Search

The type series boundary and the name-bearing type designation of each cyclophorid taxon originally described by Godwin-Austen are clarified based on an interpretation that complies with the ICZN. Previous statuses of type specimens designated by previous authors are reconsidered. Lectotypes of Spiraculum oakesi Godwin-Austen, 1915, Spiraculum kempi Godwin-Austen, 1915, Pterocyclos aborensis Godwin-Austen, 1915, Pterocyclos miriensis Godwin-Austen, 1915, Pterocyclos brahmakundensis Godwin-Austen, 1915, Spiraculum luyorensis Godwin-Austen, 1915, Spiraculum putaoensis Godwin-Austen, 1915, and Theobaldius oakesi Godwin-Austen, 1915 are here designated to stabilize the existing nomenclature. In addition, the type specimens of Pterocyclos miriensis and Theobaldius oakesi are photographed and figured for the first time.

Since the time of the original description there have been no precise locality records in Cambodia ofBertia cambojiensis(Reeve, 1860) and it was believed to be extinct. In 2012, a joint Natural History Museum survey with Vietnamese colleagues rediscovered living populations of this huge sinistral helicoid snail in a protected area of southern Vietnam. The genitalia and radula morphology are re-assessed and type specimens of all recognised congeners are figured herein. The unique morphological characters of this species are a small and simple penis, well-developed amatorial organ complex that incorporates four amatorial organ ducts, a short gametolytic organ complex and spiked papilla, and radula morphology with unicuspid teeth. The type locality ofB. cambojiensis, which has been contentious, is determined here to be in the vicinity of ‘Brelum’, Vietnam, near the border with Cambodia. In addition, the nucleotide sequences of barcoding genes COI, 16SrRNA and 28S fragments were provided for further comparison.

6 pages, 2 figures, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.561125/full#supplementary-material.-- The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will bemade available by the authors, without undue reservation, Planktonic stages of benthic octopuses can reach relatively large sizes in some species, usually in oceanic, epipelagic waters while living as part of the macroplankton. These young octopuses appear to delay settlement on the seabed for an undetermined period of time that is probably longer than for those octopus paralarvae living in coastal, neritic waters. The reason for this delay is unknown and existing information about their biology is very scarce. Here we report on the presence of juvenile and subadult forms of the bathybenthic octopus Pteroctopus tetracirrhus in oceanic waters of the South and North Atlantic and its association with the pyrosomid species Pyrosoma atlanticum, apparently used by the octopus as a refuge or shelter. The relatively large size of the P. tetracirrhus living in oceanic waters as the individuals reported here, together with the morphological characteristics of this bathybenthic species including its gelatinous body, minute suckers embedded in swollen skin and the deep interbrachial web, indicates that P. tetracirrhus may be considered a model of a transitional octopus species that is colonizing the pelagic environment by avoiding descending to the bathyal benthos. This process seems to occur in the same way as in the supposed origin of the ctenoglossan holopelagic octopods of the families Amphitretidae, Bolitaenidae, and Vitreledonellidae, which have arisen via neoteny from the planktonic paralarval stages of benthic octopuses, Project funding and support was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CTM2012-39587-C04-03, MINECO/FEDER/EU), Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (OCTOSET project, RTI2018-097908-B-I00, MCIU/AEI/FEDER, EU), the European Commission (SUMMER project, GA-817806) and the United Kingdom Government through the Blue Belt Programme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-blue-belt-programme). FF-Á was supported by an Irish Research Council–Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (Ref. GOIPD/2019/460), With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

