A new species of Semisulcospira O. Boettger, 1886 (Gastropoda, Cerithoidea, Semisulcospiridae) from Fujian, China with mitochondrial genome and its phylogenetic implications

By

Xu, Yibin
Meng, Yuanzheng
Zeng, Sheng
Wang, Hang-Jun
Zhong, Shen
Yang, Deyuan
Zhou, Xi-Ping
Glasby, Christopher John

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-1-2

Original Publication

Zoosystematics and evolution

Volume

101

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

17--34

Subjects

16S rRNA , COI , Mitogenome , phylogenetic analysis , semisulcospirid gastropods

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.136882

 

Abstract

During our investigation of the diversity and phylogeny of the family Semisulcospiridae in China, we have found a presumed new species in mountain streams of Xiamen, Fujian Province on both morphology and molecular evidence. This new species, Semisulcospira egrettasp. nov., is characterized by its thin and smooth shell, retaining about 0.5 mm long embryonic shells in its brood pouch, and by distinctive features of its radular morphology. Phylogenetic analyses of partial sequences of the mitochondrial markers 16S ribosomal RNA (16S) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and complete sequences of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS, including internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2) supported the distinctiveness of S. egrettasp. nov. from other Semisulcospira species. These analyses consistently placed S. egrettasp. nov. in Semisulcospira confirming its monophyly. Phylogenetic analyses based on just COI and 16S exhibited low resolution rendering the phylogenetic position of the new species within the genus uncertain. In contrast, phylogenetic tree analyses of complete mitochondrial genomes, which include 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), were better resolved. However, the mitogenome dataset included a more restricted sampling of taxa (16), impeding a detailed exploration of the phylogenetic position of the new species. To address this deficit, we provide seven complete mitochondrial genomes for S. egrettasp. nov., obtained using the genome skimming sequencing method. This study contributes important molecular and genomic data, aiding in the understanding of semisulcospirid phylogeny, and highlights the need for further taxonomic sampling and phylogenomic methods to resolve the evolutionary relationships within Semisulcospiridae.