Morphoanatomical, genetic, and distributional characterization of Epiphragmophora semiclausa (Martens, 1868), an Atlantic Forest snail endemic to Rio Grande do Sul (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2026.66.046Keywords:
Barrier snails, Brazil, Epiphragmophoridae, Helicoidea, Land snailsAbstract
Family Epiphragmophoridae is endemic to South America, albeit known in Brazil from only three species: two belonging to the genus Epiphragmophora Doering, 1875 and the monotypic genus Minaselates Cuezzo & Pena, 2017. Here, we investigate material from natural history collections and newly collected specimens from Rio Grande do Sul state to revise the endemic and poorly known Epiphragmophora semiclausa (Martens, 1868). We provide a redescription of the species, including shell morphology, external soft-body morphology, jaw and radula, as well as the first detailed study of this species’ reproductive anatomy and genetic data. Furthermore, we revise the species’ historical and current distribution and provide observational behavioural data in the wild. Epiphragmophora semiclausa is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Rio Grande do Sul state and historical data show that the species’ range has contracted in the past decades. Field observations show that the species is arboreous, contrary to most congeners. Finally, we also provide an initial molecular phylogenetic framework for the family, showing that, so far, the Brazilian species form a monophyletic group and that the monotypic Minaselates renders Epiphragmophora non-monophyletic.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rodrigo Brincalepe Salvador, Fabrizio Scarabino, Leonardo Santos de Souza, Wilson Sebastián Serra-Alanis, Mariano Cordeiro Pairet-Jr., Barbara Mizumo Tomotani, Janine Oliveira Arruda
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Tromsø Forskningsstiftelse
Grant numbers TMF2024UITSTG01
