Acavid Land Snails of Madagascar: Subgeneric Revision Based on Published Data (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Stylommatophora)
1990; Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University; Volume: 142; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1938-5293
Autores Tópico(s)Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
ResumoMadagascan acavids currently comprise 99 species, for 21 of which some anatomical data have been published. Cladistic analysis was performed on 19 of these species, based on 11 apomorphies (6 of them synapomorphies) found in illustrations of the genitalia and radulae, and in the embryonic sculptures of examined shells. The resulting maximum-par- simony tree (consistency index = 1.00) supported the conchologically deflned genera Ampelita, Clavator, Helicophanta, and Leucotaenius. Extreme anatomical variation in Ampelita called for its division Into four subgenera that are also conchologically distinct: Ampelita sensu stricto; Eurystyla; Vescona, subgen. n. (type A. robillardi); and Xystera, subgen. n. (type A. xystera). According to the cladogram, A. (Ampelita) is paraphyletic. Anatomically unknown species were tentatively classified based on shell morphology. Ampelita covani is removed to the Rhytididae, and is the first member of that family reported from Madagascar. Because the Madagascan acavids are in great danger of extinction, immediate action is required to build on the scarce available data and to aid their survival. (Acavidae, cladistics, evolution, Madagascar, snails, systematics)
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