Luiz Simone

University of São Paulo | USP · Museum of Zoology

An anal excurrent siphon of pallial origin was discovered in the living vetigastropod Hemimarginula pumila (Fissurellidae, Zeidorinae). While siphons of pallial origin are commonly known in apogas-tropods, only head-foot-origin siphons had been reported in vetigastropods until now. This paper presents the discovery and discusses the potential for t...

The columellar appendages of gastropod shells are discussed in this study. The presence of a fold, or plica (a series of folds), observed exclusively in Apogastropoda, is proposed as a strategy to enhance the attachment of the columellar muscle and, consequently, increase its strength. Additional potential advantages of columellar folds and plicae...

In preparation for compiling a catalogue of the South Atlantic American malacofauna, this study addresses the taxonomy of selected species within less intricate groups to ensure accurate classification within the catalogue. The following nomenclatural acts are undertaken for this purpose: New species descriptions: 1, Tectura iguypis; 2, Nacella mir...

In preparation for compiling a catalogue of the South Atlantic American malacofauna, this study addresses the taxonomy of selected species within less intricate groups to ensure accurate classification within the catalogue. The following nomenclatural acts are undertaken for this purpose: New species descriptions: 1, Tectura iguypis; 2, Nacella mir...

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classification. In this context, the B Brazilian meg...

Drymaeus nigroflavus is a newly described species found in the region of Itapebi, Bahia, Brazil, near the Jequitinhonha River. This species is characterized by its whitish shell adorned with dark, spiral bands that are uniform and spaced apart. Its genital system exhibits a very short penis and bursa copulatrix, as well as a spermoviduct with a wid...

We compiled taxonomic information about terrestrial gastropods in Brazil in an organized and user-friendly checklist that we hope will be useful for researchers and stakeholders alike. We also expect that it will serve as a springboard, garnering more interest and enabling a new wave of studies on this fauna, which has one the highest extinction ra...

The higher classification of Gastropoda, with a special focus on Caenogastropoda, is presented as an alternative to the relatively unresolved classification currently available in MolluscaBase. This proposed classification has been developed over three decades through several successive papers, primarily based on phenotypic characteristics and clas...

Haminoea maray is introduced as a replacement for what was previously identified as H. elegans, now recognized as a complex comprising several species found on both sides of the Atlantic. This descriptive paper presents a comprehensive phenotypic study based on specimens collected from Ceará to São Paulo, Brazil, and had been previously recognized...

A reflection about why the high classification of Mollusca is far of being stable, despite 4 decades of molecular approaches.

Increasing habitat modification and species loss demand consistent efforts to describe and understand biodiversity patterns. The BIOTA/FAPESP Program was created in this context and it has been a successful initiative to promote studies on biodiversity and conservation in Brazil. The BIOTA/Araçá is an interdisciplinary project that provided a detai...

Argumentation In a recent issue of Malacopedia (Simone, 2004), the intriguing question of whether octopuses are sentient beings was explored. One conclusion drawn was that the answer depends on the definition of "sentience." According to the criteria used to determine sentience, both octopuses and other vertebrates qualify. However, under a more st...

Cyrenoida implexa sp. nov. is the first species of Cyrenoididae in the Southern West Atlantic. This new species exhibits external similarities to C. floridana but is distinguished by distinct right hinge dentition, larger siphons and a more extensive siphonal area at the mantle border, an incurrent siphon with three rows of papillae, a lack of papi...

This study explores the genital structures of higher Heterobranchia. It describes and explains the typical structures of the Stylommatophora, which are among the most complex, outlining the pathways, including schematic illustration, taken by autosperm, allosperm, ovules, comprising the fertilization and egg formation processes. The paper presents...

Octopuses possess intelligence and sentience, contingent upon the definitions of these terms. If sentience is defined more strictly to encompass self-awareness, abstract language and memory, octopuses exhibit traits that may preclude them from being considered sentient, including: (1) cannibalistic tendencies and a lack of social bonds, (2) absence...

The expression ‘you need to know to conserve’ is a well-known cliche among biologists. Documenting the richness of a group of organisms is the first step towards understanding biodiversity and preparing efficient conservation plans. In this context, many efforts have been made to quantify the number of species on Earth and estimate the number of sp...

Despite being an ancient technique, line drawing and pointillism are still applied to represent anatomical structures, even with the array of technological tools available today. This exploration delves into the advantages and disadvantages of these traditional techniques, revealing their enduring merits. Additionally, a discussion on the distincti...

