BackgroundDNA isolation and PCR amplification from molluscan taxa is considered as problematic because polysaccharides in tissue and mucus presumably co-precipitate with the DNA and inhibit the activity of DNA polymerase. In the present study we tested two common extraction methods on specimens from the mollusc collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW). We analysed a broad variety of taxa covering a large temporal span (acquisition years 1877 to 1999), which distinguishes our study from previous ones where mostly fresh material was used. We also took other factors into account: effects of sample age, effects of formaldehyde treatment and taxon-specific problems. We used several primer combinations to amplify amplicons of different lengths of two mitochondrial genes: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 16S rRNA gene (16S).ResultsOverall PCR success was 43 % in the 576 extractions (including all primer combinations). The smallest amplicon (~240 bp) showed the best results (49 % positive reactions), followed by the 400 bp amplicon (40.5 %). Both short sections yielded significantly better results than the 700 bp long amplicon (27 %). Comparatively, the Gen-ial-First, All-tissue DNA-Kit—extraction method performed significantly better than Promega-Tissue and Hair Extraction Kit. Generally, PCR success is age-dependent. Nonetheless, we were able to obtain the longest amplicon even from 137-year-old material. Importantly, formaldehyde traces did not totally inhibit amplification success, although very high concentrations did.ConclusionsMuseum material has gained importance for DNA analysis in recent years, especially for DNA barcoding projects. In some cases, however, the amplification of the standard barcoding region (partial sequence of the COI) is problematic with old material. Our study clearly shows that the COI barcoding region could be amplified in up to 49 % of PCRs (varying with amplicon length), which is, for museum samples, quite a high percentage. The difference between extraction methods was minimal and we recommend using an established kit for a first attempt because experience and routine in handling might be more important than slight performance differences of the various kits. Finally, we identify fixation, storage, sample conservation and documentation of the specimens’ history rather than the DNA extraction method to be the most crucial factors for PCR success.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2147-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Natural History Museum in Vienna hosts the samples of the late 19 th century Austro-Hungarian "Pola" expeditions to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Rudolf Sturany studied these samples and described several new species. The type material of 35 species and forms of gastropods collected in the Red Sea is listed and illustrated. For each species, the available type material is listed, the original description and a translation into English is provided, and the current taxonomic status of the species is commented upon whenever possible. All species are illustrated in colour and with SEM imaging, with the exception of Stylifer thielei, whose only specimen was broken by Johannes Thiele in Berlin to study the soft parts. Finally, a table of the Pola deep and coastal stations where molluscs were collected is provided, with modern names.

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The north-west alpine distributed hairy snail Trochulus clandestinus (Hartmann, 1821) was recorded for the first time from Austria. Two living specimens were found in Vorarlberg 11 July 2016. The animals were subjected to genetic barcoding and their genital organs were dissected. The taxonomic situation within north-west alpine species of the genus Trochulus is not unambiguously resolved, but the assignment of the Austrian specimens as T. clandestinus is the most reliable at the current state of knowledge. The habitat of the Austrian location concurs with those of autochthonous populations in Switzerland. Nevertheless, for now it cannot be clearly stated whether the species settled in Vorarlberg directly after the end of the last glaciation or whether the current finding is a result of recent anthropogenic introduction.

The “Pola” expeditions were the first to explore the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the 1890s. They remained the most intense surveys in that area for a century and constitute today a fundamental baseline to assess change in the basin, whose fauna is still inadequately described. Solid taxonomic foundations for the study of deep-sea organisms are needed and we here contribute by revising the name-bearing types of mollusc species introduced by Rudolf Sturany on the basis of the “Pola” material from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea stored in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Sturany introduced 15 names (Marginella occulta var. minor Sturany, 1896 shall not be considered as the introduction of a new name). He described and established two manuscript names by Monterosato: Jujubinus igneus and Pseudomurex ruderatus. The genus Isorropodon was also introduced together with its type species I. perplexum. For each name, we list the available type material, provide the original description and a translation into English and illustrate the specimens in colour and with SEM imaging.