412 species-group names (including 11 replacement names), and 14 genus-group names of the Alycaeidae have been introduced to date. Type materials of 85% (336) of the known species and subspecies were examined, a further 5% (19) of the taxa were studied using available non-type material, and for another 6% (22) the original descriptions were sufficiently detailed to evaluate their taxonomic status. Only 3% of the taxa (12) could not be examined. Special attention was paid to the sculpture of the embryonic whorls and the sutural tube-microtunnel system in order to provide a novel classification for this group. In this study 363 taxa (320 species or 43 subspecies) are accepted within the family Alycaeidae. Of these, 22 have been described by the lead author and his coauthors in previous publications. In addition, there are 18 species that were formerly classified in Cycloryx and now belong to Pincerna due to its synonymy with Cycloryx. Among the remaining 323 species, 209 (65%) are transferred here to another genus, whilst 114 (35%) have remained in their original genus. Seven genera are accepted. While some questions (e.g., the distinction between Pincerna and Alycaeus) remained unanswered, this revision made three main achievements: (1) The Dicharax species were identified based on the absence of spiral striation on the entire shell; (2) the Metalycaeus species were identified based on the spiral striation of the protoconch; (3) and Stomacosmethis was separated from Alycaeus based on the extremely short sutural tube. Five nominal species are being synonymised with other species, and eight species are now treated as subspecies. The following replacement names are proposed: Dioryx urnula niosiensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus urnula var. daflaensis Godwin-Austen, 1914; Dioryx urnula rotundus Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus urnula var. globosus Godwin-Austen, 1914; Pincerna crenilabris juttingae Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus crenilabris laevis van Benthem Jutting, 1959; Pincerna crenilabris korintjiensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus crenilabris latecostatus van Benthem Jutting, 1959; Dicharax conicus jatingaensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus conicus var. nanus Godwin-Austen, 1914; Metalycaeus godwinausteni Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus neglectus Godwin-Austen, 1914; and finally Metalycaeus suhajdai Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus varius Godwin-Austen, 1914.

A small collection containing thirty-nine lots of South African Streptaxidae land snails is housed in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). This material previously belonged to British/South African malacologist Henry C. Burnup, who either donated it to, or exchanged it with New Zealand-based Swiss malacologist Henry Suter, whose land snail collection was eventually acquired by the NMNZ. The lots contain type specimens of eight taxa (species and subspecies) and are presented herein in the form of an annotated and illustrated catalogue.

The insular limestone karsts of northern Vietnam harbor a very rich biodiversity. Many taxa are strongly associated with these environments, and individual species communities can differ considerably among karst areas. The exact processes that have shaped the biotic composition of these habitats, however, remain largely unknown. In this study, the role of two major processes for the assembly of snail communities on limestone karsts was investigated, interspecific competition and filtering of taxa due to geographical factors. Communities of operculate land snails of the genus Cyclophorus were studied using the dry and fluid‐preserved specimen collections of the Natural History Museum, London. Phylogenetic distances (based on a Bayesian analysis using DNA sequence data) and shell characters (based on 200 semilandmarks) were used as proxies for ecological similarity and were analyzed to reveal patterns of overdispersion (indicating competition) or clustering (indicating filtering) in observed communities compared to random communities. Among the seven studied karst areas, a total of 15 Cyclophorus lineages were found. Unique communities were present in each area. The analyses revealed phylogenetic overdispersion in six and morphological overdispersion in four of seven karst areas. The pattern of frequent phylogenetic overdispersion indicated that competition among lineages is the major process shaping the Cyclophorus communities studied. The Coastal Area, which was phylogenetically overdispersed, showed a clear morphological clustering, which could have been caused by similar ecological adaptations among taxa in this environment. Only the community in the Cuc Phuong Area showed a pattern of phylogenetic clustering, which was partly caused by an absence of a certain, phylogenetically very distinct group in this region. Filtering due to geographical factors could have been involved here. This study shows how museum collections can be used to examine community assembly and contributes to the understanding of the processes that have shaped karst communities in Vietnam.

Carl Georg Ludwig Pfeiffer (1805-1877) was one of the most productive authors on (mainly non-marine) molluscs during the mid-19th century, describing an estimated 3,000 taxa. As a first step in making his legacy accessible, we present a bibliography of his malacological publications (452 items in total). His serial books and journal publications are listed separately, and we present a collation of the Malakozoologische Bl��tter and Malakozoologische Bl��tter: Neue Folge.

