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What we know about Deroceras laeve (Müller, 1774) (Gastropoda, Pulmonata): an integrative study of a species complex
* 1, 2, 3 , 1, 3 , 2, 3
1  División Invertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
2  Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
3  Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - CONICET, Argentina
Academic Editor: Luc Legal

Published: 11 October 2024 by MDPI in The 3rd International Electronic Conference on Diversity session Animal Diversity
Abstract:

The slugs of the genus Deroceras (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Agriolimacidae) include more than one hundred species. One of them, D. laeve, has a worldwide distribution, a fact that could be related to its biology and life history. This slug has an economic and sanitary importance, as it is an intermediate host of parasitic nematodes, causes crop losses, and can also affect the native fauna. In this study, we carried out a phylogenetic and phylogeographic study of D. laeve based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I marker (COI), considering specimens collected in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and sequences deposited on online platforms. This information was integrated with anatomical dissections of the radulae, maxillae, and genitalia. As a result, we re-identified other species of Deroceras, found that D. laeve consists of a species complex of at least six operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and showed statistically that COI can be regarded as a good marker delimiting species within the D. laeve complex. In addition, possible distribution pathways of the most diversified OTU are discussed, and previous anatomical studies and radular formulas are compared with those found in the present study. In order to contribute to the knowledge of the D. laeve complex, we encourage further studies integrating molecular, anatomical and ecological results.

Keywords: Agriolimacidae; terrestrial slug; phylogeography; phylogenetic; anatomy

 
 
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