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The land and fresh-water molluscs of Puerto Rico
Abstract
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56315/1/MP070.pdf
... The status of new occurrence was established by consulting the lists of the island's terrestrial snail inventories (Van der Schalie, 1948;Aguayo, 1961Aguayo, , 1966Grana Raffucci, 2007) as well as the naturalist databases documenting terrestrial molluscs in North America and the Caribbean (iNaturalist) or compiling the catalogues of natural history collections, including that of the University of Puerto Rico (iDigBio, GBIF). ...
... Six shells are identified as Bulimulus guadalupensis (Bruguière, 1789), a widespread species in the Caribbean region (e.g. Breure, 1974) and in Puerto Rico (Van der Schalie, 1948;Grana Raffucci, 2007) where it is reported since 19th century. The last specimen, the subject of this note, corresponds to a shell of Polygyra cereolus (Fig. 1). ...
... With a land area of approximately 9,000 km 2 , Puerto Rico is a large island that harbours a rich and diverse terrestrial molluscan fauna with more than 180 species and subspecies (Grana Raffucci, 2007). This fauna was mainly inventoried and described during the 19th century (Shuttleworth, 1854;Crosse, 1892) and the first part of the 20th century (Dall & Simpson, 1902;Van der Schalie, 1948). Knowledge have been enhanced by the contributions of Aguayo (1961Aguayo ( , 1966 and more recently by the works of Grana Raffucci (2007). ...
Polygyra cereolus (Megerle von Mühlfeld, 1816) is a small air-breathing snail originating in Florida, which is considered as an invasive species and is reported from a wide area in the south of the United States to Mexico and in some in some Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, Spain and the Arabian peninsula. Here we report the observation of this species in Puerto Rico.
... Caracolus caracolla and Nenia tridens are two land snails which are abundant, easy to identify, and easy to locate. Various aspects of the ecology of £. caracolla have been studied, including habitat associations and distribution (Van der Schalie, 1948;Alvarez and WiUig, 1993), behavior and natural history (Drewry, 1968), life history attributes , reproductive cycle (Marcos, 1992), homerange size and site fidelity , and immediate responses to Hurricane Hugo . Life history characteristics of N. ...
... tridens remain unstudied, however, ecological studies have included evaluating habitat associations (Alvarez, 1991;Alvarez and Willig, 1993), distiibution (Van der Schalie, 1948), and immediate response to Hurricane Hugo . ...
... 98). Van der Schalie (1948) summarizes the habitats as "subarboreal, mainly on shmbs and vines, almost never on rock faces, forests of east end, 0-2700 feet" (p. 98). ...
... The Streptaxidae Gray, 1860 family includes the Huttonella Pfeiffer, 1856 genus with Hutonella bicolor (Hutton, 1834) as its type species. However, various authors consider it to pertain to the genus Gulella Pfeiffer, 1856 (Vermeulen, 2007) and the subgenus Huttonella (Cowie, Texas in the USA (Auffenberg & Stange, 2001;Dundee, 1974;Dundee & Baerwald, 1984;Hermann et al., 1965;Schalie, 1948;Turgeon et al., 1988Turgeon et al., , 1998and Veracruz and Tabasco in Mexico (Correa-Sandoval, 1999;García et al., 2006). In Central America, it has been found at: Taboga Island, Panama (Pilsbry, 1926); and the old city of Panama (Pilsbry, 1926(Pilsbry, , 1930; and Nicaragua (López, 1999;Pérez & López, 2003;Pérez et al., 2008). ...
... The sites in South America are: Brazil (Pilsbry, 1926;Santos et al., 2008;Simone, 2013); French Guyana (Tillier, 1980) and Venezuela (Ojasti et al., 2001;Venmans, 1963). Presence has been observed in the Antilles-Caribbean at: Jamaica (Rosenberg & Muratov, 2006); Cuba (Aguayo, 1944;Fernández-Garcés, 2008;Maceira et al., 2013;Pilsbry, 1900Pilsbry, , 1926Sarasúa, 1944); Puerto Rico (Schalie, 1948); Trinidad Tobago, Grenada, Saint Thomas (Dundee, 1970(Dundee, , 1974Pérez & López, 2003;Pilsbry, 1900;Tryon, 1885); Dominica (Robinson et al., 2009) and Guadalupe (Bouchet & Pointier, 2003in Santos et al., 2008. Distribution includes other regions such as: Africa; the Indo-Pacific (Cole & Herbert, 2009;Herbert & Rowson, 2011;; Australia (Stanisic, 1981); Borneo, Southeastern Asia (Vermeulen, 2007); Southwestern China (Yen, 1939); the Philippines (Van Benthem Jutting, 1950); India (Ramakrishna & Mitra, 2010;Tryon, 1885;Van Benthem Jutting, 1961); Burma, Cochin China (Southern Vietnam), the Indian Archipelago, China, New Caledonia (Tryon, 1885); Africa, South and East Asia, the West Indies (Van Benthem Jutting, 1950); Seychelles Islands, Indian Ocean (Gerlach & Bruggen, 1999;Tryon, 1885); Japan (Azuma, 1982); Kenya (Clench, 1964); Malaysia (Van Benthem Jutting, 1961); Singapur, Central Asia (Ho, 1995;Van Benthem Jutting, 1961); Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Blanford & Godwin-Austen, 1908); Thailand (Chaijirawowg et al., 2008), Nepal (Budha et al., 2015) and the Society Islands, French Polynesia (Christensen & Kahn, 2017). ...