Details are provided on 124 land snail species and varieties from New Zealand, and a further 14 species putatively from New Zealand, all of which were described by European and North American taxonomists between 1830 and 1934, based on specimens collected between 1824 and 1924. Primary type material of 95 of these taxa was located in Northern Hemisphere museums during the present study. Lectotypes are designated for: Helix chimmoi Pfeiffer, 1857, Helix glabriuscula Reeve, 1852, Helix (Paryphanta) gilliesi Smith, 1880, Nanina ? celinde Gray, 1850, Zonites chiron Gray, 1850 and Zonites coma Gray, 1843. Neotypes are designated for Helix conella Pfeiffer, 1861 and Helix tau Pfeiffer, 1861. Primary type material of the following taxa is figured herein for the first time: Bulimus? (Laoma) leimonias Gray, 1850, Cyclophorus cytora Gray, 1850, Cyclostoma (Cyclophorus?) lignarium Pfeiffer, 1857, Helix chimmoi Pfeiffer, 1857, Helix egesta Gray, 1850, Helix fatua Pfeiffer, 1857, Helix greenwoodi Gray, 1850, Helix guttula Pfeiffer, 1853, Helix kermandeci Pfeiffer, 1857, Helix portia Gray, 1850, Helix sciadium Pfeiffer, 1857, Helix venulata Pfeiffer, 1857, Helix (Paryphanta) gilliesi Smith, 1880, Hydrocena (Omphalotropis) vestita Pfeiffer, 1855, Nanina ? celinde Gray, 1850, Nanina erigone Gray, 1850, Nanina mariae Gray, 1843, Patula modicella var. vicinalis Mousson, 1873, Realia egea Gray, 1850, Vitrina kermadecensis Smith, 1873 and Zonites chiron Gray, 1850. New taxonomic combinations introduced herein include: Allodiscus nematophora (Reeve, 1854), Cavellia biconcava (Reeve, 1852), Charopa chimmoi (Pfeiffer, 1857), Coneuplecta regularis (Reeve, 1854), Delos jeffreysiana (Reeve, 1852), Fectola tau (Pfeiffer, 1861), Fectola varicosa (Reeve, 1852), Flammulina crebriflammea (Reeve, 1852), Lyrotropis vestita (Pfeiffer, 1855), ?Neophenacohelix ziczac (Gould, 1846), Parabalea peregrina (Gould, 1847), Phacussa hypopolea (Reeve, 1852), Phenacharopa novoseelandica (Küster, 1852), Phrixgnathus glabriusculus (Reeve, 1852), Phrixgnathus poecilostictus (Reeve, 1852), Thalassohelix obnubila (Reeve, 1852), Tornatellinops novoseelandica (Küster, 1852) and Wainuia urnula (Reeve, 1854). Helix collyrula Reeve, 1852 and Nanina tullia Gray, 1850 are treated as junior synonyms of Phenacohelix (Neophenacohelix) giveni Cumber 1961 nomen protectum and Helix (Huttonella) pseudoleioda Suter, 1890 nomen protectum, respectively. A brief account is given of the history of research on the New Zealand land snail fauna from 1824 to 1917.

The conservation of land snails has become an urgent issue because of the current global decline of this group. Detailed knowledge of population dynamics is needed to develop an appropriate strategy for conservation. We investigated the population dynamics of two threatened European land snail species: Vertigo angustior and Vertigo moulinsiana. Although the species may be found at the same site, V. moulinsiana is more tolerant of wetter conditions than is V. angustior. Abundance data for the two species were collected at two sites (one drier and one wetter) in western Poland biweekly during the spring and summer months in 2008 and 2009. In the drier year, snail abundance was similar between the drier and wetter sites. In the wetter year, snail abundances were generally higher than in the dry year, except that the inundation-intolerant V. angustior became less abundant at the wetter site. We conclude that weather affects different species differently and therefore should be considered along with th...

The collection of the seven cyclophorid snail genera housed in the Natural History Museum, London (NHM), includes 95 available species-level names belonging to the generaPterocyclosBenson, 1832,CyclotusSwainson, 1840,MyxostomaTroschel, 1847,RhiostomaBenson, 1860,ScabrinaBlanford, 1863,CrossopomaMartens, 1891, andPearsoniaKobelt, 1902. Lectotypes are here designated for twelve available species-level names to stabilise existing the nomenclature. A complete catalogue of these types, including colour photographs, is provided for the first time. After examining these type specimens, an unpublished manuscript name was found and is described herein asPterocyclosanamullayensisSutcharit & Panha,sp. n.

