The high diversity of Austrian habitats between the Eastern Alps and the Panonnian plain harbours a rich number of molluscs, with records of almost 400 species. About 13% are endemics, thus can be exclusively found in Austria. The most recent Red List draws an alarming picture for Austrian molluscs: about 35% of all snail species and about 37% of all bivalves are endangered or threatened with extinction. Snails are important decomposers of organic matter and thus play a decisive role in soil formation. Many mollusc species with their specific habitat requirements are important to evaluate the quality of biotopes. However, several mollusc species can hardly be distinguished by shell morphology; this is even truer for juveniles which often cannot be identified with confidence.
This project provides DNA Barcodes for the challenging group of molluscs. The DNA-Barcodes will facilitate determination, and hence their use in evaluations of nature conservation issues.

Up to now, from 230 different species (about 60% of the Austrian species) around 700 DNA barcodes with all relevant metadata were established and uploaded to the BOLD database. The results show that many species are placed within one well supported clade. But as it is known from other studies, also high genetic diversity within species was found, implying the existence of cryptic species. In this project, DNA barcodes for the cave snail Zospeum isselianum from Austria could be created for the first time and the first record of Trochulus clandestinus and Arion intermedius in Austria could be made. After completion of the ABOL pilot project, barcoding of native molluscs will continue in various projects.