Morphological, reproductive, and genetic variability among three populations of Crucibulum quiriquinae (Gastropoda : Calyptraeidae) in northern Chile

Crucibulum quiriquinae (Lesson, 1830) is the only species of Crucibulum cur rently recognized in northern Chile. Recent analysis of three Crucibulum po pulations obtained in northern Chile demonstrates the existence of morpholo gical, genetic, and reproductive differences among populations. Two populat ions present in Bahia Tongoy (30 degrees 15'S), one inhabiting the shells o f the snail Turritella cingulata and the other shells of the pectinid Argop ecten purpuratits, showed morphological differences. However, both had plan ktonic larval development and show low genetic divergence (D = 0.002). A th ird population from Bahia La Herradura (29 degrees 58'S), which also inhabi ts the shells of T. cingulata, did not show morphological differences compa red with its counterpart from Bahia Tongoy. However the Bahia La Herradura population had intracapsular development and metamorphosis, and a larger ge netic distance (D = 0.06) from both Tongoy populations. The results of the reproductive and genetic analyses strongly suggested that the two Tongoy po pulations, although showing morphological differences, are biologically the same species, Crucibulum quiriquinae whereas the La Herradura population i s a new species.