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The pulmonate snail Melampus sincaporensis L. Pfeiffer, 1855 (Gastropoda: Ellobiidae) lives in extreme environments such as salt marshes with limited oxygen. Here, we characterized the complete mitochondrial genome of M. sincaporensis from South Korea. It is 14,962 bp in length and includes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two genes, 21 tRNA genes lacking one tRNA-Ser, and two A + T rich regions. Among these 36 genes, 24 were encoded on the heavy strand and 12 on the light strand. A maximum likelihood tree constructed using nucleotide sequences of the 13 PCGs did not support the monophyly of Ellobiidae. This study could provide useful information for exploring phylogenetic relationships among ellobiids and their related species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common south-eastern Australian estuarine ellobiid snails belonging to Ophicardelus have been considered to be one variable taxon by some authors, and three largely sympatric species by others. This study was undertaken to determine the number of taxa present. Different types of data collected included shell shape, allozyme electrophoresis, shell and radular morphology, anatomy and geographic range. These data sets were then examined for consistent discontinuities, and the results showed that the nominal species could be distinguished by a combination of shell shape and sculpture. Individuals from each nominal species also grouped together using allozyme data, although one taxon ( Ophicardelus quoyi ) is sometimes paraphyletic based on these data. There are several differences in the anatomy and radular morphology that separate the three taxa. These included marked differences in the penial complex, vagina, and presence or absence of a pallial gland. The three taxa also have different geographic ranges, albeit with most of their ranges in sympatry. Based on these differences, Ophicardelus ornatus , O. quoyi and O. sulcatus should be regarded as valid species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitochondrial genome of the gastropod Auriculastra duplicata was completely sequenced. It was 13,920 bp in length and comprised 37 genes; two rrn genes and 22 trn genes. Phylogenetic analyses based on the concatenated protein-coding genes depicted the polyphyly of all species belonging to the family Ellobiidae; however, monophyly was observed among all species belonging to the subfamily Ellobiinae, in which A. duplicata clustered consistently with Auriculinella bidentata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome ofEllobium chinense(Ellobioidea, Ellobiidae), an Endangered species in South Korea, is reported here for the first time. The mitogenome ofE. chinenseis 13,979 base pairs in total length and includes 13 PCGs, small and large rRNAs, and 21 tRNAs. Twelve genes are encoded on the light-strand and 24 genes on the heavy-strand. Compared to four other ellobiid species, the PCGs ofE. chinensehave a conserved gene order except for the positions ofND4LandND4. These data provide useful molecular information for phylogenetic studies concerning ellobiids and related species. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents an abstract that tested the monophyly of Ophicardelus. Morphological data are used in a cladistic analysis. Taxa included are the three Australian species, the New Zealand Ophicardelus costellaris, nine other Australasian Ellobiidae and outgroup Salinator solida. The results revealed that Ophicardelus is distinguished from Pleuroloba by the presence of a pallial gland and the absence of a muscular vagina. The cladistic analysis indicated that both species belong in Pythiinae.