Corresponding author: Corey S. Whisson (
Academic editor: E. Neubert
Six species of
Previous works have focussed mainly on the northern, eastern and southern parts of coastal Australia and to a lesser degree on the mid-west and central parts of Australia (
Since Pokryszko’s (
This paper (1) presents new data on
All
Species identifications were based on shell characters, with particular emphasise on the size, shape and quantity of apertural barriers. Specimens were photographed and measured using a Leica MZ16A microscope with Leica DFC500 camera. DNA was extracted from entire specimens taken from their shell by use of a QIAGEN DNA extraction kit for animal tissue following the standard procedure of the manual. Fragments of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA (16S) and of the COI genes were amplified by PCR using the primer pairs: 16Sar and 16Sbr (
Abbreviations used for depositories of material are: FMNH, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, United States; VK, Vince Kessner Private Collection, Adelaide River, Australia; WAM, Western Australian Museum, Perth, Australia. For shell aperture barrier terminology we followed
Apertural barriers of
Six species of
Mean maximum shell height and width of
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17 | 2.273 | 1.115 |
3 | 2.311 | 1.042 | |
7 | 2.278 | 1.251 | |
7 | 2.212 | 1.064 | |
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14 | 2.017 | 1.014 |
14 | 2.128 | 0.955 | |
13 | 2.466 | 1.128 | |
14 | 1.664 | 0.895 | |
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14 | 2.255 | 1.070 |
Narrabri, New South Wales.
Western Australia: Abydos (64km W of Marblebar):
This species has previously been recorded fromnorthern New South Wales and from scattered localities in northern Queensland (Cape York Peninsula), central Australia (Glen Helen area) and northern Western Australia (King Leopold Ranges) (
Some
The cylindrical form of
There is considerable variation in the shell size and barrier length of specimens identified as
The abundance and seemingly allopatric nature of
Distributional records of
Central Australia.
Western Australia: Cane River:
This species has previously been recorded fromcentral Australia (southern part of Northern Territory) with fewer records in north-western Queensland (Gregory River Basin); eastern coast of Queensland and a single record from the Oscar Ranges, in the southern Kimberley region of Western Australia (
The shells of typical
Typical
The separation of
Some of those near west coast specimens (Cy Creek) included as cylindrical
It is possible
As there is doubt surrounding the distinguishing morphological characters of cylindrical
Distributional records of
Wallaroo, South Australia.
Western Australia: Bateman Sanctuary:
This species has previously been recorded fromthe western and southern coastal areas of Western Australia, the southern regions of South Australia and the area near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. There is also an isolated record from the King Leopold Range in the north of Western Australia (
Shells of
The few specimens sequenced from the south coast of Western Australia (WAM S32048, WAM S32052) could represent genetic isolation by distance or perhaps a different species from those on the west coast (WAM S42834) but more molecular data are required. The southern specimens are (1) much larger with reduced apertural barriers (2) more strongly rounded whorls (conical) and (3) consistently lack an infraparietal tooth. Specimens resembling the smaller west coast form (ie. long apertural barriers and weak to strong infraparietal tooth) have also been recorded from the south west area of Western Australia (Whisson, pers. comm.) where it is often sympatric with
Calliungal (=Mt Morgan), Queensland.
Western Australia: Angelo River:
This species has previously been recorded from central Australia (the southern part of Northern Territory), with a few records from the mid-west coast and northern Western Australia; northern Northern Territory; northern and north-eastern parts of Queensland and South Australia (
Cylindrical and elongate-ovate forms of
The typical ovate form of
There appears to be two size forms in
The ovate form of
Some of those specimens tentatively identified as the elongate-ovate form of
The nature of many cylindrical
Distributional records of
Western Australia: Barrow Island:
This species is recorded from the Cape Range and from an isolated site on Barrow Island (
Shells of
near Matanzas, Cuba.
Karratha area:
This species has previously been recorded from just north of Broome (Quondong Point) across northern Australia to mid-eastern Queensland and offshore islands (
The shells of
Two mitochondrial gene fragments, COI and 16S, have been analysed. The data sets contained 27 sequences of Western Australian
Maximum Likelihood phylogram for COI based on analysis of 27 new sequences of
Maximum Likelihood phylogram for 16S based on analysis of 26 new sequences of
Average pair-wise genetic distances in COI. Shown are (p) uncorrected p-distances, and (TN93) corrected distances by using the model of Tamura-Nei (
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p | 0.103 | 0.121 | 0.133 | 0.128 | 0.129 |
TN93 | 0.160 | 0.195 | 0.218 | 0.202 | 0.204 | |
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p | 0.030 | 0.147 | 0.132 | 0.142 | |
TN93 | 0.036 | 0.263 | 0.211 | 0.244 | ||
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p | 0.008 | 0.080 | 0.044 | ||
TN93 | 0.008 | 0.113 | 0.052 | |||
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p | 0.000 | 0.081 | |||
TN93 | 0.000 | 0.115 | ||||
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p | 0.012 | ||||
TN93 | 0.013 |
Average pair-wise genetic distances in 16S. Shown are (p) uncorrected p-distances, and (TN93) corrected distances by using the model of Tamura-Nei (
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p | 0.045 | 0.102 | 0.094 | 0.082 | 0.095 |
TN93 | 0.053 | 0.139 | 0.126 | 0.103 | 0.126 | |
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p | 0.021 | 0.080 | 0.076 | 0.076 | |
TN93 | 0.024 | 0.106 | 0.096 | 0.099 | ||
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p | 0.008 | 0.040 | 0.021 | ||
TN93 | 0.008 | 0.046 | 0.023 | |||
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p | 0.000 | 0.041 | |||
TN93 | 0.000 | 0.046 | ||||
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p | 0.000 | ||||
TN93 | 0.000 |
Based on shell morphology, all
Some of the species
Other recorded species represent a range extension from the red centre. These include
The present CO1 and 16S molecular data set, although small (only 27 individuals sequenced) mostly supports the taxonomic revision of
The Australian species are less well differentiated by means of evolutionary divergence than the American
There appears to be tremendous variation in shell shape and size between and within populations of some
In summary,
We are grateful to the following colleagues, who generously supplied information, photographs or specimens: Jochen Gerber, Vince Kessner, Jeff Nekola, Shirley Slack-Smith, Amanda Lawless, Alison Miller, Mandy Reid, Chris Rowley, Michael Shea and Janet Waterhouse.