Genetic and morphological studies of species status for poorly known endemicTrochulus phorochaetius(Bourguignat, 1864) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Hygromiidae), and its comparison with closely related taxa

Abstract

The taxonomic status of Trochulus phorochaetius and its phylogenetic relationships to Trochulus plebeius and Trochulus hispidus were evaluated based on molecular, morphological, and genital anatomy data. The canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) of shell morphology allowed the clear differentiation between these three nominal species, whereas the genitalia revealed their high similarity. Analyses of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences were not always congruent with the differentiation between these three species by shell characters. None of them formed a monophyletic group covering all its sequences. Instead, many sequences obtained from individuals classified to the same morphospecies, and/or usually collected from the same region or country, created highly supported separate clades and delimited clusters. Three distinct clades containing sequences of two morphospecies originating from the same country were identified in molecular phylogenetic and species delimitation studies: (1) T. plebeius + T. hispidus from Great Britain; (2) T. plebeius + T. hispidus from Poland; and (3) T. phorochaetius + T. hispidus from France. In the latter case some of the sequences were even identical. Their genetic similarity could indicate the ability to hybridize, which may be evidenced by the lack of major differences in their reproductive system. The assignment of distinctive morphospecies, and thus existing taxonomic names, to genetically defined evolutionary lineages is premature and arbitrary to some extent at this stage. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London

Cryptic diversity in Mediterranean gastropods of the genus <em>Aplus</em> (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae)

“…The relative congruence between the species hypotheses defined with ABGD and the morphological and geographical data is a further support to the claim that ABGD can be used as a good proxy for species delimitation in gastropods when only molecular data are available (Puillandre et al 2012, Barco et al 2013, Prockow et al 2013. Seven species hypotheses were eventually retained, corresponding to lineages that are divergent and reciprocally monophyletic, thus satisfying two of the criteria of species delimitation derived from the lineages species concept (Barberousse and Samadi 2010).…”

Differentiation in the Trochulus hispidus complex and related taxa (Pulmonata: Hygromiidae): morphology, ecology and their relation to phylogeography

“…Normal text indicates umbilicus diameter >1.8; italic font indicates umbilicus diameter <1.8 to >1.6; bold italic font indicates umbilicus diameter <1.6, according to the results of Proćków, Mackiewicz & Pieńkowska (2013).…”

“…Therefore, the coefficient of determination was calculated by MS Excel. The ratio ‘umbilicus width/shell width’, as used by Proćków, Mackiewicz & Pieńkowska (2013), was also calculated and compared with our results. Those authors defined values of this ratio of 0.18–0.16 as the overlapping area between T. hispidus and T. sericeus , and values below 0.16 as exclusively typical for T. sericeus .…”

New data on the distribution and molecular diagnostics of Monacha claustralis (Rossmässler, 1834) and M. cartusiana (O. F. Müller, 1774) (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Hygromiidae) in Poland, Bosnia and Serbia

“…Partial sequences of two mitochondrial gene fragments were amplified: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI, 650 bp long barcode sequence), using primers bcsmF1 and bcsmR1 (PRoćków et al 2013), and 16S ribosomal DNA (16SrDNA, ca. 375 bp long), using primers recommended by siMon et al (1994) and GantenBein et al (1999).…”