Temporal speciation pattern in the western Mediterranean genus Tudorella P. Fischer, 1885 (Gastropoda, Pomatiidae) supports the Tyrrhenian vicariance hypothesis.
The land snail genus Tudorella shows a peculiar disjunct distribution around the western Mediterranean coasts. Despite high phenotypic plasticity, only two species with a disputed number of subspecific taxa are currently recognised. We delimited the species with mitochondrial (COI & 16S) and nuclear (ITS-1) markers based on the unified species concept and suggested that there are eight species in the genus, two of them currently undescribed. Applying Bayesian phylogenetic model selection, we tested four different biogeographic hypotheses that could be causal for the current distribution pattern of extant Tudorella species. A scenario involving vicariance events resulting from the repeated splits of the Tyrrhenian plate with subsequent dispersal events over land bridges during the Pliocene received greatest support in the data.
Pfenninger
Markus
M
LabCentre, Research Centre Biodiversity & Climate, Siesmayerstrasse 70, 60323 Frankfurt, Germany. pfenninger@bio.uni-frankfurt.de
Véla
Errol
E
Jesse
Ruth
R
Elejalde
Miren Arantzazu
MA
Liberto
Fabio
F
Magnin
Frédéric
F
Martínez-Ortí
Alberto
A
D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D005843:Geography; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012908:Snails / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial