World Congress of Malacology Antwerp ... - Unitas Malacologica

How many unionoid taxa live in the western Palearctic?
Araujo, Rafael 1 ; Toledo, Carlos 1 ; Nagel, Karlo 2 ; Reis, Joaquim; Machordom, Annie 1,3
1. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain,
Email: rafael@mncn.csic.es; carlostc@mncn.csic.es; annie@mncn.csic.es
2. Dr.-Gremmelsbacher-Str, 6, D - 79199 Kirchzarten, Germany,
Email: konagel@gmx.de
3. Centro de Biologia Ambiental / Dep. de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade
de Lisboa, Campo Grande, C2, 3º Piso, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal,
Email: joaqreis@gmail.com
The taxonomy of the western Palearctic naiads is very far from being clarified. Although the 6 genera
recognized (Anodonta, Margaritifera, Microcondylaea, Potomida, Pseudanodonta and Unio) are still
valid, the number of species in each genus is under debate. We have used a molecular approach in
order to avoid the variability and convergence in shell features, which is the reason for the plethora of
names in Palearctic unionoid taxonomy. We have undertaken molecular analyses of 16SRNA and
cytochrome c oxidase subunit I of more than 300 naiads from a large part of their range: Belgium,
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain,
Switzerland and Turkey. Some of the samples come from the terrae typicae of the nominal species or
subspecies from Haas (1969). Both our results and the sequences from GenBank confirm the
monophyly of 5 genera (except Anodonta). Pseudanodonta and Microcondylaea are monotypic. The
genus Unio showed at least 13 taxa in Europe. Within the genus Anodonta, A. cygnea is a valid
species, while the widespread A. anatina is probably a complex of several species. We have found
two different species of Potomida, one in western Europe and the other in Turkey. Future results
from Moroccan populations may still change this picture. Finally, M. margaritifera is a widely
distributed species in all Europe and M. auricularia has a sister species in the North of Africa.
Micro-molluscs of the Western Ghats: Distribution and threats
Aravind, Neelavar Ananthram 1 ; Patil, Rajashekhar K. 2 ; Madhyastha, Neelavar Ananthram 3
1. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), #659, 5th A Main Road,
Hebbal, Bangalore 560024, India,
Email: aravind@atree.org; amadhyastha@gmail.com
2. Dept. of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, 574199, Mangalore, India,
Email: drrkpatil@yahoo.com
3. Coordinator, Malacology Centre, Poorna Prajna College, Udupi 576101, India,
Email: na.madhyastha@gmail.com
The Western Ghats is one of the 34 hotspots of biological diversity and harbours high level of
endemicity in variety of taxa. Being a hotspot, most of the work has been done on higher taxa such as
mammals, birds etc and lesser taxa such as land snails are totally ignored. Given the rapid land
transformation occurring due to anthropogenic pressure in the Western Ghats a need has risen to
study the impact of such land use change on poorly known fauna such as land snails. The first
attempt was made here to assess the distribution patterns, land use and habitat disturbances on land
snails of the Western Ghats. We have assessed a) geographical distribution patterns of micro
gastropods along the Western Ghats based on published literature and also from the field studies and
b) impact of land use change and habitat disturbance on micro gastropods in the wet forests of the
central Western Ghats. The results suggest that a) around 40% of the total 270 species of land snails
recorded were micro gastropods, b) southern Western Ghats harbors high species richness for both
micro as well as macro molluscs compared to central and northern Western Ghats, c) macro molluscs
occur in very high densities compared to macro species, d) land use changes and habitat disturbances
tend to prefer macro gastropods over micro. The present study clearly shows the land transformation
and a disturbance has a severe impact on land snail diversity. There are no efforts in India to include
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