Pulmonata, Stylommatophora, Helicoidea

Among land snails eupulmonates represent the most speciose group exhibiting a high diversity. Therefore, a well-founded system of the eupulmonate taxa is needed to survey and to handle that diversity. This system should be a natural one, i. e. reflect the phylogenetic relationships of the taxa. Until the turn of the millennium the base of that system was morphology, but because of the tendency of the animals to evolve convergent morphological structures and thus to obscure their phylogenetic relations for that purpose it is of limited value. Since two decades, biologists try to find out the phylogenetic relationships of taxa by analysing and comparing their DNA sequences. Because for this task the technical and financial expenses are higher than for morphological work, only few gene markers are used. So, in the last years many taxa groups, especially those of higher rank, were subjected to molecular studies resulting in new systems which often differ considerably from those based on morphology. Because these are systems translated from phylogenetic gene trees and not from taxa trees (the many genes which control morphology and speciation and thus taxa diversification are not considered), the new systems should be accompanied by morphological, zoogeographical and palaeontological studies. In order to get a survey on these systems the following articles have been compiled. They are dealing with: 1. System of Eupulmonata. 2. System of Stylommatophora, with appendices on Orthurethra and Arionoidea. 3. Fossil record of Stylommatophora, with appendix on Vidaliellidae. 4. System of Clausiliidae (Clausilioidea). 5. Higher classification of Helicoidea (Stylommatophora) and the molecular studies of their phylogeny. 6. Annotated check-list of the genera of the Camaenidae (Helicoidea) from East Asia (north of Vietnam), with appendix on the helicoid fauna of Guangxi, China. 7. System of Ariantinae (Helicidae). 8. System of Murellinae (Helicidae). 9. Cepaea (Helicinae, Helicidae) polyphyletic - morphological studies. 10. Systematic position of Helix aspersa Müller 1774 (Helicinae, Helicidae). 11. Amanica n. gen., a new genus of Helicidae (Helicinae) from Turkey. 12. Fossil Helicoidea of western and central Europe. New taxa: Tropidomphalini n. trib., Amanica n. gen.