Vicariant versus dispersal processes in the settlement of Pseudamnicola (Caenogastropoda, Hydrobiidae) in the Mediterranean Balearic Islands
Author
Delicado, Diana
Author
Machordom, Annie
Author
Ramos, Marian A.
text
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
2014
Zool. J. Linn. Soc.
2014-03-28
171
1
38
71
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12124
journal article
10.1111/zoj.12124
0024-4082
5305349
9CD3D06C-7D15-4211-9613-D23A67F07938
PSEUDAMNICOLA
(
PSEUDAMNICOLA
)
MELOUSSENSIS
ALTABA, 2007
Type locality
Stream at Macarella Creek,
Minorca
,
Balearic Islands
(
Altaba, 2007
).
Type material
Holotype
(
CRA-
-1) and
paratypes
(
CRA-
) in Altaba’s personal collection.
Other populations studied
To
assess the localities from
Minorca
published by
Boeters (1988)
, we returned to the island and found most of them destroyed, mainly as a result of the construction of pipes and irrigation systems.
Nevertheless
, localities in the south, including the
type
locality, were conserved and hence, they were the populations examined in this study (see
Supporting Information Appendix S
1)
.
Specimens examined for morphometry
Shell
, anatomical, operculum, and radular measurements (
Appendix S
2:
Tables S1–S
7) were carried out on male and female specimens collected from a stream at
Macarella Creek
(
type
locality),
Minorca
in
December 2007
.
New diagnosis
Shell with a bulging, inflated body whorl occupying around four-fifths of shell length; central radular tooth with five lateral cusps decreasing in size; bursa copulatrix pyriform and bursal duct about 75% of the length of bursa copulatrix; elongate seminal receptacle; black-pigmented renal oviduct with pigment fading from loop to insertion of seminal receptacle; penis shape between triangular and tapered with rounded tip, small patch of pigmentation on distal section and folds over entire inner surface; in most of the cases, with a constriction in the beginning of the distal region; brown-pigmented nervous system with darker cerebral ganglia, and supraoesophageal connective more than eight times longer than suboesophageal one.
Description
Shell ovate-conic, yellowish periostracum with 3.75– 4.50 spire whorls and a height between 2.5 and
3.5 mm
(
Fig. 10A–C
, Appendix S2:
Table S1
); body whorl well developed, about four-fifths of shell length; deep suture and convex spire whorls; protoconch with approximately 1.3 whorls; protoconch and nucleus width around 450 and 125 μm, respectively (
Fig. 10E, F
); protoconch microsculpture granulated (
Fig. 10G
); oval aperture with thin outer lip and slightly thicker inner lip; wide umbilicus; edge of peristome straight (
Fig. 10D
).
Operculum with around 2.5 spire whorls and an oval muscle attachment area near the nucleus (
Fig. 11A, B
, Appendix S2:
Table S2
).
Radula length medium (25%) relative to maximum shell dimension (
Fig. 11C
, Appendix S2: Table S3); with approximately 50 rows of teeth; central tooth with a large median cusp followed on each side by five small cusps decreasing in size (
Fig. 11D, E
); lateral teeth with three sharp lateral cusps; inner marginal teeth with approximately 18 tapered cusps and outer marginal teeth with around 12 tapered cusps smaller than inner marginal cusps (
Fig. 11F
).
Pigmentation and anatomy
Head brown pigmented, less pigmentation on tentacles and neck; lack of pigmentation on edge of snout and ocular area (
Fig. 12F
); foot intermediate in size and with dark brown pigment on its dorsal side. Ctenidium well developed with 18–20 gill filaments longer than wide, occupying the middle section of pallial cavity; osphradium in opposite middle region of ctenidium (
Fig. 12C
, Appendix S2: Table S4). Stomach slightly longer than wide (Appendix S2: Table S4); oesophagus and intestine lack pigmentation (
Fig. 12E
); rectum S-shaped in pallial cavity.
Female genitalia with capsule gland longer than albumen gland (
Fig. 12G
, Appendix S2: Table S5); bursa copulatrix pyriform and bursal duct about 75% of the length of bursa copulatrix; elongate seminal receptacle without duct, situated on renal oviduct above the insertion of bursal duct; black-pigmented renal oviduct, pigment fading from loop to insertion of seminal receptacle; renal oviduct lies over bursa copulatrix making one or two loops (
Fig. 12H
).
Figure 10.
Shells of
Pseudamnicola
(
Pseudamnicola
)
meloussensis
from a stream at Macarella Creek, Minorca. A–D, frontal and lateral views of the observed morphotypes. E–G, protoconch and details of protoconch microsculpture. Scale bar: 1 mm.
Male genitalia with a bean-shaped prostate gland approximately four times longer than wide (
Fig. 12D
, Appendix S2: Table S6); penis shape between triangular and tapered with rounded tip and folds over entire surface, folds thicker near the tip; it is attached to the central area of the head; in most specimens, there is a constriction at the beginning of the distal region; small patch of pigmentation on distal section of penis (
Fig. 12F
); penial duct runs straight (although wavy in some specimens), near the outer edge of the penis.
Nervous system with darker cerebral ganglia than connectives and commissures; cerebral ganglia approximately equal in size; supraoesophageal con- nective eight times longer than suboesophageal one (
Fig. 12B
, Appendix S2: Table S7); RPG ratio 0.60 (elongate); oesophagus runs straight underneath nervous system (
Fig. 12A
).
Remarks
The type locality presents two shell morphotypes, one that is smaller with a more rounded aperture (
Fig. 10A
) and the other that has a larger last body whorl and wider umbilicus and aperture (
Fig. 10C
). The first morphotype is similar to the one in the original description (
Altaba, 2007
). However, both morphotypes from S. Juan de Carbonell,
Minorca
were figured by
Boeters (1988
: figs 53, 54). Anatomically, only minor differences are found between the morphotypes, mainly in penis features: the penis of the second morphotype is more slender and tapered. The greatest genetic distance amongst individuals of this population is 2% for
COI
, which is insufficient to consider them different species.
Figure 11.
Operculum and radula of
Pseudamnicola
(
Pseudamnicola
)
meloussensis
from a stream at Macarella Creek, Minorca. A, internal side of the operculum. B, external side of the operculum. C, radula. D, rows of teeth of the radula. E, central teeth. F, outer marginal teeth.
The general shapes of the shell and penis for the other examined localities are a smaller shell and less tapered penis. However, the penis tip is less pointed than that of Boeters’ descriptions for specimens from
Minorca
(
Boeters, 1988
: fig. 77). The female genitalia are similar to figure 84 of
Boeters (1988)
. There is low anatomical variability within and amongst populations; however, a certain level of genetic divergence exists amongst them. Specimens collected from Ses Penyes are genetically the most divergent of the Minorcan specimens (the greatest genetic distance observed was 2.58% for
COI
). This locality is geographically the most isolated compared to the other localities, which may decrease gene flow.
Boeters (1988)
assigned some populations from
Minorca
to
P.
(
P.
)
subproducta
, claiming that some intraspecific variability existed for this group. However, despite sharing shell dimensions and the number of spire whorls, we conclude that the studied populations from
Minorca
belong to a different species group, namely
P.
(
P.
)
meloussensis
. This species differs from
P.
(
P.
)
subproducta
in a number of characters as follows: (1) longer stomach style sac; (2) larger capsule gland and bursa copulatrix; (3) longer penis; (4) elongate nervous system (
RPG
ratio of 0.60); and (5) genetically, having divergences of 5.6% for
COI
, 1.5% for
16S
, and 1.1% for
28S
.