During work on a monograph of Morelet’s contributions to malacology (Breure, Audibert & Ablett, forthcoming) we found that two of his newly introduced taxa currently have to be considered as homonyms belonging to the genus Subulina H. Beck, 1837 (classified within the family Achatinidae according to Fontanilla et al. (2017: 385)). The older taxon is Achatina gracilenta which was described by Morelet (1867: 79, pl. 7 fig. 2) from [Angola] “Golungo-Alto, au bord du Rio Quiapose, près de Sange; les environs de Lopollo (district de Huilla)”. According to Naggs (1990a: 31; also pers. comm. 10 October 2017) this species has to be classified as Subulina gracilenta (Morelet, 1867). The type material of this species is present in the Natural History Museum, London (NHMUK 1893.2.4.263–265). The younger taxon was described by Morelet (1885: 25, pl. 2 fig. 8) as Stenogyra gracilenta from [Gabon] “environs de Mayumba”. Pilsbry (1906: 82) already recognised this as Subulina gracilenta (Morelet, 1885); Naggs (pers. comm. 10 October 2017) confirmed this classification and concluded that this taxon is a junior secondary homonym of Achatina gracilenta Morelet, 1867. Type material for Stenogyra gracilenta Morelet, 1885 has not been located. We here propose Subulina bruggenorum nom. nov. as a replacement name for Stenogyra gracilenta Morelet, 1885 (not Achatina gracilenta Morelet, 1867).

The collection of the Southeast Asian tree snail genus Amphidromus Albers, 1850 at the Natural History Museum, London includes more than 100 lots of type specimens representing 85 name-bearing types, 9 paratypes and 6 paralectotypes, and one nomen nudum. Lectotypes are here designated for Amphidromus cambojiensis, Amphidromus perakensis globosus, Amphidromus columellaris gloriosa, Amphidromus maculiferus inflata, Amphidromus lepidus, Amphidromus sinistralis lutea, Amphidromus moniliferus, Amphidromus maculiferus obscura, Amphidromus sinistralis rosea and Amphidromus sinensi vicaria. In addition, the missing types of A.A. Gould were discovered and their type status is discussed. A complete catalogue of these types, including colour photographs is provided for the first time. After examining these type specimens, two new Amphidromus species, Amphidromus (Syndromus) globonevilli Sutcharit & Panha, sp. n. and Amphidromus (Syndromus) principalis Sutcharit & Panha, sp. n. were recognized and are described herein.

Vietnamese species from the family Plectopylidae are revised based on the type specimens of all known taxa, more than 600 historical non-type museum lots, and almost 200 newly-collected samples. Altogether more than 7000 specimens were investigated. The revision has revealed that species diversity of the Vietnamese Plectopylidae was previously overestimated. Overall, thirteen species names (anterides Gude, 1909, bavayi Gude, 1901, congesta Gude, 1898, fallax Gude, 1909, gouldingi Gude, 1909, hirsuta Möllendorff, 1901, jovia Mabille, 1887, moellendorffi Gude, 1901, persimilis Gude, 1901, pilsbryana Gude, 1901, soror Gude, 1908, tenuis Gude, 1901, verecunda Gude, 1909) were synonymised with other species. In addition to these, Gudeodiscus hemmeni sp. n. and G. messageri raheemi ssp. n. are described from north-western Vietnam. Sixteen species and two subspecies are recognized from Vietnam. The reproductive anatomy of eight taxa is described. Based on anatomical information, Halongella gen. n. is erected to include Plectopylis schlumbergeri and P. fruhstorferi. Additionally, the genus Gudeodiscus is subdivided into two subgenera (Gudeodiscus and Veludiscus subgen. n.) on the basis of the morphology of the reproductive anatomy and the radula. The Chinese G. phlyarius werneri Páll-Gergely, 2013 is moved to synonymy of G. phlyarius. A spermatophore was found in the organ situated next to the gametolytic sac in one specimen. This suggests that this organ in the Plectopylidae is a diverticulum. Statistically significant evidence is presented for the presence of calcareous hook-like granules inside the penis being associated with the absence of embryos in the uterus in four genera. This suggests that these probably play a role in mating periods before disappearing when embryos develop. Sicradiscus mansuyi is reported from China for the first time., Article, ZOOKEYS. (473):1-118 (2015)

