New data on the phylogeny of A riantinae ( P ulmonata, H elicidae) and the systematic position of C ylindrus obtusus based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA marker sequences

The phylogenetic relationships among genera of the subfamily A riantinae ( P ulmonata, H elicidae), especially the sister‐group relationship of C ylindrus obtusus , were investigated with three mitochondrial ( 12 S r RNA , 16 S r RNA , C ytochrome c oxidase subunit I ) and two nuclear marker genes ( H istone H4 and H3 ). Within A riantinae, C . obtusus stands out because of its aberrant cylindrical shell shape. Here, we present phylogenetic trees based on these five marker sequences and discuss the position of C . obtusus and phylogeographical scenarios in comparison with previously published results. Our results provide strong support for the sister‐group relationship between C ylindrus and A rianta confirming previous studies and imply that the split between the two genera is quite old. The tree reveals a phylogeographical pattern of A riantinae with a well‐supported clade comprising the B alkan taxa which is the sister group to a clade with individuals from A lpine localities. Additional lineages representing samples from southern A lpine localities as well as from S lovakia split from more basal nodes, but their relationships are not clearly resolved. To achieve more definitive conclusions concerning the geographical origin of A riantinae, still more sequence data are needed to obtain a tree with better resolution of basal nodes. The genetic data also provided new insights concerning the genus C epaea, which was used as one of the outgroup taxa. C epaea vindobonensis is only distantly related to C epaea nemoralis and C epaea hortensis , the latter two being more closely related to E obania vermiculata . Thus, in our tree, the genus C epaea is paraphyletic.