Revision of Massylaea Möllendorff, 1898 (Stylommatophora, Helicidae)

Abstract

In this paper some helicoid species from eastern Algeria are investigated using a morphological and molecular approach. The investigation of the genital organs of M. massylaea (Morelet, 1851), the type species of the genus Massylaea Möllendorff, 1898, showed the same autapomorphic character states as are considered typical for Eobania P. Hesse, 1913. These findings are fully supported by the genetic analysis using two mitochondrial and three nuclear markers. Thus, the latter genus has to be considered a synonym of the former. Currently, three species are known to comprise the genus, viz. M. massylaea, M. constantina (E. Forbes, 1838), and M. vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774). Several nominal taxa from northern Africa are synonymised with one of the species mentioned here under Massylaea. The generic position of the so-called “Massylaea” species from the High Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco remains unresolved.