High unexpected genetic diversity of a narrow endemic terrestrial mollusc.
The Iberian Peninsula has an extensive record of species displaying strong genetic structure as a result of their survival in isolated pockets throughout the Pleistocene ice ages. We used mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data to analyze phylogeographic patterns in endemic land snails from a valley of central Portugal (Vale da Couda), putatively assigned toCandidula coudensis, that show an exceptionally narrow distributional range. The genetic survey presented here shows the existence of five main mitochondrial lineages in Vale da Couda that do not cluster together suggesting independent evolutionary histories. Our results also indicate a departure from the expectation that species with restricted distributions have low genetic variability. The putative past and contemporary models of geographic distribution of Vale da Couda lineages are compatible with a scenario of species co-existence in more southern locations during the last glacial maximum (LGM) followed by a post-LGM northern dispersal tracking the species optimal thermal, humidity and soil physical conditions.
CCMAR, Centre for Marine Sciences , Campus de Gambelas, Faro , Portugal.
Pedro M
PM
Madeira
CCMAR, Centre for Marine Sciences , Campus de Gambelas, Faro , Portugal.
Rosa M
RM
Chefaoui
CCMAR, Centre for Marine Sciences , Campus de Gambelas, Faro , Portugal.
Regina L
RL
Cunha
Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Escola de Psicologia e Ciências da Vida, Universidade Lusófona, Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal; REN Biodiversity Chair, CIBIO/InBIO Associate Laboratory, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; Centro de Ecologia Aplicada Prof. Baeta Neves/InBIO Associate Laboratory, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal.
Francisco
F
Moreira
Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Escola de Psicologia e Ciências da Vida, Universidade Lusófona, Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal; Centro de Ecologia Aplicada Prof. Baeta Neves/InBIO Associate Laboratory, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal.
Susana
S
Dias
Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Escola de Psicologia e Ciências da Vida, Universidade Lusófona , Campo Grande, Lisboa , Portugal.
Gonçalo
G
Calado
CCMAR, Centre for Marine Sciences , Campus de Gambelas, Faro , Portugal.
Rita
R
Castilho
Endemic species; Terrestrial gastropods