| The history and current taxonomic status of 62 nominal taxa are revised that have been associated in the literature with the subgenus Tholachatina Bequaert, 1950, of genus Archachatina Albers, 1850, and the genus Cochlitoma Férussac, 1821, in the land snail family Achatinidae Swainson, 1840. Tangible, reliable characters have been found in the detailed features of the reproductive anatomy in this family. The results of comparative anatomical study convincingly reflect phylogeny in contrast to the comparative study of only the shell characters. This latter more strongly reflects the effects of the intrinsically variable environment over time. In the present study, both sets of characters are needed to refine identification. Change, and therefore... |
