The nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution predicts that small population size is essential for non-adaptive evolution. Evolution of whole-body left-right reversal in snails is generally a compelling example of non-adaptive speciation, because variants with reversed chirality would suffer from reduced mating opportunities within a population. Despite this reproductive disadvantage, sinistral snail species have repeatedly originated from dextral ancestors in terrestrial pulmonates. Here I show that snail speciation by reversal has been accelerated on oceanic islands. Analysing the global biogeography of 995 genera across 84 stylommatophoran families, I found that the proportion of sinistral snail genera was enhanced in genera endemic to oceanic islands. Oceanic islands are relatively small land masses offering highly fragmented habitats for snails. Thus, the upper limit of population size would probably have been small for a long time there. Oceanic islands may have facilitated the fixation of the nonadaptive allele for speciation by reversal, allowing subsequent ecological divergence of sibling species. This study illustrates the potential role of genetic drift in non-adaptive speciation on oceanic islands.

External asymmetry found in diverse animals bears critical functions to fulfil ecological requirements. Some snail-eating arthropods exhibit directional asymmetry in their feeding apparatus for foraging efficiency because dextral (clockwise) species are overwhelmingly predominant in snails. Here, we show convergence of directional asymmetry in the dentition of snail-eating vertebrates. We found that snakes in the subfamily Pareatinae, except for non-snail-eating specialists, have more teeth on the right mandible than the left. In feeding experiments, a snail-eating specialist Pareas iwasakii completed extracting a dextral soft body faster with fewer mandible retractions than a sinistral body. The snakes failed in holding and dropped sinistral snails more often owing to behavioural asymmetry when striking. Our results demonstrate that symmetry break in dentition is a key innovation that has opened a unique ecological niche for snake predators.

Dicrocoeliid trematodes were detected from Iwasaki's snail-eating snake Pareas iwasakii in Iriomote Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and described as a new species Paradistomum dextra n. sp. in the present study. This new species can be distinguished from the type series of the other members of the genus based on size of eggs and morphological characteristics of body, oral and ventral suckers, and reproductive organs. However, the new species was hard to distinguish from Paradistomum megareceptaculum infecting snakes in Japan, including Iriomote Island where is the type locality of the new species, because it is closely similar to some part of the broad range of morphological variations in P. megareceptaculum. On the other hand, a partial sequence of 28S ribosomal DNA clearly distinguished these two species. Moreover, the new species' host snake Pareas iwasakii is reported to exclusively feed on land snails while host snakes of P. megareceptaculum feed on small vertebrates, indicating that the new species is also ecologically different from P. megareceptaculum. We also redescribed P. megareceptaculum based on adults sampled in this study and past studies to record the morphological variations of this species.

Trematodes of the genus Mesocoelium Odhner, 1910 (Digenea: Plagiorchioidea: Mesocoeliidae) are globally distributed and parasitize amphibians, reptiles, or occasionally fishes. This genus is one of the most confusing taxa in trematodes because of its poor morphological features. In this study, we examined species of Mesocoelium collected from Japanese amphibians and found that they can be morphologically assigned to two species of Mesocoelium. Mesocoelium brevicaecum Ochi in Goto and Ozaki, 1929 parasitizes various both urodelan and anuran amphibians and occurred widely in Japan, while M. japonicum Goto and Ozaki, 1930 parasitizes a few hynobiid species in a limited part of Japan. We proposed ceca length as a valid key characteristic for species identification in this genus. M. elongatum Goto and Ozaki, 1929, M. lanceatum Goto and Ozaki, 1929, M. minutum Park, 1939, M. ovatum Goto and Ozaki, 1930, and M. pearsei Goto and Ozaki, 1930 are junior synonyms of M. brevicaecum, while M. japonicum can be distinguishable from them by morphologically and molecularly. Our molecular study supported the validity of both species and showed intraspecific divergence associated with geographic distance. Molecular identification suggests that the land snail Euhadra quaesita can serve as the first intermediate host for M. japonicum in Japan. This study also indicates the extremely low specificity of this genus for vertebrate hosts. Finally, we conclude that at least three species of Mesocoelium (M. brevicaecum, M. japonicum, and Mesocoelium sp. 1) are distributed in Japan. Further studies in other regions are undoubtedly required for a better understanding of the taxonomy and ecology of the genus Mesocoelium.

Horizontal transfer (HT) of genes between multicellular animals, once thought to be extremely rare, is being more commonly detected, but its global geographic trend and transfer mechanism have not been investigated. We discovered a unique HT pattern of Bovine-B (BovB) LINE retrotransposons in vertebrates, with a bizarre transfer direction from predators (snakes) to their prey (frogs). At least 54 instances of BovB HT were detected, which we estimate to have occurred across time between 85 and 1.3 Ma. Using comprehensive transcontinental sampling, our study demonstrates that BovB HT is highly prevalent in one geographical region, Madagascar, suggesting important regional differences in the occurrence of HTs. We discovered parasite vectors that may plausibly transmit BovB and found that the proportion of BovB-positive parasites is also high in Madagascar where BovB thus might be physically transported by parasites to diverse vertebrates, potentially including humans. Remarkably, in two frog lineages, BovB HT occurred after migration from a non-HT area (Africa) to the HT hotspot (Madagascar). These results provide a novel perspective on how the prevalence of parasites influences the occurrence of HT in a region, similar to pathogens and their vectors in some endemic diseases.

Genus Babina is a member of Ranidae, a large family of frogs, currently comprising 10 species. Three of them are listed as endangered species. To identify mitochondrial (mt) genes suitable for future population genetic analyses for endangered species, we determined the complete nucleotide sequences of the mt genomes of 3 endangered Japanese Babina frogs, B. holsti, B. okinavana, and B. subaspera and 1 ranid frog Lithobates catesbeianus. The genes of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nad5) and the control region (CR) were found to have high sequence divergences and to be usable for population genetics studies. At present, no consensus on the phylogenetic position of genus Babina has been reached. To resolve this problem, we performed molecular phylogenetic analyses with the largest dataset used to date (11,345 bp from 2 ribosomal RNA- and 13 protein-encoding genes) in studies dealing with Babina phylogeny. These analyses revealed monophyly of Babina and Odorrana. It is well known that mt gene rearrangements of animals can provide usable phylogenetic information. Thus, we also compared the mt gene arrangements among Babina species and other related genera. Of the surveyed species, only L. catesbeianus manifested typical neobatrachian-type mt gene organization. In the B. okinavana, an additional pseudogene of tRNA-His (trnH) was observed in the CR downstream region. Furthermore, in the B. holsti and B. subaspera, the trnH/nad5 block was translocated from its typical position to the CR downstream region, and the translocated trnH became a pseudogene. The position of the trnH pseudogene is consistent with the translocated trnH position reported in Odorrana. Consequently, the trnH rearrangement seems to be a common ancestry characteristic (synapomorphy) of Babina and Odorrana. Based on the "duplication and deletion" gene rearrangement model, a single genomic duplication event can explain the order of derived mt genes found in Babina and Odorrana.

Pareas iwasakii, a rare pareatine snake endemic to Japan, is considered a dietary specialist on land snails. I observed the oviposition and hatchling diet of this species in captivity. One female laid six eggs on 30 September, and one of these eggs hatched on 26 November 2004. The hatchling fed on the soft body of juvenile land snails, leaving empty shells, most likely by extracting the former from the latter using its mandibles as do the adult snakes. This observation suggests that the dietary habits of P. iwasakii do not exhibit ontogenetic changes.<br>