ISSN 2755-3531
Opisthobranchiate Mollusca from Ghana: Aeolidiidae, with consideration of several Caribbean species
Malcolm Edmunds
Abstract. Descriptions are given of five species of Aeolidiidae from Ghana: Spurilla neapolitana and Berghia columbina are widespread from the Mediterranean to West Africa, Berghia benteva is known from Senegal and the West Atlantic, while Berghia ghanensis n. sp. and a single specimen tentatively placed in the genus Spurilla, both known only from Ghana, are also described here. Two specimens of Berghia from Jamaica and two from North Carolina are also described and assigned to Berghia marcusi while a third specimen from Jamaica is assigned to Berghia rissodominguezi. The process of speciation in genera with species on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean is discussed in the light of recent DNA profiling.
Key words. Nudibranchia, Aeolidiidae, Spurilla, Berghia, amphiatlantic species
New taxon. Berghia ghanensis Edmunds, 2015
Date of publication. April 2015
Olaf Höltke & Michael W. Rasser
Abstract. The Miocene land gastropod Pseudochloritis insignis (von Zieten, 1832) shows a very high variability in size and its systematic designation has been debated for a long time. Statistical analyses reveal no indications for the presence of more than one species. Since the original material is definitely lost, we have defined a neotype. The relationships between P. insignis and the following taxa are discussed: Genus Ampelita (Acavidae), genus Trigonephrus Pilsbry, 1905 (Dorcasidae), genus Chloritis Beck, 1837 (Camaenidae), genus Liburnica Kobelt, 1904 (Helicidae: Ariantinae), genus Dinarica Kobelt, 1902 (Helicidae: Ariantinae) and Monacha homalospira (Reuss, 1860) (Hygromiidae) as well as Pseudochloritis incrassata (Klein, 1853) and the family Elonidae Gittenberger, 1979. An assignment to Ampelita, Trigonephrus, or Chloritis is rejected because of morphologic differences as well as palaeobiogeographic and palaeoclimatic considerations. The species Monacha homalospira (Reuss, 1860) is remarkably older than P. insignis. Due to teleoconch morphology as well as shape and sculpture of the protoconch, a membership of insignis within the fossil genus Pseudochloritis C.R. Boettger, 1909 is suggested herein. The stratigraphy of P. insignis ranges from late Langhian to early Tortonian (mammal zones MN 7 to MN 9). The suprageneric designation of this genus is, however, problematic. As for the morphological characters, it shows more similarities with the subfamiliy Ariantinae Mörch, 1864 (Helicidae) than with the Elonidae Gittenberger, 1979, but due to the absence of anatomical features this designation remains tentative.
Key words. Gastropods, Ariantinae, Joossia, Dinarica, Steinheim Basin, microsculpture
Date of publication. April 2015
Manuel Caballer & Jesús Ortea
Abstract. A new shallow water species of the genus Philine Ascanius, 1772 is described from the coastal lagoons of the Bay of Buche, Venezuela. This species is characterized by the color pattern of its body, yellowish with white dots, the cephalic shield, as long as the posterior shield, the internal shell with the rear posterior edge not surpassing the apex and the sculpture composed of 6 to 18 striking spiral lines, the innermost lateral teeth of the radula, bearing 10–19 denticles in the masticatory margin and by lacking gizzard plates. Philine buchensis new species is compared with all the species of the genus known to date in the Caribbean, particularly withthose from coastal areas (0–10m): Philine sagra (d’Orbigny, 1841) and Philine caballeri Ortea, Espinosa & Moro, 2001.
Key words. Philine buchensis, new species, coastal lagoons, Caribbean
New taxon. Philine buchensis Caballer & Ortea, 2015
Date of publication. April 2015
Anna M Holmes, P. Graham Oliver, Steve Trewhella, Rosemary Hill & Declan TG Quigley
Abstract. Following prolonged westerly gales impacting the south and west coasts of the British Isles in Winter 2013–14 unusually large numbers of rafting organisms have been reported. Six species of bivalve and one gastropod with their normal ranges in the Caribbean and SE coasts of the USA were found attached to plastic macro-litter washed ashore on the south coast of England and west coast of Ireland. Pinctada imbricata (Roding, 1798) (Atlantic Pearl Oyster) was recorded once before in 1988 as P. radiata but is here regarded as the western Atlantic subspecies. Isognomon bicolor (CB Adams, 1845) (Bicolor purse oyster), Pododesmus rudis (Broderip, 1834) (Atlantic false jingle), Aequipecten heliacus (Dall, 1925), Euvola ziczac (Linnaeus, 1758) (Zigzag Scallop) and Chama cf. congregata Conrad, 1833 (Little Corrugate Jewelbox) are herein reported for the first time from the eastern Atlantic. Should sea temperature rises continue such long distance rafting could be a mechanism for the establishment of alien western Atlantic species in the NE Atlantic.
