidae), became extinct in Sicily in the past century, between 1930 and 1960. The present paper describes the unpublished remains of two wolves, killed in the late 1800s in the Hyblean Mountains and preserved within the vertebrate collection of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Comiso, Ragusa, (Italy), that is an important asset for biodiversity research as well as for morphological and genetic studies. The two specimens constitute the only finds of the species that are known so far for eastern Sicily. Their measurements and the restoration carried out for museum display are presented. A morphological description of these two specimens is provided and the taxonomic problems of the Italian and Sicilian populations are discussed.

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• Biodiversity Journal, 12 (4): 0875-0885

  Marco Masseti & Bruno Zava
  Extinct and living mammals of the island of Marettimo (Aegadian archipelago, Trapani), off the north-western Sicilian coast (Italy): a review of evidence and historical data
  https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2021.12.4.875.885

  ABSTRACT
  Marettimo island is the furthest of the Aegadian archipelago from the coast of north-western Sicily. Nevertheless, the presence of continental and non-endemic mammals on the island has been documented since the Mesolithic period. Over the course of historical times the introduction of mammals on the small island has continued without any apparent solution of continuity, even attempting to involve neo-Arctic species such as the Eastern cottontail. Recently, evidence has been found of the monk seal visiting some of the island’s caves.

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