The mollusks' singular foot is examined from an evolutionary perspective, starting with a peri-oral pedal shield in Caudofoveata. It evolves into a ventral pedal groove in Solenogastres, further developing into a sucker-crawling structure in Testaria, which is present in Polyplacophora, Monoplacophora, and the majority of Gastropoda. Within Diasoma...

The odontophore muscles coded m3 and m9 are usually difficult to name. Their occurrence is splayed in the molluscan phylogeny in different localizations, functions, and constitutions. For this reason, they are more useful in comparative studies in levels close to species, rather than higher taxonomic levels, as they are not homologous. Several inte...

After several papers on phylogenetic analysis on Mollusca morpho-anatomy, along 3 decades , in different levels, the main criticism is not on the phylogenies themselves, but so in respect to the obtention of few or single cladograms. Here the secret is revealed: to seek for more characters. A brief discussion on this is performed, including tips on...

Different kinds of photoreceptors found in mollusks are briefly explained, presented in a growing complexity pathway, from sprayed photoreceptors, ocelli, eyecups, opened eyes, closed eyes with lens up to bicameral eyes. This possibly denotes an evolutionary alignment. The mol-lusk groups that possess each type are explored, because of the relative...

The pair of retractor muscles of buccal mass, coded m2, are a heterogeneous set of muscles that retract the structure inside the haemocoel. The basal state of m2 originates from the shell and is present in the first molluscan branches, notoriously in the Polyplacophora and Monoplacophora. It disappears in Euconchifera, but reappears independently i...

Miniaturization is an evolutive process of great reduction of a gastropod to an adult form smaller than 1 mm. This process is not organically totally proportional. There are structures that became proportionally large, like stomach and pallial gonoducts. Other structures are simplified (e.g., genital structures), reduced and even lost (e.g., pallia...

Bioinvasions are one of the main causes of the decline of native biodiversity. Indothais lacera (Born, 1778) is a carnivorous gastropod, native to the Indo-Pacific. We present the first records of I. lacera on the Brazilian coast and the first record of this invasive species in the Western Atlantic. The specimens were found in two locations in the...

Samples of the genera Famelica Bouchet & Warn, 1980 and Aliceia Dautzenberg & Fischer, 1897 (Conoidea, Raphitomidae) collected mainly by the MD55 expedition in the Vitria-Trindade Chain, Brazil, and secondarily by MAPEM Project, are studied. Famelica leucospira n. sp. is described for the populations from the Brazilian coast (Bahia to Rio de Janeir...

Jugal muscles in Mollusca are a net of minute fibers that maintain the organs in their correct place inside the haemocoel, an important issue for contracting organisms. The haemocoel is the main cavity in the mollusks, as the celomatic cavity is restricted to the reno-pericardial region, the place in which the structures, when present, are hidden b...

Text in Portuguese reporting the known species of cavernicolous gastropods and the adaptations and modifications of the gastropods to be considered troblibian/troglophile

Donacidae is a commercially important family of heterodont bivalves and one of the few bivalve lineages that has successfully colonised brackish and fresh waters. However, to date, no phylogenetic hypothesis exists for this widely distributed group. Here we turn to molecular data from the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and combine these with the...

A new species of the recently described genus Habeas is described. The genus is the single urocoptid representant in Brazil. The new species is named as Habeas centroris, occurring in Paz de Salobro, Canarana, Bahia, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by its dense, delicate sculpture, peristome slightly centrally positioned. Its anatomy is similar...

An anatomical and taxonomic study of Megalobulimus oblongus (Müller, 1774) and M. conicus (Bequaert, 1948) (Strophocheilidae, Megalobuliminae) is carried out, based mainly on samples from the south-central region of Bahia, Brazil. It revealed interesting anatomical differences in several structures, mainly in the pallial cavity, with greater ramifi...

Mirinaba cadeadensis Lange de Morretes, 1952 is restricted to the Paraná state, and found at the municipalities of Morretes, São José dos Pinhais, Paranaguá, Matinhos, and Guaratuba, associated to the Serra do Mar mountains. In this paper, we report the first record of this species in an anthropogenic shell mound. Two shells of M. cadeadensis were...

The determination of the processes that act in the assembly of the communities is a theme of growing interest among ecologists. Different processes (e.g., environmental filtering and biotic interactions) can shape the structure of communities depending on the spatial scale analyzed. In this study, we partitioned the functional and taxonomic diversi...