Key words. Alien species, trans-Atlantic, rafting, drift, macro-litter
Date of publication. April 2015
Three new species of Kora (Pulmonata, Orthalicidae) from Bahia and Minas Gerais, Brazil
Luiz Ricardo L. Simone
Abstract. Three new species of the recently described genus Kora are described, based on dry material collected in caverniculous and adjacent environments. Kora terrea, from Presidente Olegário, MG, is characterized by spotted pigmentation; projected, wide outer lip, and pointed spire. Kora nigra, from Carinhanha, BA, is characterized by dark-brown color, elliptical outline, and rounded, narrow aperture. Kora iracema, from São Desidério, BA, is characterized by very ample, projected outer lip, wide spire and white coloration. A new occurrence of the type species, Kora corallina, is reported, from Carinhanha, BA, expanding its geographic distribution ~200km towards southwest. Species of the genus Kora have been shown to be restricted to semi-dry, caatinga environment, restricted to south region of Northeast Brazilian region, and north of Southeast region.
New taxa. Kora terrea Simone, 2015; Kora nigra Simone, 2015; Kora iracema Simone, 2015
Date of publication. April 2015
Leonardo Santos de Souza & Alexandre Dias Pimenta
Abstract. The genus Eulimetta was previously known only from the eastern Pacific. Here we describe E. atlantica sp. nov., the second species of the genus, from the Brazilian coast based on shell morphology. This new species differs from its congener, E. pagoda Warén, 1992, mainly by the presence of an umbilical fissure and a pointed apex. Further, the expansion of the peripheral keel of E. atlantica is more regular than in E. pagoda. The microsculpture of E. atlantica follows the pattern of E. pagoda.
Key words. Caenogastropoda, Eulimoidea, micromolluscs, Brazil, South America
New taxon. Eulimetta atlantica de Souza & Pimenta, 2015
Date of publication. April 2015
P. Graham Oliver
Abstract. Specimens of Mytilopsis leucophaeata, the Dark False Mussel, have been found in a shell collection dating from the early 19th century. The four shells are attributed to William Lyons (1766–1849) with the locality ‘Tenby’ (Pembrokeshire, South Wales). Evidence from the Lyons collection in the Tenby Museum suggests that the majority was acquired around 1800–1830, which indicates that Lyons had shells before Conrad described the species in 1831 and some 150 years before it was first recorded in the British Isles. This paper reaffirms the relevance of early museum collections to contemporary environmental agendas.
Key words. Alien species, invasion history, nineteenth century
Date of publication. April 2015
Rodrigo B. Salvador, Daniel C. Cavallari & Luiz R. L. Simone
Abstract. A sample of land snails, mainly pulmonates, was recently collected in southeastern Tocantins state, Brazil, close to the border with Bahia state. The following species were found in the material, all of them are reported for the first time from Tocantins: Helicina schereri (Helicinidae); Solaropsis fairchildi and Solaropsis rosarium (Camaenidae); Anostoma rossi, Cyclodontina cf. gemellata and Cyclodontina sectilabris (Odontostomidae); Drymaeus poecilus and Naesiotus carlucioi (Bulimulidae); Streptaxis luetzelburgi (Streptaxidae); Megalobulimus conicus (Strophocheilidae); Beckianum cf. beckianum (Subulinidae). Additionally, Drymaeus dakryodes sp. nov. is formally described herein. The new records and species addressed here constitute important findings, helping to fill distributional gaps and improving the knowledge of the local molluscan fauna. This is an essential step for future conservation efforts.
Key words. Cerrado, Drymaeus dakryodes sp. nov., Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Taguatinga
New taxon. Drymaeus dakryodes Salvador, Cavallari & Simone, 2015
Date of publication. April 2015
Joanna R. Pieńkowska, Giuseppe Manganelli, Folco Giusti & Andrzej Lesicki
Abstract. A morphological and molecular (nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial COI and 16SrDNA as well as nuclear ITS2 gene fragments) study confirms the occurrence of a second species of the genus Monacha Fitzinger 1833 in Poland. This species is identified as Monacha claustralis (Rossmässler 1834) by comparison of specimens from Polish, Czech, Bulgarian and Georgian populations. This is also the first identification of M. claustralis in the Czech Republic.
Key words. Monacha cartusiana, Monacha claustralis, Poland, Czech Republic, geographic distribution
Date of publication. April 2015
The globally invasive Paralaoma servilis (Gastropoda: Punctidae) reported for the first time in Belgium [Short Communication]
Tom Van den Neucker & Jelle Ronsmans