Multivariate analysis of shell characteristics in Agathylla exarata (Rossmässer 1835) (Gastropoda: Clausiliidae) populations and its taxonomic relevance.

Important conchological features (number of whorls, shell height and width, aperture height and width, number of ribs over the penultimate whorl and the cervix) of Agathylla exarata (Rossmässler 1835) populations were examined using the material of the Hungarian Natural History Museum and the Hungarian Geological Institute. Our multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and discriminant function analysis (DFA) studies revealed that, on the basis of these quantitative characteristics, the A. exarata forms mostarensis (Brancsik 1889) and denegabilis (Küster 1847) can only be regarded as size variations and, hence, synonyms of the nominate subspecies. By contrast, neumensis Nordsieck 1970, having more distant ribs, was found well separable from the other population groups and could be confirmed as a distinct subspecies.