The taxon Diasoma (Bivalvia + Scaphopoda) is supported at least by 14 morphological syn-apomorphies. One of them is the anterior positioned foot, instead of being ventral. This is related to the digging mode of life and causes the anterior region deeply introduced into the sediment and the posterior region exposed to the environment, from where mos...

Four new species of the strophocheilid genus Anthinus are described from Brazil, being A. synchondrus from region of Unaí, Minas Gerais; A. vailanti from the region of Brasilâ ndia de Minas, Minas Gerais; A. morenus from Paracatu region, Minas Gerais; and A. savanicus from Formosa region, Goiá s. Another similar snail from Itacarambi, Minas Gerais,...

Four new species of the strophocheilid genus Anthinus are described from Brazil, being A. synchondrus from region of Unaí, Minas Gerais; A. vailanti from the region of Brasilândia de Minas, Minas Gerais; A. morenus from Paracatu region, Minas Gerais; and A. savanicus from Formosa region, Goiás. Another similar snail from Itacarambi, Minas Gerais, i...

The third branch of Gastropoda, so far unnamed, characterized by the complexity of the esophagus and another 11 synapomorphies by Simone (2011), is here named Trachiogastropoda. Focusing some esophageal structures, an evolutionary pathway is proposed for the unpaired mid esophageal glands of higher caenogastropods. The mid septate esophageal gland...

One of the main questions of phylogenetic systematics has recently focused on the reliability and robustness of taxonomic data. Many recent studies are devoted almost exclusively to the molecular-morphological couplet. However, in many metazoan taxa, the presence of skeletal parts or poorly preserved soft parts is dominant in collections, making it...

The intriguing question of why more than 80% of the land snails are pulmonates (Eu-pulmonata) has a possible explanation in the circumscription of the lung. The pulmonate lung, different from the lung of the other gastropod branches that also adapted to the terrestrial environment , is circumscribed. The single communication with the environment is...

South American land snails are relatively poorly known, but their taxonomic relationships can be illuminated with the help of detailed anatomical descriptions and comparisons. The genus Habeas Simone, 2013, species of which are associated with caves, was tentatively described in the prosobranch family Diplommatinidae. Recently collected samples tha...

Islands are isolated areas important for studies on speciation because of the isolation. Preliminary results of a project on insular mollusk life in the middle Atlantic, mainly Brazil, is presented , showing that islands located relatively close to the coast already have endemic land snails, but have the same continental marine malacofauna. Oceanic...

Eupera troglobia sp. nov. is the first fully described troglobitic bivalve discovered in the Americas, and possibly the second in the world. The troglobitic designation is based on the lack of pigmentation, reduction in size and shell thickness, and large and few offspring. Unlike its relatives that live in the roots of the water hyacinth , this ne...

An attempt to analyse the taxonomy of the genus Solaropsis, aiming to allocate a new species collected in Rio Cajari Extractive Reserve, Laranjal do Jari, Amapá State, Brazil, revealed that a nebula of uncertainties surrounds the genus, from the family level to the validity of several species. An initial taxonomic treatment is given for some taxa h...

The MD 55 cruise of the R/V Marion Dufresne was an important French-Brazilian expedition devoted to the exploration of the shallow offshore waters and benthos off the south-eastern coast of Brazil. Four polyplacophoran species belonging to the families Ischnochitonidae Dall, 1889 and Acanthochitonidae Pilsbry, 1893 were sampled during the cruise an...

The shell coiling is a phenomenon related to elongated shells, to make them easier to carry. It is notorious in Cyrtosoma. In gastropods 3 types of coiling were detected: 1) with visceral mass dorsal to columellar muscles, exclusive, in living snails, of Vetigastropoda; 2) with visceral mass between both columellar muscles, typical of the Neritimor...

The terrestrial and freshwater malacofauna of southern Bahia is little known, especially in comparison to the well-studied eastern portion of the state covered by remnants of Atlantic Forest. We present here a synopsis of all gastropod species known from the central southern region of Bahia state, known as 'Centro-Sul Baiano' , focusing on four mun...

Despite the great diversity, economic and environmental importance of limnic mollusks, the group is still little investigated in the Brazilian semiarid region, especially in the state of Piauí. Thus, this work aims to gather information on the diversity of limnic mollusks in the Brazilian Northeast and the semiarid region, including new records for...

The diaphragmatic septum is an important Caenogastropoda synapomorphy. It confines the blood inside the head-foot haemocoel and has physiological implications. It improves the pressure management inside the haemocoel. This has influenced further evolutionary pathways, three of them are explored in the paper: the gigantism, the proboscis, and the fo...

