Genital and allozyme similarity between Arion urbiae and A. anguloi (Mollusca: Pulmonata)

A comparison of the genital features of Arion urbiae and A. anguloi suggests that the species are extremely similar, if not identical. This hypothesis is supported by an electrophoretic analysis of 13 putative enzyme loci, which shows that the two species are also genetically very similar (I=0.947), while the related A. subfuscus consists of two distinct genetic types (I=0.421). These results are further confirmed by a study of esterase profiles obtained with isoelectric focusing. It is therefore concluded that A. urbiae and A. anguloi are most probably conspecific, whereas the genetic types of A. subfuscus may represent two different species.