| Abstrakt: |
The taxonomy and systematics of the door snail genus Montenegrina are revised based on an integrative approach including, for the first time, a comprehensive genital–anatomical investigation, which is combined with shell morphology and DNA sequence data. The reference molecular genetic data were published in Mason et al. (Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 2020, 58, 662–690). Besides, the well‐visible external features of the genitalia, the inner sculpturing of their main anatomical parts is also carefully investigated. This represents an entirely new approach to the family. The genital morphology of 259 specimens of 88 taxa from 116 populations was investigated, and a new general description of the genital morphology of the genus is provided. The genus Montenegrina revealed an astonishing variability in genital morphology. The most variable parts of the genitalia are the inner sculpturing of the penis, the shape, and dimension of the penial papilla and the inner sculpturing of the distal vagina and atrium. Accordingly, out of 106 taxa accepted by the latest revision, 35 subspecific taxa were raised to the status of valid species (stat. nov.), 19 subspecific taxa were moved to a different species (comb. nov.), two new species and two new subspecies were described (M. atanasiensis n. sp., M. globocica n. sp., M. radikae paparistoae n. ssp., and M. tenebrosa szekeresi n. ssp.), and the status of 51 taxa remained unchanged. This study shows that the morphological characters (of both shell and genitalia) are essential for alpha‐taxonomy. Nonetheless, several traits apparently appear randomly throughout the range of taxa, making their contribution to the phylogenetic reconstruction very limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