The buccal mass is an outstanding character of the Mollusca. It is the first digestive component and is very complex, bearing several muscles, hard structures as the radula, etc., in such general features are explained. Some phylogenetic inferences are performed, preparing the subject for future papers dealing with most of the buccal mass component...

The new genus Stapafurdius gen. nov. is introduced collected from Bahia, Brazil, including two new species: S. glaber sp. nov., the type species, occurs in Ibicoara; and S. costiferus sp. nov., from Andaraí regions. The new genus includes species of about 10 mm, elongated shell, reticulated protoconch, elongated peristome, and wide umbilicus. Both...

The osphradium is a molluscan olfactory organ of aquatic forms, located in the water entrance of the pallial cavity, usually in front of the gills. The structure is practically microscopic in most mollusks, but in gastropods the osphradium is macroscopic. Its morphological modifications are explored here, mainly focusing the phylogeny. It can be di...

The osphradium is a molluscan olfactory organ of aquatic forms, located in the water entrance of the pallial cavity, usually in front of the gills. The structure is practically microscopic in most mollusks, but in gastropods the osphradium is macroscopic. Its morphological modifications are explored here, mainly focusing the phylogeny. It can be di...

Phenotypic characters of the uncommon Dimya cf. japonica, based on a specimen from Niue Is. in the South Pacific, are reported to represent the enigmatic Dimyidae in a wide-ranging Bivalvia phylogenetic scenario. The main conclusion is that dimyids are placed between ostreoideans and pectinoideans. This is supported by five synapomorphies. Dimyids...

The terrestrial gastropod family Thysanophoridae is reported herein for the first time from Brazil. The new record stems from a 2015 survey in the Reserva Biológica de Pedra Talhada, a protected Atlantic Forest fragment in Alagoas state, in the northeastern part of the country. Only two empty juvenile shells were found, and the specimens can be ten...

The terrestrial gastropod family Thysanophoridae is reported herein for the first time from Brazil. The new record stems from a 2015 survey in the Reserva Biológica de Pedra Talhada, a protected Atlantic Forest fragment in Alagoas state, in the northeastern part of the country. Only two empty juvenile shells were found, and the specimens can be ten...

Stramonita brasiliensis Claremont & D. Reid, 2011 (family Muricidae) is an intertidal snail species reported from the southern Caribbean to Brazil, recently separated from the Stramonita haemastoma complex. We report here a specimen of S. brasiliensis that is much larger than the average size of 75 x 52 mm (Rios 2009, referred to as S. haemastoma)...

Thaisella mariae (Lange de Morretes, 1954) is a gastropod of the Muricidae family that is found in estuaries from the states of Bahia to Paraná, on Brazilian coast (Rios 2009). Its original description was based on 14 shells from the personal collection of the Brazilian malacologist Frederico Lange de Morretes (1892–1954) (lots CLM 122, 312, 453; a...

All Recent species of the American genus Macrocypraea are analyzed phylogenetically based on phenotypic features. The database was inserted in a wider phylogeny on Cypraeoidea previously published. The result is (((M. cervus (M. cervinetta (M. mammoth M. zebra))) Cypraea tigris) remaining Cypraeoidea). The monophyly of the genus us supported by fou...

Semele trindadis is a new species so far endemic to Trindade Island, a remote island in the northwestern South Atlantic Ocean. The study is based on 17 specimens, including 2 with soft parts. The main character of this species is strong concentric sculpture. The anatomy of a young specimen is described, and it shows typical semelid features, but th...

Two deep-sea species from southeast Brazil, originally assigned to different subgenera of Oli-vella, are anatomically described. Olivella (Olivina) klappenbachi and Olivella (Anasser) careorugula, both described by Absalão & Pimenta (2003), present typical Olivellinae anatomy, with internal absorp tion of the shell wall and a non-spiralized viscera...

The nominal species referred to the endemic southern South American genus Buccinanops are revised, clarifying the definition of Buccinanopsinae. All valid Recent species are redescribed based on type material and other specimens emphasizing anatomy and illustrated using SEM photographs of radulae, embryos, and shell ultrastructure. Only seven of 13...

Based on a series of papers dealing with detailed anatomy and phylogeny of several neo-gastropod representatives, a dichotomy between the Order Neogastropoda (28 synapomorphies) and its superfamilies is proposed and discussed herein. The suborder Toxoglossa (61 synapo-morphies) is suggested to include the Conoidea, mainly characterized by the devel...

