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Invertebrate Systematics Invertebrate Systematics Society
Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography

Malacology

The field of molluscan research has flourished since the times of Linnaeus, and more recently great advances have been made in multiple areas from deep phylogenies to species delimitation analyses using molecular and morphological data. In this virtual issue, we have compiled a collection of articles covering a diversity of taxa (Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Polyplacophora) and approaches (molecular, morphological – including morphometrics – and total evidence) to better understand molluscan diversification at different time-scales. These articles encompass work conducted in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Americas and Europe and include work and species found globally, highlighting both the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the science published in Invertebrate Systematics.

Last Updated: 30 Jun 2016


Trivettea papalotla, recently described from Mexico, is the first tritoniid nudibranch known to feed on zoanthid anthozoans; this species is also unusual by having several morphological traits not found in any other species of tritoniid. In the present study, the phylogenetic placement of Trivettea papalotla is investigated based on molecular data, showing that this species is not nested within Tritoniidae and instead appears to be a basal cladobranch.


Glaucus is an emblematic marine gastropod that lives floating upside-down at the surface of tropical and subtropical oceans. Analysis of DNA sequence data and morphological features of Glaucus collected worldwide revealed the existence of five distinct species, three of them new to science. Differences in the reproductive anatomy of some species suggest a role of sexual selection in Glaucus speciation.

IS13010Investigating the Bivalve Tree of Life – an exemplar-based approach combining molecular and novel morphological characters

Rüdiger Bieler, Paula M. Mikkelsen, Timothy M. Collins, Emily A. Glover, Vanessa L. González, Daniel L. Graf, Elizabeth M. Harper, John Healy, Gisele Y. Kawauchi, Prashant P. Sharma, Sid Staubach, Ellen E. Strong, John D. Taylor, Ilya Tëmkin, John D. Zardus, Stephanie Clark, Alejandra Guzmán, Erin McIntyre, Paul Sharp and Gonzalo Giribet
pp. 32-115

Bivalves constitute a major lineage of aquatic invertebrates and are of great commercial importance worldwide; however, their evolutionary history and interrelationships of major branches remain contested. Analysing a large morphological data matrix combined with up to nine molecular loci, this project offers a robust test of bivalve relationships. A revised phylogeny is provided, organising living Bivalvia into six major branches.

IS13013Chiton phylogeny (Mollusca : Polyplacophora) and the placement of the enigmatic species Choriplax grayi (H. Adams & Angas)

Julia D. Sigwart, Isabella Stoeger, Thomas Knebelsberger and Enrico Schwabe
pp. 603-621

We present the first DNA evidence for the relationship of a rare chiton, Choriplax grayi, from one of only eleven individuals ever found since its discovery in 1864. Many ideas have been proposed to explain the strange morphology of this species; our new results suggest another new hypothesis. This molecular phylogeny of chitons allows us to infer that shell reductions have developed separately, using different mechanisms, in two clades of chitons.