Genital and allozyme similarity between Arion urbiae and A. anguloi (Mollusca: Pulmonata)

• Published in: Zoological journal of the Linnean Society Vol. 110; no. 1; pp. 1 - 18
• Main Authors: BACKELJAU, THIERRY, WINTER, ANTON J. DE, MARTIN, RAMON, RODRIGUEZ, TERESA, BRUYN, LUC DE
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.1994; Academic Press
• Subjects: Anatomy; Arion; Arion subfuscus; Biological and medical sciences; electrophoresis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; genetics; Invertebrates; Mollusca; Pulmonata; systematics; Systematics. Geographical distribution; Pulmonata; Gene frequency; Taxonomy; Genital system; Chemotaxonomy; Gastropoda; Allozyme; Invertebrata; Mollusca; Anatomy; Population genetics
• ISSN: 0024-4082; 1096-3642
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1994.tb01467.x

A comparison of the genital features of Arion urbiae and A. anguloi suggests that the species are extremely similar, if not identical. This hypothesis is supported by an electrophoretic analysis of 13 putative enzynme loci, which shows that the two species are also genetically yery similar (I = 0.947), while the related A. subfuscus consists of two distinct genetic types (I = 0.421). These results are further confirmed by a study of esterase profiles obtained with isoelectric focusing. It is therefore concluded that A. urbiae and A. anguloi are most probably conspecifie, whereas the genetic types of A. subfuscus may represent two different species.