Ecologica Montenegrina 17: 53-59 (2018) This journal is available online at: www.biotaxa.org/em Populations of Microcondylaea bonellii (Férussac 1827), Unionidae – an european freshwater mussel at rapid decline - and Unio mancus in Istria, Croatia ALEXANDER C. MRKVICKA Mollusc Research Austria, A-1010 Vienna, Burgring 7. E-mail:
[email protected] Received 4 December 2017 │ Accepted by V. Pešić: 10 April 2018 │ Published online 13 April 2018. Abstract Microcondylaea bonelli (Férussac 1827) inhabits rivers in the northern and eastern region of the adriatic sea. Actual IUCN conservation status is VU (vulnerable), it is listed in Annex V of the Flora-Fauna-Habitat directive of the EU. Due to construction works, frequent severe flooding and habitat changes the species is in rapid decline in its whole area. Conservation status should therefore be altered to CR (Critically Endangered) and the habitats of the remaining populations especially in Croatia managed to stop the decline. Key words: freshwater mussel, Microcondylaea bonelli, Unio mancus, threatened species, habitat changes, conservation, population size, river Mirna, Istria, Croatia. Introduction Microcondylaea bonelli (Férussac 1827; syn. Microcondylaea compressa Menke 1830) lives in rivers that flow into the adriatic sea, mainly in northern Italy and adjacent Slovenia, in river Mirna and some of its tributaries in Croatia (Fischer 1999, Bößneck 2002), in Montenegro and Albania in Lake Shkodra and its tributaries, in river Drin (Wohlberedt 1909) and in lake Ohrid (Dhora & Welter-Schultes 1996, Korniushin 2004, Reischütz & Reischütz 2002, Reischütz 2008). In 2012 Reischütz found one corroded shell in river Shkumbin near Cerme in Albania (Reischütz 2013). In Italy it was considered to be ecxtinct in the 1980s, in 1984 few living individuals were found in river Versa (Fechter & Falkner 1989).