Systematics of the Australasian lymnaeidae
2002
Puslednik, L. (University of Wollongong (Australia). Dept. of Biological Sciences)
The Lymnaeidae are a world wide group of freshwater snails, currently thought to be represented in Australia by only three native species, Austropeplea lessoni, A. tomentosa and Kutikina hispida. The shells of this group are assumed to be highly plastic and are thus chracterized by the current recognition of a large number of synonymous names at both the genus and species level. The synonymies have never been tested using modern techniques or even basic anatomy. In addition, some members of this group of snails are intermediate hosts of the liverflukes, Fasciola spp. Within the Australasian region liverflukes have an important economic impact on sheep and cattle industries, as infection of livestock is estimated to cost these industries $A 100 million per annum. The aim of this project is to investigate the phylogeny of the A. lymnaeidae. These aims will be achieved through the phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, anatomical and other morphological data. Current results of this project show that a form of what was thought to be A. lessoni from the northwestern Australia represents a new species. Anatomical investigations to date show clear species differences between this regional form and forms from eastern Australia. This group has never been studied in any detail, and considering their large distributions, it seems plausible that there may be more than one species in the currently recognized taxa. Further investigation will be carried out using DNA sequences of three genes, in conjunction with morphological data
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