The Assessment of Morphological, Anatomical, And Phylogenetic Relationships of Three Helicid Snails in Egypt

Land snails provide valuable models for eco-genetic research because of their morphology and banding variability. Snails have shown unusually high intraspecific variation in anatomical traits leading to confusion for taxonomical studies, although their taxonomic resolution is low specifically in Egypt. This study aims to investigate the morphological, anatomical, and phylogenetic relationships for the first time among the snails Eobania vermiculata, Eremina desertorum, and Helix aspersa within the family Helicidae. The morphological indices revealed similarities among E. vermiculata, E. desertorum, and H. aspersa, However, SEM examinations indicated that the marginal teeth of the radulae in E. vermiculata and H. aspersa were more closely related than those of E. desertorum..SEM analysis of the darts demonstrated a close resemblance in shape and length between E. desertorum and E. vermiculata, in contrast to H. aspersa. Molecular techniques, including 18s rRNA and RAPD analysis, indicated that E. vermiculata and E. desertorum were closely related to H. aspersa, dealing with the dart shape results. This study highlighted the importance of integrating morphological or anatomical research with DNA techniques to explore relationships among closely related species. It also gives information for future studies on the evolutionary relationship of land snails in Egypt.