Un ejemplar de Huttonella bicolor = Gulella bicolor (Hutton, 1834) fue capturado en suelo limoarenoso en Tabasco, México; el cual constituye el segundo registro para el estado y el tercero para México. Este pequeño gasterópodo es un depredador que se ha extendido como especie exótica en regiones preferentemente tropicales e insulares; destaca su introducción en islas de Asia y del Caribe. La concha tiene forma de pupa con lamelas o dientes en la abertura. Se comparó con la descripción de la especie. La distribución de la especie en México se extiende a los estados de Veracruz y en Tabasco, lo cual confirma el avance en su distribución a lo largo de la costa del Golfo de México de los Estados Unidos hasta Brasil. Las características de este estreptaxcido en cuanto al riesgo a través del tipo de presa preferida son discutidas.
... Posteriormente, cada lote fue examinado en el laboratorio con un estereoscopio American Optical Corp., modelo 40, con aumentos de 15x y 30x, para separar y determinar las especies presentes con ayuda de manuales de la biblioteca del UCACM (Tate, 1869;Fischer & Crosse, 1878;Pilsbry, 1894;Martens, 1898Martens, y 1890Martens, /1901Baker, 1930Baker, y 1939Schalie, 1948;Wenz & Zilch, 1959y 1960Burch, 1962Burch, y 1989Jacobson, 1965Jacobson, y 1968Breure, 1979). Algunos especímenes se lograron determinar con ayuda de especialistas en los museos de Estados Unidos: National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington; Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, California; State Museum, University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida y Iowa State University. ...
... Una característica de este caracol es la gran variedad de su escultura y ornamentación, siendo algunos ejemplares totalmente lisos mientras que otros desarrollan estrías, cóstulas o coronaciones fuertemente marcadas dando lugar a confusión entre autores y como consecuencia a 6 taxones para esta especie. Otras especies del mismo género también muestran estas variaciones (Thompson, 1968), lo que ha suscitado discusiones acerca de su origen, entre otros atribuido a la alcalinidad del agua o a presencia algal (Schalie, 1948). En Apoyo el agua es fuertemente alcalina, pero la mayoría de ejemplares son lisos, lo que parece negar que sea esta calidad la que provoca escultura nodulosa. ...
Resumen
Debido a su importancia científica y social, en Apoyo se han hecho algunos estudios sobre su valor biológico, entre los que destaca el último hecho por AMICTLAN en 2007 sobre la biodiversidad malacológica, aunque de forma parcial. Los estudios que la UCA ha hecho sobre este particular a lo largo de los años superan los resultados de AMICTLAN y el presente artículo los resume en un listado de 77 especies de moluscos (que incluyen cinco nuevas especies para la ciencia) distribuidas en 25 familias y 42 géneros, y ordenadas en dos tablas. Una de ellas contiene las especies en orden de cantidad de lotes y la otra contiene los mismos lotes pero en orden alfabético de familia, todo ello preservado en la colección del Centro Malacológico de la UCA.
Abstracts
Due to Apoyo Lagoon’s scientific and social importance, some studies have been conducted about its biological significance. Among them, of great relevance – although of partial coverage – is the latest one developed by AMICTLAN in 2007 about its malacological diversity. The studies conducted by UCA about this matter along several years of study surpass AMICTLAN’s results. This article summarizes these results in a list of 77 species of molluscs (including five new species), distributed in 25 families and 42 genres, and organized in two tables. One of them contains the species in order of quantity of batches, and the other one contains the same batches organized by families in alphabetical order. All of this is preserved in the collection of UCA’s Centro Malacológico.
... Posteriormente, cada lote fue examinado en el laboratorio con un estereoscopio American Optical Corp., modelo 40, con aumentos de 15x y 30x, para separar y determinar las especies presentes con ayuda de manuales de la biblioteca del UCACM (Tate, 1869;Fischer & Crosse, 1878;Pilsbry, 1894;Martens, 1898Martens, y 1890Martens, /1901Baker, 1930Baker, y 1939Schalie, 1948;Wenz & Zilch, 1959y 1960Burch, 1962Burch, y 1989Jacobson, 1965Jacobson, y 1968Breure, 1979). Algunos especímenes se lograron determinar con ayuda de especialistas en los museos de Estados Unidos: National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington; Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, California; State Museum, University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida y Iowa State University. ...
... Una característica de este caracol es la gran variedad de su escultura y ornamentación, siendo algunos ejemplares totalmente lisos mientras que otros desarrollan estrías, cóstulas o coronaciones fuertemente marcadas dando lugar a confusión entre autores y como consecuencia a 6 taxones para esta especie. Otras especies del mismo género también muestran estas variaciones (Thompson, 1968), lo que ha suscitado discusiones acerca de su origen, entre otros atribuido a la alcalinidad del agua o a presencia algal (Schalie, 1948). En Apoyo el agua es fuertemente alcalina, pero la mayoría de ejemplares son lisos, lo que parece negar que sea esta calidad la que provoca escultura nodulosa. ...
