Systematics and distribution of the land snail Pene (Pulmonata: Enidae) in Israel

Formerly considered a subgenus of Buliminus, Pene is here, for reasons given, considered as a separate genus. Four species (syriacus, sidoniensis, galilaea and auriculata) inhabit Israel. A new subspecies, syriacus ramimensis, is described from north‐east Galilee. Northwards, towards the borderline with s. syriacus, the ratio mouth height/mouth diameter of s. ramimensis becomes first gradually larger, then reverses abruptly. The northernmost s. ramimensis sample is in a peculiar intermediate position suggesting that it represents a syriacus‐ramimensis hybrid population which has reached stabilization. Distribution borders are usually correlated with rain or substratum. The sidoniensis/galilaea borderline is unusual in that it crosses an area of nearly uniform climate, substratum and vegetation. Along it sidoneinsis and galilaea are found within centimetres of each other, suggesting that the borderline is here determined by interspecific competition rather than by physical factors.