Phylogenetic position of the relict South American genus Idiopyrgus Pilsbry, 1911 (Gastropoda, Truncatelloidea), with the description of two new cave species
Author
Salvador, Rodrigo B.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4238-2276
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 169 Tory Street, 6011 Wellington, New Zealand
salvador.rodrigo.b@gmail.com
Author
Silva, Fernanda S.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2213-0135
Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Avenida Nazare 481, 04263 - 000, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
Author
Bichuette, Maria E.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9515-4832
Laboratorio de Estudos Subterraneos, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos. Rodovia Washington Luis km 235, CP 676, 13565 - 905, Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil
text
Zoosystematics and Evolution
2022
2022-09-13
98
2
365
375
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zse.98.90797
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zse.98.90797
1860-0743-2-365
6CEC845A70184DF3ADE7141B15FCBE05
CF6E92E98AD25F27AA2C0AA34110ABB9
Idiopyrgus minor
sp. nov.
Fig. 2I-K
Type material.
MZSP 158238 (holotype), LES 0027980 (2 paratypes, from Gruna do Engrunado).
Type locality.
Brazil, Bahia state, Feira da Mata municipality, Gruna da Pingueira II cave.
Distribution.
Known only from two caves in Feira da Mata municipality.
Etymology.
From Latin, meaning
'little'
.
Diagnosis.
Smaller shell than congeners; spire not as elongated and wider than most congeners; aperture proportionately larger in relation to preceding whorl.
Description.
Shell minute, truncatelloid, of translucent white color. Protoconch not too prominent. Shell smooth except for fine growth lines. Suture deep, rendering whorls lightly shouldered in holotype (Fig.
2I, J
). Whorl profile convex. Whorls increasing regularly in size with growth. Aperture large in proportion to body whorl; oval to circular, with a more acuminate end towards the upper lip insertion. Peristome complete; reflexed but not thickened. Shell rimate. Operculum translucent, of same color as the shell. Soft body white.
Measurements.
holotype: 5 whorls, H = 3.5 mm, D = 1.7 mm; paratype: H = 3.7 mm, D = 1.7 mm.
Genetic data.
GenBank reg. nrs: COI, ON720330; 16S, ON720564; ITS2+28S, ON720562.
Remarks.
Idiopyrgus minor
sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by its small size. It also has a less elongated and wider spire than most of its congeners, the exceptions being
I. pilsbryi
and
I. walkeri
(Fig.
1
). Nevertheless, it can also be easily diagnosed from them:
I. minor
sp. nov. is much smaller and has a narrower shell than
I. walkeri
, and has a larger and wider aperture than
I. pilsbryi
. Finally, there is a reasonably large genetic distance separating
I. minor
sp. nov. from
I. adamanteus
sp. nov. (Fig.
3
), comparable to the distance between the species of
Truncatellidae
and
Stenothyridae
present on the tree and larger than the distances between species of
Pomatiopsidae
.
Figure 3.
Bayesian inference phylogenetic tree based on CO1, 16S, ITS2 and 28S, highlighting the family
Tomichiidae
and the position of
Idiopyrgus
. The posterior probabilities are shown on the nodes; scale bar is substitutions per site.
This species is considered troglobitic, given its occurrence in a single cave of the Serra do Ramalho karst area. The specimens were collected in pools resulting from infiltration water and seem to be restricted to this habitat. Besides the translucent shell and lack of body pigmentation, the smaller body size of
I. minor
sp. nov. can also be interpreted as a possible troglomorphism, given that miniaturization is common in cave organisms, including snails (
Christiansen 2012
;
Salvador et al. 2022
).
The Serra do Ramalho region has been historically exploited for agriculture, charcoal production, and mining, from small to large scales (Gallão and Bichuette 2018).
Phylogenetics and biogeography
The phylogenetic analysis included a total of 51 species (counting the outgroup) and all family level taxa were well-supported (posterior probability, PP = 1 in all cases except
Falsicingulidae
, for which PP = 0.98). As such, even though there is an unsolved polytomy in the tree (Fig.
