Genital and allozyme similarity between Arion urbiae and A. anguloi (Mollusca: Pulmonata) |
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| Authors: | THIERRY BACKELJAU ANTON J DE WINTER RAMON MARTIN TERESA RODRIGUEZ LUC DE BRUYN |
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| Institution: | Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Afdeling Malacologie, Vautierstraat 29, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium;c/o Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, P.O. Box 9517, NL-2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands;Laboratorio de Zoología, Departamento de Biología Animal y Genética, Universidad del País Vasco, Apdo. 644. E-48080 Bilbao, Spain;Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, E-15706, Santiago de Compostela, Spain;Universiteit Antwerpen (RUCA), Departement Biologie, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerpen, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | A comparison of the genital features of Arion urbiae and A. anguloi suggests that the species are extremely similar, if not identical. This hypothesis is supported by an electrophoretic analysis of 13 putative enzynme loci, which shows that the two species are also genetically yery similar (I = 0.947), while the related A. subfuscus consists of two distinct genetic types (I = 0.421). These results are further confirmed by a study of esterase profiles obtained with isoelectric focusing. It is therefore concluded that A. urbiae and A. anguloi are most probably conspecifie, whereas the genetic types of A. subfuscus may represent two different species. |
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| Keywords: | Anatomy electrophoresis genetics systematics Arion |
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