Phylogenetic analysis of the Lancinae (Gastropoda, Lymnaeidae) with a description of the U.S. federally endangered Banbury Springs lanx.

We examined the patelliform snails of the subfamily Lancinae, endemic to northwestern North America, to test whether morphological variation correlated with genetic and anatomical differences. Molecular analyses using , 16S, calmodulin intron, and 28S rDNA partial sequences and anatomical data supported recognition of four species in three genera. The relationships of lancines within Lymnaeidae are not yet well-resolved.

The evolution of reproductive isolation in a simultaneous hermaphrodite, the freshwater snail Physa.

Background: The cosmopolitan freshwater snail Physa acuta has recently found widespread use as a model organism for the study of mating systems and reproductive allocation. Mitochondrial DNA phylogenies suggest that Physa carolinae, recently described from the American southeast, is a sister species of P. acuta.

Identification of 'extinct' freshwater mussel species using DNA barcoding.

Freshwater mollusks are highly imperiled, with 70% of the North American species extinct, endangered, or at risk of extinction. Impoundments and other human impacts on the Coosa River of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee of the southeastern USA alone are believed to have caused 50 mollusk species extinctions, but uncertainty over boundaries among several putatively closely related species makes this number preliminary. Our examination of freshwater mussels collected during an extensive survey of the upper-drainage basin, DNA barcoding and molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm the rediscovery of four morphospecies in the genus Pleurobema (Unionidae) previously thought to be extinct from the upper Coosa basin.

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of spring-associated hydrobiid snails of the Great Artesian Basin, Australia.

The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) of Australia underlies some of the driest parts of South Australia and Queensland and feeds numerous freshwater springs. Prominent and endangered components of the GAB spring community are snails of the family Hydrobiidae. This paper examines the evolutionary relationships of the entire hydrobiid fauna associated with the GAB, and includes appropriate non-GAB species to place the GAB fauna in a broader phylogenetic context.

Complete mtDNA sequence of the North American freshwater mussel, Lampsilis ornata (Unionidae): an examination of the evolution and phylogenetic utility of mitochondrial genome organization in Bivalvia (Mollusca).

Molluscs in general, and bivalves in particular, exhibit an extraordinary degree of mitochondrial gene order variation when compared with other metazoans. Two factors inhibiting our understanding the evolution of gene rearrangement in bivalves are inadequate taxonomic sampling and failure to examine gene order in a phylogenetic framework. Here, we report the first complete nucleotide sequence (16,060 bp) of the mitochondrial (mt) genome of a North American freshwater bivalve, Lampsilis ornata (Mollusca: Paleoheterodonta: Unionidae).

Molecular systematics of the North American freshwater bivalve genus Quadrula (Unionidae: Ambleminae) based on mitochondrial ND1 sequences.

A molecular phylogeny of the bivalve genus Quadrula (Unionidae) was constructed based on nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial ND1 gene. Phylogenetic analysis of 66 specimens representing 17 of the 20 currently recognized taxa within Quadrula, three closely allied species, and 16 outgroup taxa reveals a non-monophyletic Quadrula due to the placement of Tritogonia verrucosa, 'Fusconaia' succissa, and 'Quincuncina' infucata. We suggest that the taxonomic description of the genus Quadrula be expanded to include these species.

Phylogeny, taxonomy, genetics and global heritage ranks of an imperilled, freshwater snail genus Lithasia (Pleuroceridae).

Numerous aquatic species are threatened with extinction from habitat elimination or modification. One particularly imperilled group is the freshwater gastropod family Pleuroceridae. Pleurocerids reach their greatest diversity in the southeastern United States, and many species are currently considered extinct, endangered or threatened.

Molecular phylogeny of a circum-global, diverse gastropod superfamily (Cerithioidea: Mollusca: Caenogastropoda): pushing the deepest phylogenetic limits of mitochondrial LSU rDNA sequences.

The Cerithioidea is a very diverse group of gastropods with ca. 14 extant families and more than 200 genera occupying, and often dominating, marine, estuarine, and freshwater habitats. While the composition of Cerithioidea is now better understood due to recent anatomical and ultrastructural studies, the phylogenetic relationships among families remain chaotic.