World Congress of Malacology Antwerp ... - Unitas Malacologica

decades, the application of a MOTU-number-system enables right now the clear identification of
evolutionary units and thus the correlation of all types of biological data to these units.
The pros and cons of this proposal are outlined and discussed in the lecture.
Species boundaries in Limax (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora):
extreme colour variations in and between species
Klee, Barbara 1 ; Heim, René 2 ; Hyman, Isabel T. 1 ; Haszprunar, Gerhard 1
1. Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Münchhausenstraße 21, D-81247 München, Germany,
Email: Barbara.Klee@zsm.mwn.de; Isabel.Hyman@tf-limax.org; Haszi@zsm.mwn.de
2. Natur-Museum Luzern, Kasernenplatz 6, CH-6003 Luzern, Switzerland,
Email: Rene.Heim@lu.ch
Biodiversity research needs taxonomic expertise in a broad variety of organisms. Most scientists
working in the creation of species inventories are not specialists in every investigated group, so
reliable species identification is one of the major problems. Working on the terrestrial slug genus
Limax, we recognized that specimens from many species, even common ones, are often misidentified
in checklists or collections. Juvenile animals are even more difficult to assign to a species.
In the current study we compare three species, all of which show extreme variation in their external
appearance. Two of these species, Limax maximus and Limax cinereoniger, are very widely
distributed in Central Europe. The third (undescribed) species, Limax sp., is endemic to the south–
western Central Alps. In all three species, body colour ranges from black to pale yellow or cream,
with patterning ranging from absent to variable black stripes or spots. It is usual to find more than
one colour variant in a population and extraordinary exceptions in colouration also exist.
Our preliminary molecular phylogeny of Limax has shown that these three species can clearly be
distinguished using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I. These results agree with
conventional characters such as penis morphology and copulation behaviour. We have been able to
use these results to reassess the external appearance characters, and have found that in combination,
colour and pattern may be used for identification of adults. The most important characters include the
colour and pattern of the sole and the pattern on the mantle.
Estrogenic active compounds in bivalve molluscs: physiological role in reproductive
development and potential for endocrine disruption?
Knigge, Thomas 1 ; Monsinjon, Tiphaine 1 ; Denier, Xavier 1 ; Labadie, Pierre 2 ; Peck, Mika R. 2 ;
Trigwell, Jackie 3 ; Dussart, Georges 3 ; Puinean, Alin-Mirel 2 ; Rotchell, Jeanette 2 ; Hill, Elizabeth
M. 2 ; Minier, Christophe 1
1. Laboratoire d´Ecotoxicologie Milieux Aquatiques, Université du Havre, 25 rue Philippe Lebon, BP
540, 76058 Le Havre, France,
Email: thomas.knigge@univ-lehavre.fr, tiphaine.monsinjon@univ-lehavre.fr, xavier.denier@univlehavre.fr,
christophe.minier@univ-lehavre.fr
2. Centre for Environmental Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton. BN1
9QJ, UK,
Email: pierre.labadie@ccr.jussieu.fr, m.r.peck@sussex.ac.uk, mirel.puinean@bbsrc.ac.uk
j.rotchell@sussex.ac.uk, e.m.hill@sussex.ac.uk
3. Biological Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University College, Canterbury, CT1 1AQ, UK,
Email: jat1@canterbury.ac.uk, gbd1@canterbury.ac.uk
Mussels are considered suitable organisms for the assessment of pollution in aquatic ecosystems.
This is particularly due their high bioaccumulation capacity for contaminants, including estrogenic
active chemicals. Aquatic environments receive significant levels of (xeno)estrogens that could
potentially interfere with the natural hormonal systems of molluscs and affect the reproductive
development of these organisms. However, relevant endpoints of endocrine disruption are still
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