First recorded co-occurrence of <i>Valvata lewisi</i> Currier, 1868 and <i>Valvata lewisi ontariensis</i> Baker, 1931 (Gastropoda: Valvatidae) from Alberta, Canada, with notes on morphometric and genetic variability

Abstract

Sympatric populations of Loosely Coiled Valve Snail (Valvata lewisi ontariensis Baker, 1931) and Fringed Valvata (Valvata lewisi Currier, 1868) are documented from Alberta, Canada, for the first time. Both forms have been identified concurrently in aquatic invertebrate survey samples collected from three wetlands in northeastern Alberta by the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. Molecular analysis (DNA barcodes) indicates that there is no genetic distinction between V. lewisi (sensu stricto) and V. lewisi var. ontariensis. Morphometric measurements show that the degree of open coiling, the character that defines V. lewisi var. ontariensis, is highly variable in Alberta specimens. Our findings confirm that V. lewisi var. ontariensis is a phenotypic morph of V. lewisi.