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Four new species and one new subspecies of tateid freshwater gastropods are described from the north of the South Island of New Zealand, Catapyrgus jami sp. nov., Opacuincola lisannea sp. nov., O. gretathunbergae sp. nov., O. mete kahurangi ssp. nov. and Obtusopyrgus farri sp. nov. The species are integratively defined based on a combination of shell morphological, anatomical and mitochondrial DNA data. Morphological and anatomical data were generated by morphometrics, scanning electron microscopy, as well as micro-computed tomography. The genetic data were basis of phylogenetic analyses and incorporated into the diagnoses. The new taxa occur in springs or spring-like habitats, i.e., shallow, slow-flowing sections of small streams except for O. mete kahurangi subsp. nov., which was collected from rough rocks in a river, where the snails sat in small depressions. None of the species exceeded 2.75 mm in length. Opacuincola gretathunbergae sp. nov. and Obtusopyrgus farri sp. nov. are pigmented and true crenobionts, while C. jami sp. nov. and the sympatric Opacuincola lisannea sp. nov. have eyes of reduced size and lack epidermal pigment, hence, probably dwell in the transitional zone of epigean and groundwaters.
During systematic surveys of groundwater snails in Slovakia, Hungary and Bosnia and Hercegovina two new species of the genus Hauffenia, H. lozekiana sp. nov. from a single locality in Slovakia, and H. steffeki sp. nov. with a small range in Bosnia and Hercegovina were discovered and are here described based on shell morphology, anatomy and DNA sequence data (COI, 16S rRNA, ITS2). The discovery of H. steffeki sp. nov. extends the range of the genus considerably towards the south. Hauffenia lozekiana sp. nov. appears to be a relict surviving within the range of the today widely distributed H. kissdalmae. Based on a time tree, we developed a scenario for the origin and diversification of the genus. The ancestor probably evolved in the Miocene on the Balkans and with the gradual desiccation of the Paratethys and its remnant water bodies diversified towards the north. Karstic and in particular alluvial connectivities together with changing courses of paleo-rivers probably played an important role for dispersal. Ecological observations suggest that the phreatic rhizosphere, the delicate net of tree rootlets and their exudates, are important for the existence of these groundwater snails.