Debido a su importancia científica y social, en Apoyo se han hecho algunos estudios sobre su valor biológico, entre los que destaca el último hecho por AMICTLAN en 2007 sobre la biodiversidad malacológica, aunque de forma parcial. Los estudios que la UCA ha hecho sobre este particular a lo largo de los años superan los resultados de AMICTLAN y el presente artículo los resume en un listado de 77 especies de moluscos (que incluyen cinco nuevas especies para la ciencia) distribuidas en 25 familias y 42 géneros, y ordenadas en dos tablas. Una de ellas contiene las especies en orden de cantidad de lotes y la otra contiene los mismos lotes pero en orden alfabético de familia, todo ello preservado en la colección del Centro Malacológico de la UCA.
... H. umbonata is a common Puerto Rican snail that has long been familiar to malacologists. Its shell was figured twice (Wagner 1911, van , der Schalie 1948, and it is well represented in museum collections. On no 8 occasion has it been misidentified in the literature, nor has any other species been mistaken for it. ...
The umbonata species group is placed in Helicina (s.s.) because 6f characteristics of the radula and embryonic shell sculpture, The group consists of five taxa: H. u. umbonata Shuttleworth, H. u. pitheca, new subspecies, H. liobasis new species, H. dominicensis Pfeiffer, and H. rhips new species. The latter three species occur on Hispaniola, H. u. umbonata on Puerto Rico, and H. u. pitheca on Mona Island. Foraging specialization and habitat selection are discussed as the basis for evolution within the Helicinidae.
... This snail is polyphagous feeding on a wide variety of host plants. In Puerto Rico this is one of the most abundant and widespread of the large land snails (Van Der Schalie, 1948) and is considered an important pest, affecting home gardens and garden centers (Robinson, 2007). In its native habitat this snail can often be found aggregating in large numbers on various trees and occasionally in densities of hundreds per acre (Muñ oz, 2007). ...
Interception records for three exotic snail species are presented. Granodomus lima (Férussac), Caracolus caracolla (L.) and Bulimulus guadalupensis (Bruguiére) were intercepted on crushed vehicles entering Florida by barge from Puerto Rico. Other alternate pathways for the introduction of mollusks are discussed.
... Snails are another major component of the invertebrate fauna of the Puerto Rican rain forests (Van Der Schalie 1948). The tree-snails of the family Camaenidae are the most dominant gastropods in the LEF (Heatwole & Heatwole 1978). ...
Although the importance of disturbance regimes in affecting ecosystem structure and function is becoming an accepted paradigm in ecology, the consequences of catastrophic events are poorly understood. On 18 September 1787 Hurricane Hugo struck Puerto Rico, with the center of the hurricane passing within ten kilometers of the Luquillo Experimental Forest. This provided a rare opportunity to document direct and indirect effects of a natural disturbance of high intensity, large scale, but low frequency on selected aspects of animal ecology. The densities and spatial distributions of six species of common invertebrates (four snails, Caracolus caracolla, Polydontes acutangula, Nenia tridens, and Gaeotis nigrolineata, and two walking sticks, Lamponius portoricensis and Agamemnon iphimedeia) in the tabonuco rain forest were estimated before and after the hurricane. Circular quadrats (radius = 5 m; area = 78.54 m2) were established at each of 40 points in the Bisley watersheds. Numbers of individuals of each species were counted during nighttime surveys and densities were compared before and after the hurricane via paired t-tests. Both species of walking stick and three of the four species of snail exhibited statistically significant reductions in density after the hurricane. Densities of N, tridens, G, nigrolineata, and A. iphimedeia were reduced to the point that no specimens were detected in posthurricane surveys. In fact, all species of invertebrates were so rare after the hurricane that comparisons of spatial distribution were only possible for C, caracolla, and its distribution was significantly less clumped after Hurricane Hugo (G-test). At the Bisley watersheds, all size categories of C, caracolla suffered similar reductions in density; no significant alteration in size distribution was detected after the hurricane (G-test).
The fauna consists of 24 species and subspecies. Nine taxa are endemic to the island, four are related to species on Puerto Rico, and three are related to species on Hispaniola. The biogeographic relationships of two are less clear. Thirteen species are regarded as introduced. The remaining nonendemic native species show mixed affinities with Puerto Rican and Hispaniolan taxa. The following new taxa are described from Mona Island: Stoastomops grada new species, Varicella (Sigmataxis) nesiotes new species, Microceramus stenegrus new species, Hojeda insularis eurytrema new subspecies, and Plagioptycha musicola fortisculpta new subspecies. Hojeda i. insularis new species is described from the satellite island of Monita. The following is a new name combination: Drymaeus virgulatus beattyi for D. elongatus beattyi Clench.
The superfamily Orthalicoidea comprises approximately 2,000 species of terrestrial gastropods, mostly concentrated in the Neotropics but also present in southern Africa and Oceania. We provide a multi-marker molecular phylogeny of this superfamily, reassessing its family- and genus-level classification. We exclude two families from the group, Odontostomidae and Vidaliellidae, transferring them to Rhytidoidea based on their phylogenetic relationships as recovered herein. Two new families are recognized herein as members of Orthalicoidea, Tomogeridae and Cyclodontinidae fam. nov. The family Megaspiridae and the subfamily Prestonellinae are paraphyletic but are retained herein for taxonomic stability. The subfamily Placostylinae is synonymized with Bothriembryontinae. The new genera Alterorhinus gen. nov. and Sanniostracus gen. nov. containing some Brazilian species are described here to better reflect the phylogeny. The fossil record and paleobiogeographic history of the group is explored under the new phylogenetic framework.
