A new genus and species of Hydrobiidae Stimpson, 1865 (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from Peloponnese, Greece

By

Falniowski, Andrzej
Grego, Jozef
Rysiewska, Aleksandra
Osikowski, Artur
Hofman, Sebastian

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1037

Pages

161--179

Subjects

Cytochrome oxidase subunit I , Morphology , Phylogeny , Pliocene flooding , Speciation

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1037.64038

 

Abstract

Minute caenogastropod brackish-water gastropods, formerly classified asHydrobia, are important elements of the brackish-water fauna and were objects of intensive study for many years. Until now, five genera have been distinguished, most of them represented by a number of species, but rather indistinguishable without molecular data (cytochrome oxidase subunit I – COI). In the eastern Mediterranean region, they are still poorly studied. In this paper, we present a new species of “Hydrobia” from the brackish Moustos spring, Arkadia, eastern Peloponnese, Greece. The shell, protoconch, radula, female reproductive organs, and penis are described and illustrated, together with the molecular (COI) relationships with other hydrobiids. All data confirm that these snails represent a distinct taxon, which must be classified as a new species belonging to a new genus. The formal descriptions are given. The closest, sister taxon isSalenthydrobiaWilke, 2003. The molecularly estimated time of divergence, 5.75 ± 0.49 Mya, coincides with 5.33 Mya, which is the time of the Oligocene flooding that terminated the Messinian salinity crisis. During the latter period, brackish “Lago-Mare” habitats were most probably suitable for the last common ancestor ofSalenthydrobiaand the newly described genus. Later, the Pliocene flooding isolated the Apennine and Peloponnese populations, promoting speciation.