Abstract :
Keywords Chondrina genus; Cryptic species; Iberian Peninsula; multilocus DNA; Phylogeny; Species Delimitation Analyses Highlights * The Iberian Peninsula is the main centre of speciation for Chondrina. * The monophyly of Chondrina is confirmed, including 5 main clades with 35 species. * At least 1 out of 4 Iberian Chondrina species are new to science. * Nearly half of the Iberian Chondrina species were not recognised based on morphology. Abstract Chondrina Reichenbach, 1828 is a highly diverse genus of terrestrial molluscs currently including 44 species with about 28 subspecific taxa. It is distributed through North Africa, central and southern Europe, from Portugal in the West to the Caucasus and Asia Minor in the East. Approximately 70% of the species are endemic to the Iberian Peninsula constituting its main center of speciation with 34 species. This genus includes many microendemic taxa, some of them not yet described, confined to limestone habitats (being strictly rock-dwelling species). They are distributed on rocky outcrops up to 2000 m.a.s.l. It is a genus of conical-fusiform snails that differ mainly in shell characters and in the number and position of teeth in their aperture. So far, molecular studies on Chondrina have been based exclusively on the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I region (COI). These studies gave a first view of the phylogeny of the genus but many inner nodes were not statistically supported. The main objective of the study is to obtain a better understanding of the phylogeny and systematics of the genus Chondrina on the Iberian Peninsula, using multilocus molecular analysis. Partial sequences of the COI and 16S rRNA genes, as well as of the nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 (ITS1-5.8S) and Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (5.8S-ITS2-28S) were obtained from individuals of all the extant Chondrina species known from the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to this, the newly obtained COI sequences were combined with those previously published in the GenBank. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. The reconstructed phylogenies showed high values of support for more recent branches and basal nodes. Moreover, molecular species delimitation allowed to better define the studied species and check the presence of new taxa. Author Affiliation: (a) University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology: Paseo de la Universidad, 7. 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain (b) Biodiversity Research Group CIEA Lucio Lascaray, Avda. Miguel de Unamuno 3, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain (c) LOEWE-Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Senckenberg Nature Research Society, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (d) Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, Apto. 8460, E-46018, Valencia and Universitat de València, Faculty of Pharmacy, Parasitology Departament, Burjassot, Valencia, (Spain) (e) University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology: Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48015 Leioa, Spain * Corresponding author at: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology: Paseo de la Universidad, 7. 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Article History: Received 25 November 2021; Revised 23 March 2022; Accepted 5 April 2022 Byline: Eder Somoza-Valdeolmillos [eder.somoza@ehu.eus] (a,b,*), Benjamín J. Gómez-Moliner (a,b), Amaia Caro (a,b), Luis J. Chueca (a,c), Alberto Martínez-Ortí (d), Ana I. Puente (e), María J. Madeira (a,b)