The land snail species Drymaeus virgulatus (Férussac, 1821) is recorded in St. Kitts in the form of 21 complete or fragmented shells collected on the island in November 2019. The complete shells were collected on the backshores of South Frigate Bay and Majors Bay, while shell fragments come from naturally exposed sections of the North Frigate Bay sand ridge, where they date to the pre-Columbian period. This evidence therefore attests to the past presence of this species on the island. The absence of this taxon from recent malacological surveys points to it having been extirpated from St. Kitts. Apertural fragments of a large bulimulidae collected in the caves of Tintamarre Island, near St. Martin, are also related to this taxon, adding a second West Indian island from which this species apparently disappeared in recent centuries.
The use of quantitative invertebrate community indices to monitor inland water quality is widespread. However, this approach is rare for the Caribbean, where the dominant animal groups are substantially different from those in continental waters and surface water availability is strongly influenced by seasonality. For the United States Virgin Islands, these limitations are amplified by a general lack of biodiversity data on non-marine aquatic environments. To begin bridging this knowledge gap, we surveyed 41 inland aquatic sites on the island of St. Thomas and adjacent Water Island and Saba Island. Samples were obtained from lotic and lentic habitats, phytotelmata, rural and urban areas, and natural and anthropogenic settings. Out of 118 taxa across 591 records, 46% were first records for the islands sampled, with 23.4% of these being new to the US Virgin Islands territory. Shrimps and snails dominated lotic environments taxonomically, whereas insects dominated lentic environments and phytotelmata. Two confirmed undescribed species were encountered, but this is likely underestimated given the large number of juveniles encountered for some insect groups and the need for a taxonomic revision of multiple genera. The most common and widespread species was the invasive snail Melanoides tuberculata. When sampling periods or multiple samples from the same site were compared, only a 36–42% similarity was found, suggesting a much higher biodiversity than currently appreciated for these seasonally fluctuating habitats. Deep knowledge of inland aquatic biodiversity is necessary to establish baselines to assess watershed health and develop management and conservation plans in the US Virgin Islands, which in turn may be applied to other Caribbean islands.
The annotated checklist on the extant terrestrial mollusks from Hispaniola Island based on literature from 1758 to 2020 is here presented. We report 612 taxa distributed in three subclasses, 129 genera and 39 families. The most representative families are Annulariidae with 26 genera and 233 species, and Urocoptidae with 14 genera and 104, respectively. As more information is produced from the different families reported, these numbers can vary considerably.
This paper gives a critical checklist of terrestrial and freshwater molluscs from St. Martin/Saint Martin, Anguila and St. Barts. Both authors have been visiting the islands a few times and collected there. Also the collection of P. Wagenaar Hummelinck is used for this study.
Diplostomum ardeae Dubois, 1969 has seldom been reported since its description from the great blue heron (Ardea herodias L., 1758) in the USA. Sequences obtained in this study from the barcode region of cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) in diplostomids from black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax (L., 1758)) in Puerto Rico matched data from D. ardeae from A. herodias in the type region. We also obtained DNA barcodes from morphologically similar diplostomids from a rufescent tiger heron (Tigrisoma lineatum (Boddaert, 1783)) and from metacercariae from eye lenses of Trachelyopterus galeatus (Linnaeus, 1766) from the Paraná River basin in Argentina and Brazil, respectively. Barcodes matched (97–100% identity) in these South American adult and larval specimens as well as in recently published sequences from metacercariae from 11 other siluriform fishes from the same region. Barcodes from the South American species, which we describe as Diplostomum lunaschiae n. sp., differed from those of D. ardeae by 7.2–9.8%, and the new species differs from D. ardeae in its size, pharynx:oral sucker length ratio, egg:body length ratio, and distribution of vitellaria. As in prior phylogenetic analysis of CO1 sequences, both D. ardeae and D. lunaschiae n. sp. were not associated with Diplostomum. In more character-rich analyses of nuclear rDNA and of mitochondrial genomes, D. ardeae was an early divergent member of clades of species of Diplostomum. Consequently, we continue to consider D. ardeae and D. lunaschiae n. sp. members of Diplostomum, in contrast to recent suggestions that these species may belong to a different genus.
The present study describes the composition of the mollusk community in various streams of Providence, and the dynamic of these during three hydrological periods. Three sampling were carried in five streams of the island, where the mollusk were collected. Indexes and community descriptors were calculated, the species dynamic with the seasonality were described and microhabitat preferences were established. Five species of freshwater mollusk, four of which were not reported for the island before, were found. The seasonal dynamic of community showed a population increase in all species, except for one, during the rainy season, and an increase in equity values. Boulders and roots microhabitats were the most remarkable, and it was found that sites with the greatest number of available microhabitats have more mollusk abundance.
La malacofaune terrestre de Guadeloupe a fait l’objet
de peu d’études récentes. Après un rappel des travaux conduits
au cours des XIXe et XXe siècles, je présente les premiers résultats
de prospections menées en 2014-2015, permettant de
reconnaître la présence d’au moins 73 taxons dans l’archipel.