3
; in all likelihood a result of the exclusion of northern hemisphere families not immediately related to our question), the membership of each species to a particular family can be readily and reliably assessed.
In that regard, it can be seen that
Idiopyrgus
does not belong to
Pomatiopsidae
; rather, it is grouped together with
Tomichia
and
Coxiella
. These three genera together form the family
Tomichiidae
, which recovers the results of
Wilke et al. (2013)
and fully establishes this family as a Gondwanan clade. The most basal branch in
Tomichiidae
appears to be the Australian
Coxiella
, with the South African
Tomichia
and the South American
Idiopyrgus
spp. forming a well-supported monophyletic clade (PP = 0.97; Fig.
3
). This represents a typical Gondwanan scenario, with the Australian branch being the most basal one. Furthermore, it can be surmised that all three genera are relicts in their respective continents, given their present low diversity and restricted distributions (
Wilke 2019
).
Nevertheless, the diversity of the Brazilian branch of this family might be underestimated. Specimens of
I. souleyetianus
have been reported from several localities in Brazil, including the aphotic zones of caves (e.g.,
Thiengo et al. 2005
;
Salvador et al. 2017
;
Salvador and Simone 2021
). Shell morphology and the apparent isolation of some populations in cave systems indicate, however, that "
I. souleyetianus
" from the literature is likely a species complex (see also the discussion below). The two new species described herein from caves also point towards this conclusion. Future morphological and molecular studies might thus shed light on the real diversity of this group in Brazil.
It is also noteworthy that
Tomichiidae
is absent from Zealandia, especially considering that the family
Tateidae
is likewise a Gondwanan clade and has representatives in South America, Australia and New Zealand (Fig.
3
;
Zielske et al. 2016
;
Ponder 2019
). Given the more basal position of
Tateidae
in relation to
Tomichiidae
, it can be hypothesized that it represents an earlier branch of
Truncatelloidea
and that
Tomichiidae
therefore arose after Zealandia had split from Gondwana (circa 80 Ma).
Taxonomy
Based on the study of type material and further specimens available to us, it was possible to reassess those species of
Idiopyrgus
that are presently considered synonyms (as per
Simone 2006
) of
I. souleyetianus
. This assessment was done based on conchological characters of the type specimens, topotypes, and additional voucher specimens, as no additional DNA-grade material could be acquired. Therefore, we are aware that our proposed arrangement may change in the future when more material becomes available.
I. souleyetianus
(Fig.
1A, B
) is here restricted to populations from
Espirito
Santo state (Southeast Atlantic hydrographic region), which includes the type locality, and Bahia state (
Sao
Francisco hydrographic region; specimens reported by
Salvador et al. 2017
) (Fig.
4
). The specimens from northern Minas Gerais (
Sao
Francisco hydrographic region; Fig.
4
) assigned by
Salvador and Simone (2021)
to
I. souleyetianus
display much smaller shells, with fewer whorls and a weak axial teleoconch sculpture. As such, they might represent a still unrecognized species. Likewise, the records from
Goias
state assigned to
I. souleyetianus
by
Thiengo et al. (2005
: not illustrated) stem from an area belonging to yet another hydrographic region (Tocantins-Araguaia; Fig.
4
) and should be reassessed; they are treated here as
Idiopyrgus
sp.
Figure 4.
Map of Brazil showing state borders, hydrographic regions, and occurrence of
Idiopyrgus
spp. Black squares represent the known records of each species, while the red circles represent specimens of uncertain identification (potentially representing new species) here labeled
Idiopyrgus
sp.; the red square indicates the area where the specimen used in the phylogeny was collected.
Idiopyrgus pilsbryi
(Fig.
1C, D
) has a much smaller shell than
I. souleyetianus
, having circa 2/3 of the
latter's
shell length. The whorls of
I. souleyetianus
are taller than those of
I. pilsbryi
, and it has a taller spire with more whorls.
