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Diversity of the land snail genus Helix and its relatives (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Helicidae) from Mediterranean origins to postglacial Central Europe
Korábek, Ondřej ; Juřičková, Lucie (advisor) ; Hausdorf, Bernardt (referee) ; Cameron, Robert A.D. (referee)
5 ABSTRACT The family Helicidae comprises the largest and most widely known land snails of the Western Palaearctic. Yet the knowledge of its diversity until recently relied largely on morphology-based taxonomic work from the early 20th century. Molecular phylogenetic data were needed to resolve several taxonomic issues and to understand the biogeographic history of the group. This thesis focuses on an Eastern Mediterranean group of helicid genera, and in particular on the type genus of the family, Helix Linnaeus, 1758. From exploring the diversity and relationships of Eastern Mediterranean and Anatolian lineages, this work follows them on their way from diversification centre up to the postglacial fauna of Central Europe. The results are based on analyses of sequences of mitochondrial genes, conchological examinations, and radiocarbon dating of Holocene subfossils. First, we compared the lineage diversity of Helix with the conclusions of a recently published morphology-based taxonomic revision. We assembled a representative dataset covering almost all species of the genus as now recognized, as well as most of potentially related genus-level taxa. We refined the genus limits, revealed several species whose delimitation may require further revision, and pointed out probable differences in how species are...
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