We use the land snail genus Helix as a model group to understand phylogeographic and biogeographic patterns in the Western Palaearctic at different scales. We will investigate the factors that influence such patterns.

We will generate genomic data from Helix species using ddRAD sequencing to reconstruct a strongly supported phylogeny of Helix as a basis for detailed phylogeographic and biogeographic analyses. We will also study a hybrid zone between Helix pomatia and Helix thessalica in detail to understand how the boundaries between closely related species and their ranges can be maintained despite ongoing gene flow.

Project results

Korábek, O., Adamcová, T., Proćków, M., Petrusek, A., Hausdorf, B. & Juřičková, L. 2023. In both directions: Northward and southward dispersal of European land snails from glacial refugia. J. Biogeogr. 50: 654-668.

Korábek, O., Balashov, I., Neiber, M. T., Walther, F., & Hausdorf, B. 2023. The Caucasus is neither a cradle nor a museum of diversity of the land snail genus Helix (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Helicidae), while the Crimea harbours an ancient Helix lineage. Zoosyst. Evol. 99, 535-543.

Korábek, O. & Hausdorf, B. 2023. Unravelling the double Helix escherichi, with description of Helix ankae sp. nov. and a discussion of Maltzanella and the subgenera of Helix (Gastropoda: Helicidae). Arch. Molluskenkde., 152, 239-256.