I. pilsbryi
inhabits Rio Grande do Norte state, ca. 1,500 km north of the type locality of
I. souleyetianus
, in a completely different climate and biome. It is geographically isolated from
I. souleyetianus
, whose northernmost occurrence is in central Bahia state (Fig.
4
), and in a different hydrographic region (Eastern Northeast Atlantic region). As such, we reinstate
I. pilsbryi
as an accepted species.
Idiopyrgus walkeri
was described from Minas Gerais state and its type specimen could not be located in the ANSP collection during the present study. By its description and published illustrations (
Pilsbry 1924
, reproduced here as Fig.
1E
), it has a more conical shell and wider and more convex whorls than
I. souleyetianus
(being of similar size to it), alongside a shorter spire with fewer whorls. It inhabits the
Sao
Francisco hydrographic region (Fig.
4
), but on a different area from where
I. souleyetanus
is known. In absence of type material,
I. walkeri
is here considered potentially distinct from
I. souleyetanus
, but it is regarded as a taxon inquirendum until the types come to light or topotypes are collected. Three specimens collected from caves in Coribe municipality, southern Bahia state (Fig.
4
), have wider shells and could represent specimens of
I. walkeri
.
Idiopyrgus rudolphi
(Fig.
1F, G
) is the most immediately diagnosable species, as its shell has a straighter spire profile, almost subulinid-like, with whorls only slightly convex in profile. This feature was deemed sufficient by
Haas (1938)
to describe the genus
Hydracme
to house this species. Considering the morphological variation known in the shell shape of truncatelloids, we prefer to follow the most conservative approach for now and to maintain
Hydracme
as a synonym of
Idiopyrgus
until molecular studies on
I. rudolphi
can be conducted and its position in the
group's
phylogeny assessed.
I. rudolphi
is known only from its type locality in Pernambuco state (
Sao
Francisco hydrographic region), seemingly isolated from
I. souleyetianus
to the south and
I. pilsbryi
to the north (Fig.
4
).
The type material of
Idiopyrgus brasiliensis
, despite being databased in the MZSP collection, could not be located during the present study. According to the species description and published illustrations (
Rey 1959
, reproduced here as Fig.
1H
), this species is very similar in shell shape and size to
I. souleyetianus
, but it has a taller body whorl, a more vertically positioned aperture, and a less reflected lip. It is also geographically isolated from other
Idiopyrgus
spp. (Fig.
3
). Therefore, we reinstate it as an accepted species. It inhabits Mato Grosso do Sul state (Paraguay hydrographic region) and, given its occurrence in
Corumba
municipality (
Rey 1959
) close to the border, it should likely be found in Bolivia and perhaps Paraguay as well. The record from Mato Grosso state (
Simone 2006
;
Birckolz et al. 2016
) is in all likelihood a misinterpretation of the records of
Rey (1959)
, since back then the state of Mato Grosso still contained the area that later became Mato Grosso do Sul state. The genus
Aquidauania
, which was erected to house
I. brasiliensis
(erroneously described as belonging to
Oncomelania
Gredler, 1881, an Asian genus;
Rey 1959
), is therefore a synonym of
Idiopyrgus
¸ as already indicated by
Simone (2006)
.
The two new species described herein,
I. adamanteus
sp. nov. and
I. minor
sp. nov., are from Bahia state, belonging to the Middle
Sao
Francisco hydrographic region (Fig.
4
).
Idiopyrgus adamanteus
sp. nov. is apparently isolated from
I. souleyetianus
in the south and
I. rudolphi
in the north (Fig.
4
). The distribution of
I. minor
sp. nov., however, overlaps with
I. souleyetianus
and potentially with
I. walkeri
as well (Fig.
4
). It is thus tempting to consider
I. souleyetianus
and/or
I. walkeri
as widespread species whose isolated populations in caves might have given rise to new species such as
I. minor
sp. nov.