Heleobia maltzani (Westerlund, 1886) (Caenogastropoda: Truncatelloidea: Cochliopidae) from Crete and species-level diversity of Heleobia Stimpson, 1865 in Europe

Morphological characters and partial cytochrome oxidase (COI) DNA sequences were used to investigate intra- and interpopulation differences among three Cretan brackish-water populations of Heleobia maltzani snails. The morphology of male and female reproductive organs of H. maltzani did not differ within studied populations or in comparison with closely related species. In contrast, analysis of shell morphology revealed substantial variation not supported by the genetic data. Genetics results showed surprisingly low differentiation between all Cretan populations and also mainland populations of Heleobia. They also showed that H. maltzani is conspecific with four other European species of Heleobia, thus implying that there is only one species of brackish-water Heleobia in Europe. Such a low level of genotypic differentiation is unusual for typical island species and is most probably the consequence of recent colonization of Crete. Possible scenarios of such processes are discussed.     

米诺王权与太阳女神：一种近东文化的共同体

从宗教和文化背景看，克里特与地中海沿岸地区，如美索不迭米亚、安纳托利亚、叙利亚，黎凡特地区与埃及，均为地中海文化共同体组成部分。在公元前1650-1380年，克里特与地中海沿岸地区保持着密切的联系，并拥有一些相同的文化与宗教因素。因此，考察克里特岛的米诺王权与神话，宜采用跨文化的比较视角，将其纳入地中海文化共同体中加以阐释。现存的书写资料极为有限，但可以利用克里特黄金戒指上的图像，应用神话图像学理论与方法，解读出具体的文化内涵。