Open AccessTowards a monophyletic genus Albinaria (Gastropoda, Pulmonata): the first molecular study into the phylogenetic position of eastern Albinaria species
Author(s) -
DE WEERD DENNIS R. UIT,
GITTENBERGER EDMUND
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
zoological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1096-3642
pISSN - 0024-4082
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00154.x
Subject(s) - monophyly , biology , vicariance , disjunct distribution , clade , zoology , taxonomy (biology) , genus , phylogenetic tree , evolutionary biology , biochemistry , gene
Recent molecular phylogenetic studies of the terrestrial snail genus Albinaria have caused a radical reassessment of its taxonomy. These studies, however, were limited to western species. This paper examines mitochondrial 12S sequences and nuclear ITS1 & 2 sequences of both eastern and western species, and demonstrates that Albinaria, in its most recent definition, is not monophyletic. Both molecular datasets place ‘ Albinaria ’ hedenborgi from Lebanon in a well‐supported clade with species of the genus Cristataria , distributed south‐east of the vicariant range of Albinaria . The remaining species from Cyprus, Turkey and Greece constitute a well‐supported monophyletic group. These two clades form geographical clusters, whereas Albinaria in the current definition (including ‘ A. ’ hedenborgi ) has a disjunct distribution. ‘ A.’ hedenborgi should therefore be classified with Cristataria , together with the morphologically similar and geographically close ‘ A. ’ nadimi . © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 143 , 531−542.