Search

Unexpectedly, an unknown limacid slug was found in damp meadows and granite trails on the western side of Montecristo, a small island of the Tuscan Archipelago (N Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), the malacofauna of which has been extensively studied in the last 50 years. It is distinguished from all other anatomically studied limacid species: its duct of the bursa copulatrix joins to the female distal genitalia while in all other limacids except Limacus flavus, it joins to the penis (or the genital atrium). Several other features distinguish the Montecristo slug from L. flavus: body colour, structure of ovispermiduct and free oviduct (with a peculiar sphincter in the new slug), internal structure of the penis and female distal genitalia. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences of several mitochondrial (COI, 16S rDNA) and nuclear (ITS2, 28S rDNA) gene fragments supported the assignation of the Montecristo slug to the family Limacidae, but also its distinction from all molecularly characterized species from the genera Limax, Ambigolimax, Bielzia, Lehmannia, Limacus and Malacolimax. Therefore we decided to describe it within a new genus as Weltersia obscura sp. nov. The origin of this slug is obscure – it is not clear if it is an endemic species overlooked in previous field studies or an alien species introduced to the island very recently. : [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specimens obtained from ten populations of a Monacha species from the central Apennines were compared with six molecular lineages of Monacha cantiana s. l. (CAN-1, CAN-2, CAN-3, CAN-4, CAN-5, CAN-6) and two other Monacha species (M. cartusiana and M. parumcincta), treated as outgroup, by molecular (nucleotide sequences of two mitochondrial COI and 16S rDNA as well as two nuclear ITS2 and H3 gene fragments) and morphological (shell and genital anatomy) analysis. The results strongly suggest that these populations represent a separate species for which two names are available: the older Helix pantanellii De Stefani, 1879 and the junior M. ruffoi Giusti, 1973. The nucleotide sequences created well separated clades on each phylogenetic tree. Genital anatomy included several distinctive features concerning vaginal appendix, penis, penial papilla and flagellum; instead, shell characters only enabled them to be distinguished from M. cartusiana and M. parumcincta. Remarkably, populations of M. pantanellii show high morphological variability. Shell variability mainly concerns size, some populations having very small dimensions. Genital variability shows a more intricate pattern of all anatomical parts, being higher as regards the vagina and vaginal appendix. Despite this morphological variability, the K2P distance range of COI sequences between populations is narrow (0.2-4.5%), if we consider all but three of the 53 sequences obtained. This research confirmed that the species of Monacha and their molecularly distinguished lineages can only occasionally be recognised morphologically and that they have significant inter- and intrapopulation variability. The possibility of using an overall approach, including shell, genital and molecular evidence, was taken in order to establish a reliable taxonomic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new lineages CAN-5 and CAN-6 were recognised in four populations of Monacha cantiana (Montagu, 1803) s.l. from the Italian Apuan Alps by joint molecular and morphological analysis. They are different from other M. cantiana lineages known from English, Italian, Austrian and French populations, i.e. CAN-1, CAN-2, CAN-3 and CAN-4, as well as from the other Italian Monacha species used for comparisons (M. parumcincta and M. cartusiana). Although a definite taxonomic and nomenclatural setting seems to be premature, we suggest that the name or names for these new lineages as one or two species should be found among 19th century names (Helix sobara Mabille, 1881, H. ardesa Mabille, 1881, H. apuanica Mabille, 1881, H. carfaniensis De Stefani, 1883 and H. spallanzanii De Stefani, 1884). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]