Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Neritona juttingae (Mienis, 1973) (Gastropoda, Cycloneritida, Neritidae) with remarks on the phylogenetic position of the genus Neritona

TL;DR

This study analyzes the evolutionary relationships of the ornamental snail Neritona juttingae and reports its first complete mitochondrial and nuclear gene data.

Contribution

The first complete mitochondrial genome and nuclear ribosomal RNA gene cluster for Neritona juttingae are reported.

Findings

Neritona juttingae is placed within the Neritininae subfamily, forming a distinct evolutionary lineage.

Mitochondrial gene order in Neritidae is highly conserved.

Taxonomic misidentifications in public databases can impact phylogenetic inferences.

Abstract

In this study, the phylogenetics of an ornamental neritid snail, Neritona
juttingae (Mienis, 1973), a species native to Southeast Asia and commercially distributed in Chinese markets are studied for the first time. The first complete mitochondrial genome and nuclear ribosomal RNA gene cluster are reported. Phylogenetic trees based on all mitochondrial genes strongly support the division of Neritidae into two subfamilies: Neritinae and Neritininae. Our phylogenetic analysis placed N.
juttingae within Neritininae, where it forms a distinct evolutionary lineage. The monophyly of the genus Neritona remains unresolved because only one species is involved. The relationships among genera within Neritininae were poorly resolved because of the discordant topologies across datasets. Our investigation of mitochondrial gene order in Neritidae revealed highly conserved arrangements. How taxonomic misidentifications and labeling errors in public databases may impact phylogenetic inferences is discussed. This research provides baseline data for aquatic ornamental pet species, contributes to a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships within Neritoidea and highlights some problems in phylogenetic analysis.

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