Granopupa in Iran, monophyly, and the fossil granariinae (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Chondrinidae)

Abstract

Indisputable Chondrinidae, Granariinae species, characterized by shell shape and apertural dentition, are known from Eocene deposits to the Recent. The generic classification of the extant species is based on conchological, anatomical and molecular data that are available now for most of the known species, including ‘Granaria’ persica as a representative of the once problematic group of so-called eastern Granaria species. According to molecular and anatomical characters, these eastern species have to be classified with Granopupa granum in Granopupa. Graniberia gen. n. is introduced for G. braunii on the basis of molecular and conchological data. For the pre-Pleistocene species, two generic names are equally well available now, viz. Granopupa and Granaria. Shell characters only do not enable a decision here. For the sake of nomenclatorial stability we propose to use Granaria for these species. Because both molecular and anatomical data most likely will never be known for the fossils, it will remain unclear whether the combined extant and extinct Granaria species form a monophyletic group.