First record of freshwater sponge Trochospongilla horrida Weltner, 1893 in Serbia – A morphological and genetic study

Abstract

Trochospongilla horrida Weltner, 1893 (Spongillidae, Spongillida) has a relatively wide, though discontinuous, distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. The aim of this paper was to report the first finding of T. horrida in Serbia. During 2017, research was carried out on ten tributaries of the Sava and the Danube. T. horrida was identified at three localities in Tisa, Juzna Morava and Zapadna Morava rivers, out of 51 inspected sites. For the first time ribosomal 28S DNA was used for T. horrida identification.