J’aborde les grandes lignes de la diversité spécifique rencontrée
au sein des îles de Guadeloupe, et fais un point sur les espèces
endémiques, retrouvées et introduites récemment //
Guadeloupe malacofauna has been subject to very
few studies. After a short reminder of the 19th and 20th
centuries studies, I present the first results of the field work
undertaken in 2014 and 2015, that lead to recognize at least 73
taxa in the archipelago. I present the main facts on the specific
diversity encountered in Guadeloupe and assess endemic,
rediscovered and recently introduced species.
Glyphyalus quillensis spec. nov. is described from the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius (Lesser Antilles). On
the basis of similarities in shell and radula morphology geographic distribution of the known species, and low similarity with the known CO1 sequences of North American and Palearctic Perpolita species, the new species is tentatively attributed to Glyphyalus, which we consider an independent genus, rather than a subgenus of Glyphyalinia. Glyphyalus quillensis spec. nov. appears to be confined to the upper slopes and crater of The Quill volcano, a protected nature reserve with remnants of the original vegetation cover. The species is therefore potentially of conservation value.
In this thesis, I comprehensively assess the systematics, ecology, and distribution of the terrestrial and freshwater mollusks (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Montserrat, a small volcanic island in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean Lesser Antilles. This is the first systematic evaluation of Montserrat’s terrestrial and freshwater mollusk biodiversity, and treats virtually all known historically collected material from the island––approximately 450 specimens in 61 lots––from seven major museum collections, in addition to specimens I collected during three recent zoological surveys of the island. I provide annotated systematic accounts and photographic illustrations for 40 species of nonmarine mollusk (29 terrestrial and 11 freshwater), 25 of which are reported from Montserrat for the first time here. In addition to the main discussion of the taxonomy, ecology, local and regional distribution, anatomy, and behavior of the animals treated in this work, I provide a complete historical review of the scientific study and collection of Montserrat’s non-marine mollusks from 1875 to the present.
The life history of Lymnaea columella was studied under laboratory conditions at Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The snail matured in 21 to 23 days after hatching, when shell length was 5 to 6 mm. A culture box 27 X 21 X 11 cm. provided adequate space for a colony of 20 adult specimens. A mature snail raised individually produced an average of 20 eggs daily. The incubation period of the eggs at 26° to 28° C. varied from 10 to 13 days with 98 to 100 percent hatchability. Both eggs and adult snails were highly sensitive to desiccation; not so young snails. To test the behavior of L. columella under stress of infection with Fasciola hepatica, adult specimens were exposed to a variable number of miracidia. These were obtained by cultivation of eggs from the gall-bladder of infected cattle. The miracidia hatched in 10 to 13 days at 26° to 28° C. and did not live more than 3 1/2 hours. Snails receiving 2 to 4 miracidia tolerated the infection well with low mortality but died within 2 to 6 days after cercariae started emerging. Specimens receiving four to six miracidia were able to survive but the mortality rate was high. Inocula of 10 to 16 miracidia caused early death of the snail. The cercariae, released from the snail in 57 to 60 days after infection encysted within 15 to 20 minutes to become metacercariae. Mice tolerated infection with one metacercaria; rats, with five metacercariae. Eggs first were observed in feces at 31 and 51 days post-exposure in mice and rats respectively.
Based on the literature and own observations a checklist is provided with 27 species of land- and freshwater snails that may occur on Saba, a Dutch island in the Lesser Antilles. Nine species are recorded for the first time from Saba.
The article is in Dutch language.
This is the very first checklist of the terrestrial gastropods of Nepal. It includes 138 species and six subspecies, of which 22 species are endemic and four are introduced. It highlights 34 species recorded for the first time in Nepal and provides new distribution records for another 30 species.
Seventy-eight species of free-living invertebrates are known to inhabit caves in Puerto Rico. Of the 52 determined species, 23 are also known from the American mainland, 6 are West Indian, and 23 are endemic to Puerto Rico. Sixteen of the endemics are known from non-cave habitats, while the non-endemic species are usually known associated with caves in other parts of their range. Ninety percent of the total fauna is troglophilic, with only two definitely troglobitic species known. In feeding habits, the fauna is composed of 55 percent guano scavengers, detritivores, and herbivores, and 45 percent predators. Most, if not all the fauna, including the troglobites, probably has a short history of association with Puerto Rican cave habitats dating only since the Pleistocene. The species make-up of the troglophilic component of the community is dynamic and liable to change, even over short time spans, and hence can serve as an experimental system for the study of principals of island zoogeography.
The Kishenehn Formation of northwest Montana and southeast British Columbia hosts one of the most prolific and diverse assemblages of fossil nonmarine mollusks in North America. More than 76 taxa, of which 41 are newly described species, of middle Eocene to early Miocene terrestrial and aquatic gastropods have been collected and described. This paper reports on the discoveries made in the oldest part of the formation that is middle Eocene in age in the southernmost part of the Kishenehn Basin. Outcrops along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River from this area have yielded over 1400 specimens from which 62 taxa (37 terrestrial, 25 aquatic) were identified. Of these, eight are new species and nine were described elsewhere but were not previously reported in the formation. In terms of paleoenvironmental affinities, the fauna are divisible into three groups. Group I is a relict tropical wet fauna, existing in basinal waterways whose modern analogs live in the Caribbean and Central and South America. Group II is a subtropical, semi-arid fauna with modern analogs ranging from the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico, across the southern United States and northern Mexico to southern California and the Baja Peninsula. Group III is a humid, warm temperate fauna that was transported from mountains east of the basin and deposited in fan-delta and lake-margin settings. Modern analogs of these molluscan taxa are common in the east-central United States. The unusual coexistence of these climatically disparate groups of fossil mollusks is a manifestation of the large paleotopographic relief, perhaps greater than 2000 m, that existed between the valley floor and the mountains.
