Journal article
A phylogeny of the cannibal snails of southern Africa, genus Natalina sensu lato (Pulmonata: Rhytididae): Assessing concordance between morphology and molecular data
A Moussalli, DG Herbert, D Stuart-Fox
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | Published : 2009
Abstract
The genus Natalina Pilsbry, 1893 is a southern African endemic belonging to the Gondwanan family of carnivorous snails, Rhytididae. We present a well-resolved molecular phylogeny of the genus based on the mitochondrial 16S and COI genes and the nuclear ITS2 gene, and assess this in light of Watson's [Watson, H., 1934. Natalina and other South African snails. Proc. Malacol. Soc. Lond. 21, 150-193] supra-specific classification via a re-examination of 23 morphological characters including features of the shell, radula, external anatomy and distal reproductive tract. Ancestral reconstruction and character mapping based on the MK1 model reveals broad concordance between morphology and the molecu..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by Claude Leon Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
We are greatly indebted to Mary Bursey (East London Museum) for her long-term and ongoing contribution to this research program. For critical comments on the manuscript with thank Andrew Hugall, Mark Norman and Tim O'Hara. For assistance in the field and provision of specimens we thank in particular Linda Davis as well as Michael Cunningham, Michelle Hamer, D-J Hodgkinson, Amanda Lane, Georgio Lombardi (Vogelgat N.R.), Victor Ndibo, Brummer Olivier (Grootbos N.R.), Krystal Tolley, Charmaine Uys, Mike Wigley and the South Africa's Hidden Species project (Earth-watch Institute). Research permits: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (4674), Western Cape Nature (L5628759 and AAA007-00021-0035), Eastern Cape Nature Conservation, Mpumalanga Parks Board (MPV.5109/5174). This research was supported by a Claude Leon Foundation post-doctoral fellowship to A.M., and a research grant from the South African National Research Foundation (GUN 61261).