0000000000296658
AUTHOR
Fabio Liberto
Land molluscs from the Isola delle Femmine Nature Reserve (north-western Sicily, Italy) (Gastropoda Architaenioglossa Pulmonata)
The results of a study on the fauna of land molluscs from Isola delle Femmine Nature Reserve (NW Sicily, Italy) (Gastropoda Architaenioglossa Pulmonata) are here described. In this small island 23 species have been found, 6 of which are Sicilian endemic taxa. Siciliaria leucophryna microinsularis n. ssp. endemic to the Isola delle Femmine (or Isola di Fuori) is described. For each species ecological, distributional data and information on their presence on this island are provided.
Qanat, gebbie and water sources: the last refuge for the malacologican freshwater fauna in Palermo (Sicily, Italy)
The surroundings of Palermo were characterized, over the centuries, by the presence of many natural environments of great ecological and faunal importance. These environments were placed in a context characterized by minimal and sustainable urban development and large agriculture areas, dedicated to the development of tree crops such as citrus and orchards. These crops were supported by an imposing irrigation system that, using natural resources such as watercourses, wells and springs, collected and distributed water in soils through tanks, gebbie, qanat, irrigation channels (saje), etc. Fresh water mollusks, like many other animal and vegetable organisms, spread from the natural freshwater…
Molecular and biometric data on Carabus (Macrothorax) morbillosus Fabricius, 1792 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from Mid Mediterranean areas
The present study was carried out using molecular and biometric data of Carabus (Macrothorax) morbillosus from mid-Mediterranean areas to determine additional information on basal relationships among its representative subspecies. To this aim, two different kinds of approach were employed, including a morphometric analysis of four morphological parameters (i.e., elytra length, elytra width, pronotum length, pronotum width) of 128 specimens, and a Bayesian genetic analysis of 44 cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) partial sequences (i.e., 38 examined for the first time and six retrieved from GenBank database). Representative populations of C. (M.) morbillosus were sampled in four countries, n…
The genus Mauritanica O. Boettger, 1879 (Gastropoda Stylommatophora Clausiliidae) in Tunisia
Currently, the genus Mauritanica O. Boettger, 1879 (Gastropoda Stylommatophora Clausiliidae) is widespread in north-eastern Algeria and central-northern Tunisia with six taxa. The taxonomic position of this genus has often been interpreted differently and the relationship with other similar genera, in particular with Siciliaria Vest, 1867, still remains to be clarified. In this paper, we provide a further contribution to the knowledge of Mauritanica by analyzing morphologically (shell, genitalia, and the type museum material) all the known Tunisian populations. In particular, the geographical spread and taxonomy of M. tristrami s.l. (L. Pfeiffer, 1861), M. philora s.l. (Letourneux, 1887), M…
New data on Siciliaria septemplicata (R.A. Philippi, 1836) complex (Gastropoda Clausiliidae) from the surroundings of Palermo (NW-Sicily, Italy)
Siciliaria septemplicata (R.A. Philippi, 1836) (Gastropoda Clausiliidae) endemic from northwestern Sicily (Italy) is revised, using shell and genital characters. The diversity of the species complex, the taxonomic history, faunal data and distributional relationships are examined. Siciliaria septemplicata vincentii n. ssp. and S. septemplicata mariastellae n. ssp. from the surroundings of Palermo are here described
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 s…