Elevational variation in the Luquillo Mountains creates strong environmental gradients that affect the abundance and distribution of species. Moreover, the geographic mappings of these environmental gradients will likely shift as a consequence of global climate change, subsequently altering patterns of biodiversity. Because they are taxonomically diverse, numerically abundant, responsive to anthropogenic and natural disturbances, and potentially keystone
heterotrophs (detritivores, herbivores, and carnivores), terrestrial gastropods represent a model taxon for exploring variation in biodiversity. As a consequence, we synthesize extant knowledge and execute new analyses to explore spatial and environmental variation in multiple aspects of gastropod biodiversity at the population (total abundance as well as abundance of each of 14 species), community (richness, evenness, dominance, rarity, diversity), and metacommunity levels. Mean elevational range size of species increased with increasing elevation, but provided only weak
support for the elevational extension of Rapoport’s rule. The abundances of most species varied with elevation, and did so in a consistent manner along mixed forest (tabonuco – palo colorado – elfin forest) and palm forest transects. Similarly, community level aspects of biodiversity varied with elevation in a consistent manner in both mixed forest and palm forest transects. Moreover, variation among sites in species composition was similar regardless of whether the ordination was based on incidence (i.e. presence versus absence of species) or abundance (double square root
transformed density). This was true for the mixed forest as well as for the palm forest transects. In addition, variation among sites in composition was correlated with elevation. Finally, based on analyses of coherence, range turnover, and boundary clumping, metacommunity structure along the mixed forest transect was Clementsian, whereas along the palm forest transect it was quasi-Gleasonian. Population- and community-level attributes of biodiversity changed gradually, and paralleled variation in total gastropod abundance and net primary productivity in general. Similar mechanisms (more individuals hypothesis or passive sampling) explain both elevational variation and the differences between mixed forest and palm forest transects. Moreover, the higher abundances of gastropods in palm-dominated forest patches is a likely mechanism contributing to differences between metacommunity organization in the mixed forest and palm forest transects.
Moluscos terrestres exóticos y primera cita de la familia Punctidae (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Gastropoda) y de su especie Paralaoma servilis para Cuba ABSTRACT. Checklists of 52 exotic land molluscs for Cuba and eight native Cuban land snail occurring in others countries are presented. The first record of the micromollusc Paralaoma servilis (Shuttleworth, 1852) and its family Punctidae from Cuba is also added.
The Kishenehn Basin is a narrow, asymmetric graben, developed during an episode of crustal extension occurring from middle Eocene to early Miocene time (ca. 49-20 Ma). The Flathead listric normal fault system defines the northeast margin of the basin. The southwest margin is either bounded by antithetic normal faults or is onlapped by Kishenehn Basin strata. High rates of basin subsidence and synextensional sedimentation resulted in an immense thickness of middle Eocene-early Miocene strata (stratigraphic thickness, ∼ 5000 m) and a relatively uninterupted depositional record. Provenance and paleocurrent studies indicate that the ancestral Livingston, Lewis, and Clark ranges to the east contributed not only vast amounts of detritus to the Basin, but also ample runoff that included seasonal snow-melt. Sediment ages of outcrops within the basin are linearly banded, with the course of the Flathead River exposing late Eocene-early Oligocene sediments (Chadronian-Orellan NALMA's), and with the oldest sediments on the southwest and youngest on the east margins of the basin, respectively. An unnamed tephra at the north end of the basin provides a date of 33.0±1.0 Ma (early Oligocene, Orellan NALMA). The molluscan fauna is extremely diverse, 55 taxa (35 terrestrial, 20 aquatic), of which 32 taxa are new, and seven are revised taxonomically. This fauna is clearly divisible into three Groups. Group I is a relict tropical wet fauna, existing along waterways in the sheltered environment of the basin. It may typify the pre-middle Eocene (early Duchesnean NALMA) tropical climate of the Western Interior of North America. Modern analogs of these taxa are found in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Group II is a semitropical, semiarid fauna that developed after the climatic changes of the middle Eocene. Modern analogs are found in a band from the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico across the southern United States and northern Mexico to Southern and Baja California. Essentially 100% of the Group I and II analog taxa are now extra-limital, displaced to the south. Group III taxa developed in uplands along the east margin of the basin. Modern analogs of these taxa are common in the east-central United States. The coexistence of these climatically disparate groups of mollusks is a reflection of the large paleotopographic relief that existed between the basin floor and the eastern mountain peaks, which rose at least 2,000 meters above the basin floor and permitted microclimates that varied from arid subtropical in the basin to humid temperate in the uplands. At the older localities. Group III taxa were, probably, transported into the basin by run-off from the mountains, but during the climatic cooling of the latest Eocene-early Oligocene, Groups 1 and II taxa were replaced by Group III taxa in the low-lands. Group III analog taxa are 87% endemic, although their modern centers of distribution are displaced eastward into an area of greater precipitation. The following taxa are described herein as new: Bivalvia: Veneroidea: Sphaeridae- Sphaerium discus. Gastropoda: Archaeogastropoda: Ceresidae- Tozerpina buttsi parva, T. lentis; Helicinidae- Lucidella salishora, L. columbiana; Mesogastropoda: Hydrobiidae- Tryonia russelli, Cincinatia? bowmanana, Fluminicola calderense; Valvatidae- Valvata procera spatiosa; Basommatophora: Planorbidae- Helisoma triangulata, Planorbella fordensis, Biomphalaria spira, Menetus textus, Menetus hilli; Lymnaeidae- Lymnaea bowmanana, L. lacerta: Stylommatophora: Succineidae- Oxyloma? kintlana, Omalonyx cocleare: Pupillidae- Pupoides costatus, Gastrocopta kintlana, G. akokala, Vertigo consteniusi, V. doliara, V. micra; Valloniidae- Vallonia kootenayorum; Urocoptidae- Holospira tabrumi, H. beardi, Coelostemma dawsonae; Polygyridae- Praticolella lucifera, Ashmunella(?) sp.; Oreoheticidac- Oreohelix dawsonae, Radiocentrum kintlana; Humboldtianidae- Skinnerelix rothi; Helminthoglyptidae- Xeranionta constenii. The following constitute new taxonomic combinations: Tozerpina "Triodopsis" buttsi (Russell, 1956), Omalonyx "Binneya" antiqua (Russell, 1956), Haplotrema "Anguispira" simplex (Russell, 1956), Lymnaea "Stagnicola" newmarchi (Russell, 1952), Biomphalaria "Planorbis" kishenensis (Russell, 1952), Valvata "Gyraulus" procera (Russell, 1952).
The study of the urocoptid collection housed at the Mahon Atheneum has enabled the identification of 20 genera and 29 species from Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, of which a complete iconographic catalog is presented. For one of the lots (Aten-256), the original identification was erroneous. It has not been possible to locate the specimens originally attributed to Cylindrella brooksiana (Aten-252), currently Brachypodella (Gyraxis) brooksiana. This work represents the third partial taxonomic update of the historical malacological collections housed in Menorca, and the first one which relates to a group of terrestrial pulmonates.
The family Ancylidae is represented in South America by the genera: Gundlachia Pfeiffer, 1849, Ferrissia Walker, 1903, Burnupia Walker, 1912 and Laevapex Walker, 1903. The species are caracterized using the combination of shell features and radula by scanning electron microscope, shell muscle and mantle pigmentation. The conchometry is also presented, but it does not help to species identification. The distribution of G. crequi (Bavay, 1904), G. foncki (Philippi, 1866), G. philippiana (Biese, 1948), G. obliqua (Broderip & Sowerby, 1832), G. moricandi (Orbigny, 1837), G. concentrica (Orbigny, 1835), G. radiata (Guilding, 1828), G bakeri Pilsbry, 1913, G ticaga (Marcus & Marcus, 1962), F. gentilis Lanzer, 1991, B. ingae Lanzer, 1991, L. vazi Santos, 1989 and Laevapex sp. in the Neotropical region is based on the bibliography, examination of the material deposited in scientific institutions and in the author's collection.
The isolated western Atlantic island group of Bermuda provides a model case for the development of an island snail fauna. A unique combination of factors, such as an excellent Pleistocene fossil record, late (and precisely dated) human colonization, and extensive historic collecting and documentation efforts (last published in 1926), provide the background for this study. New field collecting, a survey of museum collections, and a critical review of published and unpublished information (resulting in several synonymies and reinterpretations of previously assumed endemics), were used to determine the presence and range of all terrestrial mollusks on Bermuda. At least 49 species of snails and slugs from 22 families are now known from Bermuda, including 11 endemic, 6 native non-endemic, 28 accidentally introduced and 4 intentionally introduced species. Starting in 1958, several exotic predatory snails including Gonaxis quadrilateralis and Euglandina rosea were released in ill-advised attempts at biologically controlling the accidentally introduced snail species Otala lactea and Rumina decollata. Euglandina rosea is implicated in the extinction of several land snails native to the Pacific islands where it was also introduced. In Bermuda, densities of the three extant species in the endemic land snail genus Poecilozonites have been reported declining since the early 1960s and the group now appears to be nearly extinct. Individuals (or fresh shells) of two Poecilozonites species (P. circumfirmatus and P. bermudensis) were found although neither is common. This faunal survey finds E. rosea spread from its original release sites and generally distributed on the larger islands of Bermuda, with the possible exception of the southeastern corner of the main island. Gonaxis is beginning to spread beyond its release area. Several endemic and native non-endemic species including P. reinianus, Vertigo marki, V. bermudensis, and Strobilops hubbardi have only been found in the southeastern portion of the main island near caves and remnant native vegetation. The present study records three species new to Bermuda, Tomatellides sp., Streptostele musaecola, and Opeas hannense. Zonitoides bermudensis, previously recorded as an endemic species, is here synonymized with Z. arboreus and is recognized as a species introduced through human commerce. Gastrocopta barbadensis crassilabris is synonymized with G. pellucida, and recognized as a native non-endemic species. Strobilops pilsbryi, described as a species endemic to Bermuda, is synonymized with S. hubbardi. Pupisoma macneilli, Punctum bristoli, and Striatura meridionalis, previously known from Pleistocene fossils, are here recorded as members of Bermuda's extant fauna for the first time.
