Limax (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Stylommatophora) in Corsica (part II): A case of double radiation

由于其独特的、高度复杂和敏感的交配策略以及自发的矮化(“盆景”)，Limax属非常适合作为特别的、甚至可能是共地物种形成的例子。地中海岛屿科西嘉岛众所周知的地理历史使人们有可能将一个基本上未知的物种复合体的系统发展推论和大约12-15个物种的辐射(到目前为止由形态和生殖生物学定义)放在一个地理历史的背景下。拟议的研究希望特别应用具有不同突变率的线粒体和核基因的分子系统方法。此外，育种实验能够将分子结果与生物物种概念相关联。目标是：(1)科西嘉岛有多少(特有的)利马克斯种？(2)科西嘉岛的利马克斯属是单系种吗？(3)附近大陆(托斯卡纳)可能的姊妹种是什么？(4)如何通过物种形成和入侵事件的机制来解释物种关系的推断模式？弄清这些问题不仅对当前的进化生物学问题具有重要意义，而且直接关系到物种的生存。科西嘉利马克斯--众所周知，这些物种非常濒临灭绝，因为它们的分布非常有限，而且它们的栖息地遭到了可持续的破坏(特别是通过烧毁森林)。

Because of their unique, highly complex, and sensitif strategy of copulation and because of spontaneous cases of dwarfing ("Bonsais"), the genus Limax is extremely well suited to serve as an example of ad hoc, possibly even sympatric speciation. The well known geohistory of the Mediterranean Island Corsica enables the possibility to place the inferred phylogeny of a largely unknown species complex and radiation of about 12-15 species (up to now defined by morphological and reproduction biology) within a geohistoric context. The proposed investigations want to apply particularly molecular-systematic methodology of mitochondrial and nuclear genes with various mutation rates. In addition, breeding experiments enable the correlation of the molecular results with respect to the biological species concept. Objectives are: (1) How many (endemic) Limax-species do exist in Corsica? (2) Is the genus Limax in Corsica monophyletic? (3) What is (are) the probable sister-species at the nearby continent (Toscana)? (4) How to explain the inferred pattern of species relationships by mechanisms of speciations and invasion events? To clear up these question not only has high significance for current questions of evolutionary biology, but also has direct impact with respect to survival of the respective species. Corsican Limax-species are notoriously very endangered to become extinct because of their very limited distribution and because of sustainable destruction of their habitat (particularly by burnings of the woods).