We investigated the influence of litter moisture, water levels and eutrophication on the microspatial distribution of terrestrial molluscs as well as their responses to the aforementioned factors. The studies were carried out in two moist, alkaline habitats in western Poland, differing in a range of environmental conditions. Redundancy Analysis showed that litter moisture was the leading factor affecting the microspatial distribution of the snails. To analyse the relationships between species abundance and litter moisture and water levels we determined a generalized linear model (GLM). The results of the analysis show that the abundance of the majority of the species decreased with increasing eutrophication. The abundance of the majority of species increased with increase in litter moisture at the Ilanka site, whereas conversely at the Pliszka site, the majority of the species showed a decreasing abundance with increasing litter moisture. The limiting factor at the Pliszka site was probably local inundations as well as litter and plant cover.

The collection of land caenogastropod snails in the genus Cyclophorus Monfort, 1810 housed in the Natural History Museum, London (NHM), includes 52 type lots. Lectotypes have been designated for 41 available species-level names to stabilize existing nomenclature, three previously designated lectotype, two holotypes, one paratype, two syntypes, one possible syntype and two paralectotypes are also listed. A complete catalogue of the Cyclophorus types in NHM, London is provided for the first time.

Limestone karsts can form terrestrial habitat islands for calcium-dependent organisms. In Vietnam, many karst habitats are threatened, while their rich biodiversity is still far from being thoroughly explored. Given that conservation of karst biota strongly relies on correct species identification, the presence of undetected cryptic species can pose severe problems. The present study focuses on cryptic diversity among karst-inhabiting land snails of the genus Cyclophorus in northern Vietnam, where specimens with a similar shell morphology have been reported from various regions. In order to examine the diversity and evolutionary history of this "widespread morphotype", we generated a Bayesian phylogeny based on DNA sequence data. Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) and the Bayesian implementation of the Poisson tree processes model (bPTP) contributed to species delimitation and analyses of shell shape and size aided the morphological characterisation of individual species. We found that the examined specimens of the widespread morphotype did not form a single monophyletic group in the phylogeny but clustered into several different clades. We delimited nine different species that develop the widespread morphotype and described four of them as new. Processes of convergent evolution were probably involved in the origin of the delimited species, while their generally allopatric distribution could result from interspecific competition. Our findings indicate ongoing processes of speciation and a potential case of morphological character displacement. The high degree of morphological overlap found among the species underlines the importance of DNA sequence data for species delimitation and description in the genus Cyclophorus. Given the findings of the present study and the high potential that as yet undiscovered cryptic taxa have also evolved in other groups of karst-inhabiting organisms, we argue for a systematic and efficient detection and description of Vietnam's karst biodiversity to provide a solid basis for future conservation planning.

The type status is described for specimens of 84 taxa classified within the families Bothriembryontidae and Odontostomidae (superfamily Orthalicoidea) and kept in the Natural History Museum, London. Lectotypes are designated for Bulimus (Liparus) brazieri Angas, 1871; Bulimus broderipii Sowerby I, 1832; Bulimus fuligineus Pfeiffer, 1853; Helix guarani d’Orbigny, 1835; Bulimus (Tomigerus) ramagei E.A. Smith, 1890; Helix rhodinostoma d’Orbigny, 1835; Bulimus (Bulimulus) ridleyi E.A. Smith, 1890. The type status of the following taxa is changed to lectotype in accordance with Art. 74.6 ICZN: Placostylus (Euplacostylus) cylindricus Fulton, 1907; Bulimus pyrostomus Pfeiffer, 1860; Bulimus turneri Pfeiffer, 1860. The following taxon is synonymised: Bulimus oblitus Reeve, 1848 = Bahiensis neglectus (Pfeiffer, 1847).