Evolutionary Development and Molecular Phylogeny of Gastropod Molluscs

Dear Colleagues,

Mollusks represent an astonishingly diverse phylum, characterized by an immense variety of body plans, morphological features, and a complex evolutionary history. In recent years, taxonomy across many molluscan groups has undergone dramatic shifts, yet numerous lineages still present unresolved systematic questions. Among these, our understanding of the taxonomy of the class Gastropoda has been particularly transformed, as modern molecular and phylogenomic frameworks have discarded many long-standing traditional groupings. These taxonomic revisions have altered core assumptions regarding gastropod evolution, prompting a thorough reinterpretation of morphological traits, character homologies, and certain aspects of development.

This Special Issue is dedicated to both advancing our understanding of gastropod phylogeny across all taxonomic levels and updating our view of how gastropod lineages evolved through the lens of modern evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) across all stages of ontogeny. We invite original research articles, short communications, and comprehensive reviews addressing any aspect of gastropod evolution, development, and systematics within contemporary molecular phylogenetic frameworks.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Deep-level phylogenetics and phylogenomics for major lineages of gastropods.
• Molecular systematics applied at family, genus, and species levels.
• Comparative developmental genetics and evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) across any stages.
• Ancestral state reconstruction and morphological character evolution in light of molecular phylogenies.
• Dietary transitions, trophic specialization, and co-evolutionary dynamics between gastropods and their prey.
• Molecular biomineralization and the evolutionary developmental genomics of shell formation and loss.
• Comparative genomics and transcriptomics underlying physiological and ecological transitions.
• Fossil-calibrated molecular clocks and historical biogeography of gastropod lineages.
• Convergent evolution, parallelisms, and the molecular or developmental mechanisms underlying homoplasy across independent gastropod lineages.

Dr. Dimitry Schepetov
Guest Editor

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