The grant topic “Distribution and Phylogeny of the Genus Turcomilax in the Northern and Western Tien Shan” largely overlaps with Anel’s doctoral dissertation research.
Slugs of the genus Turcomilax are known only in the Tien Shan and Himalayan mountains.
Under this project, specimens from different regions of the Tien Shan will be collected. DNA samples of the slugs will be analyzed and compared with their morphological data.
The main research questions are how many Turcomilax species inhabit the Tien Shan Mountains, when they colonized the mountains, and where to look for their closest relatives. Conducting a study focused on a single group of organisms will help in better understanding the origins of the Tien Shan fauna overall, since the identified migration pathways will likely be common to different animal groups.
Turcomilax turkestanus (Simroth, 1898), Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Apart from its direct scientific significance, this work also has important conservation value because two species of Turcomilax slugs (the Turkestan slug and Tsvetkov slug) are included in the latest (5th) edition of the Red Book of Kazakhstan.
The grant awarded to Anel is a prestigious recognition within international malacological circles, underscoring the high quality of her scientific work and her strong capabilities in planning future research.
The Malacological Society of London is one of the oldest in the world, established in 1893, and currently brings together leading global experts who work on mollusks—morphologists, systematists, biogeographers, and many others.
We are delighted to see Anel receive this grant from one of the leading malacological societies and to note the acknowledgement of her planned research topic as being significant. We are also glad to see such enthusiasm from the Institute’s young scientists. Under the experienced guidance of Senior Researcher (Cand. Sci. [Biol.]) I.O. Nekhaev of the Arachnology Laboratory, we hope the Institute will foster world-class young specialists and revitalize malacological research.
March 11, 2025