A preliminary molecular phylogeny of the Eastern US Oxyloma (Gastropoda: Succineidae)

• In Event: Systematics and Evolutionary Biology Oral Session & Section Meeting

Abstract

Invertebrates comprise 99% of all animal diversity but are often overlooked. Gaps in the literature demonstrate Succineidae, a family of terrestrial gastropods known as "amber snails," has been infrequently investigated in North America. The succineid genus Oxyloma found throughout Canada and the United States contains approximately 16 described species, whose sole criterion, shell morphology, for differentiation has proven unreliable. As a first step towards understanding the evolutionary history and revising the taxonomy of North American Oxyloma, we have sampled the four eastern species (O. salleana, O. subeffusa, O. effusa, and O. retusa) from their respective type localities and compared their mitochondrial COI sequences with samples found across their range. A preliminary molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial data does not find the four nominal Oxyloma species examined forming monophyletic units, confirming doubts concerning the validity of these species. Our next steps include gathering nuclear data and assessing anatomical characters to revise the taxonomy of Succineidae to better understand their evolutionary history.

Authors

• Marco Arturo Martinez Cruz, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Kathryn Elizabeth Perez, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley