Two new species of Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from springs in the Rio Grande watershed in Texas

Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 is a genus of small (<5 mm) spring snails, usually endemic to single freshwater springs. Two new populations of Pyrgulopsis found in very small, isolated springs and spring runs in the mainstem Rio Grande watershed of western Texas are distinguished from congeners. Mitochondrial and nuclear sequences, morphometrics, and morphological characteristics support Pyrgulopsis rubra sp. nov. and Pyrgulopsis harrymilleri sp. nov. as distinct from other known Pyrgulopsis species, including the geographically proximate P. metcalfi.

Archäologische Forschungen am Karacadağ und eine hieroglyphenluwische Inschrift aus Karaören

This essay presents a partial report of surveys on the Karacadağ (Konya), which have been carried out since 2016 due to the find of a fragment of a hieroglyphic Luwian inscription from the 13th century BC at the village of Karaören. The results of the survey allow a holistic understanding of the material and topographic conditions which led to the writing, re-use and then find of the inscription. The inscription is presented and a possible historical-geographical framework both of this and of other related texts is explained, whereby it seems probable that there was an important military-strategic border here. The survey and associated ethnographic research established the importance of the freshwater springs on the Karacadağ, as well as the continuous re-use of stones attesting a profound cultural memory that runs from the Hittite period through a populous Byzantine occupation up until modern applications by the inhabitants of the Karacadağ.

Water Bodies in the Besserman Mythology and Rituals

Springs and rivers determine the formation of the sacral landscape of settlements and play a part in the rituals, mythology, traditional world model and space of the Besserman. They serve as essential resources of subsistence, are used domestically and are taken into account when zoning settlements. Besserman villages are located on hills near rivers and large freshwater springs. In the traditional world model, rivers connect different parts of the space, i.e. the upper and lower worlds, upper and lower reaches, sky and earth. Rivers simultaneously serve as natural and mythological borders, functioning as roads both metaphorically and literally. According to popular belief, water from rivers and springs travels to the sky via rainbows, and then falls to earth and into rivers by way of rain and snow. Historically prayers were said and rituals held near rivers from the start of the floating of the ice to the autumn. In summer, they were held only in emergency cases (drought or wet summers). Water from springs had healing properties and was used in folk medicine. Alongside traditional perceptions, the Besserman also have local rituals related to the veneration of springs that are connected with Orthodox and Muslim beliefs and revered saints.

A new genus and species of groundwater isopod of the family Protojaniridae (Isopoda: Asellota: Gnathostenetroidoidea) from southern Chile

A new asellotan isopod of the family Protojaniridae Fresi, Idato & Scipione, 1980 is described from freshwater springs in the Osorno province, Los Lagos region, southern Chile. Wiyufiloides osornoensis gen. & sp. n. is the third South American protojanirid species and the first known groundwater isopod in Chile. The new genus and species is principally characterized by the presence of a vestigial antennal scale, a strongly subchelate pereiopod I and the absence of an apical lobe on the protopod of pleopod II. The new taxon is described in detail and figures are given.

Water Quality in Thirty Freshwater Springs and Twenty Four Brackish Springs in the Karst Area to Realize Sustainable Water Resources Management

Clean water is an unlimited and sustainable need that must be fulfilled every day and meet an appropriate standard in terms of quantity and quality. The research objective in this study was to analyze the quality of water in thirty freshwater springs and twenty four brackish springs in the karst area of Buton Tengah Regency to achieve sustainable water resource management. Data on the quality of freshwater springs and brackish water springs chemically and biologically have been analyzed in the biology laboratory of FMIPA Universitas Halu Oleo, then the results are compared with the standards for water quality contained in the regulations of the Minister of Health and Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia. The results showed that the freshwater springs in Talaga Raya District exceeded the water quality standards for hardness parameter, while the brackish springs in Mawasangka Tengah, Mawasangka Timur, Lakudo, and Mawasangka Districts has exceeded the water quality standards for parameters of total dissolved solids, hardness, and chloride. However, these parameters are relatively easy to overcome so that the use of freshwater springs can qualify as drinking water, while the use of brackish springs should be used to meet domestic non-drinking water needs.

LACUSTRINE DYNAMICS AND TLATEL-TYPE SETTLEMENTS FROM MIDDLE FORMATIVE TO LATE AZTEC IN THE EASTERN PART OF LAKE TEXCOCO, MEXICO

In the territories of the former lakes in the Basin of Mexico, a tlatel was an insular settlement associated with the exploitation of lacustrine resources. This study examines the stratigraphy and geomorphological context of three tlateles in the eastern part of the former Lake Texcoco and correlates their phases of development with regional paleoclimatic trends from the seventh century b.c. to the sixteenth century. The results of this research indicate that fluvio-lacustrine (i.e., deltaic) sedimentation and freshwater springs in the lake basin were important features for the establishment of tlatel settlements in the highly dynamic and saline lacustrine environment. The formation and abandonment of the studied tlateles correlate with changes in other settlements and developments recorded in other parts of Lake Texcoco. Sites and sediments in the eastern part of Lake Texcoco provide proxy information on the lacustrine changes that accompanied the development of Tenochtitlan and other lacustrine settlements in its western part.

Trichoptera diversity in Icelandic springs

The aim of this study was to characterize the Trichoptera fauna of freshwater springs in Iceland and to relate distribution of caddis larvae to environmental properties of the springs. Out of a total of 48 springs sampled, Trichoptera larvae were found in only eleven. Larval densities were low, as was species diversity. Only three of the 12 species known to occur in Iceland were found: Apatania zonella, Limnephilus griseus, and Limnephilus affinis. The occurrence of A. zonella in springs in North-Iceland may suggest that springs might play a role as refugia for this species that is otherwise excluded from the area by larvae of the predatory caddis species Potamophylax cingulatus, which seems to be absent from spring habitats. Caddis larval abundance was higher in rheocrene springs and in springs with sandy substrate, and decreased with increasing water temperature. Presence or absence of Trichoptera larvae, on the other hand, was not associated with any of the environmental variables measured.