A new species belonging to the hitherto monotypic genus Spiripockia Simone, 2012 of cave-dwelling freshwater gastropods is described. Spiripockia umbraticola sp. nov. is diagnosable by its more turriform beige to dark brown shell, less expanded body whorl and peristome, the teleoconch sculpture consisting of thorn-like triangular structures, the pr...

Megalobulimus dryades sp. nov. is described from the Atlantic Forest in the Vale do Ribeira region, in the states of Paraná and São Paulo, S-SE Brazil, based on morphology. Representatives of the new species with white peristome and glossy periostracum have been misidentified as Megalobulimus gummatus (Hidalgo, 1870) since the 19 th Century. The tr...

The prey of a recent described characid fish, so far endemic of the small lake Pratinha (Iraquara, Bahia, Brazil), a small (~2.5 mm) lentic gastropod, revealed to be a new (possible endemic) species. It is herein formally described as Heleobia brucutu sp. nov. The description includes anatomical features, revealing interesting idiosyncrasies such a...

Samples of terrestrial gastropods were collected year-round in seven caves in Presidente Olegário municipality, Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil, during several expeditions from 2012 to 2014. Twenty-four taxa (plus a single freshwater species), mainly stylommatophorans, were found in the material. The following species are reported for the f...

New collection efforts in the limestone caves of Parque Nacional Cavernas do Peruaçu, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, has brought to light specimens belonging to three orthalicoid land snail species previously unrecorded from that state: Kora nigra Simone, 2015 and Kora rupestris Salvador & Simone, 2016 (Bulimulidae), and Leiostracus subtuszonatus (Pil...

Collecting in Foz do Iguaçu National Park, Paraná, Brazil, an important tourist region with preserved rainforest, has revealed three micro-gastropod species which required morphological and taxonomic studies. One of them is a chilinid Chilina megastoma Hylton Scott, a member of a poorly studied group. Another two are new species of truncatelloid ca...

The molluscan fauna of southwestern Brazilian Amazon is poorly known due to the lack of focused collection efforts in the region since the early 20 th century. The present study provides an inventory of the terrestrial gastropods from a forest fragment in the eastern Acre state, Brazil: the Reserva Florestal Humaitá. Live specimens and empty shells...

Corbicula fluminea is an invasive clam originally from Asia that threatens the biodiversity of freshwater communities around the world. It has greatly expanded in Brazil since its first record. We report here the occurrence of C. flumineafrom Piauí state, Parnaíba river basin and, provide an assessment of its current distribution in Brazil. The com...

The pallial cavity is an important synapomorphy of the Mollusca, permitting delicate structures , as gills, being protected from environment elements and predation. It was modified along the molluscan evolution, being (1) posterior, the plesiomorphic state present currently only in both aplacophoran classes (Caudofoveata and Solenogastres), and in...

The aim of the study is to describe in detail, for the first time, the internal and external anatomy of Cyrtopleura costata, which displays ellipsoid and elongated valves with beige periostracum, the anterior adductor muscle unites the valves in the pre-umbonal region, with abduction capacity in its dorsal half, sparing the ligament. Two accessory...

Three new species of Cochliopidae collected in a warm spring in Central Brazil in Cha-pada dos Veadeiros, Goiás, are described, based on conchological and anatomical features. One of them belong to the new genus Atomicus, characterized by the minute size (less than 1 mm), discoid shell, and other anatomical features; the type species is A. inopinat...

Auris inornata is described based on samples from Guriri, São Mateus, Espírito Santo, Brazil. The new species is compared to its congeners, being mainly characterized by its small size and less sculptured shell. A brief discussion about all the species of the genus is also performed. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F26B9D94-B39C-4098-85D7-CBCF3246113A

Abstract. The purpose of this application, under Article 23.9.5 of the Code, is to conserve the specific name of Helix spirorbis Deshayes, 1859 (currently Scolodonta spirorbis), a junior primary homonym of Helix spirorbis Linnaeus, 1758 (currently Anisus spirorbis). These names are currently in use, respectively, for species in two different famili...

The tropical Indo-Pacific Turbo petholatus Linnaeus, 1758 is the type species of the genus Turbo. Its anatomical features are not completely known. As anatomical detail is important for the generic definition and differentiation from closely related taxa (such as Lunella), a detailed account of external and internal morphology of the species is pro...

The operculum is a larval structure that covers the shell’s aperture in gastropod lar-vae. It evolved to be maintained as an adult structure and has further modifications in sever-al gastropod branches. In the present paper, the evolution, modification, and anatomy of the operculum are explored. The operculum can be standardized in categories such...