ENDEMIC SPECIES OF OZREN SPIDER INTRODUCED

DOBOJ, NOVEMBER 8 /SRNA/ - The Ozren spider Porrhomma ozrenensis was presented in Doboj today, named after the place where it was found, Mount Ozren, and is an endemic species in the Balkans.

The spider was found by biologist-speleologist Marijan Komnenov from North Macedonia during the research camp on Ozren in the Megari cave, who told reporters that it is an endemic species that is almost fossilized, considering that it is older than man as a species. "It is very small in size, only two millimeters, it is very depigmented, almost without color. The eyes have almost disappeared with the remains of the eye lenses on the back," Komnenov said. For a spider to lose its eyes, he explains, it takes over a million years, making it extremely old. "There are only 25 species of spiders from the porrhomma genus in the world. Eight of them, including this one, are troglobionts," said Komnenov and stated that he found one specimen during research in North Macedonia and is in the process of describing it. The presentation of the Ozren spider, together with the results of a three-year study of the biological diversity of Mount Ozren, which according to the spatial plan of Republika Srpska is intended for protection at the level of a national park, was organized today as part of the Sixth Conference of the Network for Nature Protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bearer of research on Ozren is the Association of Citizens "Fojničani" from Maglaj, whose secretary Davor Šupuković stated that the biodiversity of Ozren is very rich and that during previous research, apart from spiders, they also discovered a refuge for one of the most endangered species of the great horseshoe bat, which has already disappeared in some European countries, the endemic amphibian species of the Macedonian newt /triton macedonicus/, Maglaj's golemash /duvalius maglajensis/, as well as potential new species of invertebrates, such as the water crayfish from the genus Nifargus. Šupuković said that during the two-day conference, the member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Roman Romanov from North Macedonia, who analyzed the presence of rare algae during the research on Ozren, the first such research in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Austro-Hungarian period, will address the gathering via video link. Vojo Milanović, a specialist in bats from Sarajevo's Center for Karst and Speleology, said that they found the presence of 19 species of bats on Ozren, about 60 percent of all species in BiH, as well as large colonies of rare species, such as the great horseshoe bat and Schreiber's bat, which are also indicators of a healthy environment. Professor at the Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo, Dalibor Balian, said that in the Ozren area there are so-called warm forests that are the habitat of the endemic plant species Blagajev likovac. It is a low bush from the Vrebinovka family, popularly known as jeremičak. The representative of local ecological associations from Doboj Ozren Poljašević said that he is proud of the richness of the biodiversity of Ozren, the research of which has been resumed after more than a century. He said that the results so far, among other things, the discovery of a mushroom habitat in Duboki potok, three very rare types of algae, one of which is the first find in Bosnia and Herzegovina, confirm the healthy living environment of the Ozren area.