Libania rhodia sp. nov., a new predatory semislug from Rhodes (Gastropoda: Oxychilidae), and its phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships

Abstract

A new predatory semislug, Libania rhodia sp. nov. (Oxychilidae: Daudebardiinae), is described from Rhodes. Whereas rudimentary shells of L. rhodia were previously identified with Lotharia cretica from Crete, the investigation of the genitalia demonstrated that it is a distinct species that differs from L. cretica in the lack of an externally differentiated epiphallus, the lack of a penis coecum, and the longer pedunculus of the bursa copulatrix. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences showed that, contrary to previous classifications, Libania is more closely related to Lotharia than to Daudebardia. Libania rhodia and L. cretica split already in the Early Miocene. The ancestor of the Libania–Lotharia clade colonized Crete from the east before a marine ingression formed the mid-Aegean trench, which separated Crete from the east Aegean Islands and Anatolia.