A bibliography of over 800 publications lists major works on marine, land and freshwater mollusks, both Recent and fossil, occurring in the Caribbean Sea, its islands, and the bordering regions of Central and South America. Emphasis is placed on papers dealing with zoogeography and/or taxonomy, intended as an introduction to the molluscan fauna of this geographic area. A geographic index is provided.
The following new taxa are described: Drymaeus ( Drymaeus) cleefi, Drymaeus (Drymaeus) palassus and Drymaeus (Drymaeus) yapacanensis. The variation in the size of the sculpture of the protoconch is analyzed and two groups, which roughly correspond to the subgenera Drymaeus and Mesembrinus, are distinguished. Furthermore the variation in the mandibula and radula of 46 species is analyzed. Anatomical data are presented for 52 species and four species are redescribed.
Snail size-frequency distributions in Rios Espiritu Santo and Mameyes, which drain the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, showed that Neritina punctulata with shell lengths greater than 30 mm were the most abundant size class at upstream sites. The highest densities for all size classes were at the downstream sites. Growth rates were 0.015 mm/day for a large cohort (∼25 mm shell length) and 0.035 mm/day for a small (∼15 mm shell length). Minimum longevity estimates range from 3 to 7 years. Size distribution data suggest that snails migrate upstream. An August mark-recapture study resulted in most snails remaining at the release site, and some moved downstream. The greatest upstream distance reached was 200 m in 12 weeks. In a May mark-recapture study, when snails were observed moving in aggregations, the greatest distance moved was 200 m in 27 days, suggesting seasonality in movements and reproduction. Movement rates of snails in aggregates in May were between 0.08 and 0.17 cm/s. All of the snails marked in May moved upstream, and none were observed downstream from, or at the release site. We suggest that upstream movements can be explained by snails avoiding increased predation in the downstream reaches of these rivers from fishes, crustaceans, and birds.
The high biodiversity level in Costa Rica reflects a complex topography as well as species input from South and North America, including the Caribbean. However, terrestrial malacofauna is not very diverse when compared with other groups such as insects. A possible cause is the scarcity of soil rich in calcium carbonate. Endemism is 31% in terrestrial species and 8% in freshwater species. A total of 233 species and subspecies have been reported from the country (50 freshwater and 183 terrestrial). Dangerous influences for the continental mol- lusks include water pollution, deforestation and the destruction of calcium-rich habitats (they have no legal pro- tection). I recommend the protection of calcium-rich soil still covered by forest, wetlands, sites with high abun- dance or biodiversity, and mountain forests (especially those over 1500 m of altitude). Taxonomic and ecologic studies are the priority for conservation biology of the Costa Rican mollusks.
Although the malacological collection of the Natural History Museum Berlin (ZMB) was long assumed to be lost it houses a rich collection of types of the operculate land snail family Helicinidae. With types of 98 neotropical nominal taxa and of a significant amount of other material and taxa from elsewhere the ZMB collection it actually among the most important holdings of Helicinidae worldwide. Here we present a comprehensive list of all types from the Neotropics mainly from the collection of and originally described by Ludwig (”Louis”) Pfeiffer (1805–1877), who essentially used material collected by Johann Gundlach (1810–1896) on Cuba, as well as material described by Antoni Wagner (1860–1928), with some additions from other malacologists such as Eduard von Martens (1831–1904) and Felipe Poey (1796–1891). Following an account of the general history of the helicinid collection housed today in the ZMB, including brief accounts on the biographical background of its collectors and contributors, the present annotated catalogue discusses the nomenclature, taxonomy and history of the specimens, including type locality, type material and its status. The majority of taxa represented in the ZMB was named by Ludwig Pfeiffer (a total of 38 taxa) and Antoni Wagner (26 taxa). Since these two main authors of taxa represented in the ZMB collection were the world specialists for Helicinidae at their time, the collection of types does not have any specific focus either on certain systematic groups or areas of distribution, with the exception that rich material is present from Cuba due to the considerable amount of material once received from Johann Gundlach. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A fossil land snail from the Oligocene White River Group of Nebraska is described as Caracolus aquilonaris sp nov. Living members of the genus Caracolus occur in tropical forest on the islands of the Greater Antilles. It is likely that C. aquilonaris occupied a similar habitat and that the present restricted occurrence of the genus Caracolus is a fragment of a previously wider range. The American carnaenid genera Pleurodonte, Polydontes and Zachrysia form a well defined monophyletic group, but there is an unresolved trichotomy involving this group, Labyrinthus and Caracolus. Well characterized fossil camaenids assigned to Pleurodonte (Jamaica, Carriacou) and the related Pleurodontites (Florida) occur in the Miocene. Antecedents to Labyrinthus were isolated in South America and to Caracolus and Pleurodonte in North America, possibly in the late Cretaceous. The latter genera reached the Antilles where Caracolus has persisted relatively unchanged. Ancestral Pleurodonte has diversified producing the distinctive subgenera Eurycratera and Thelidomus on Jamaica and the genus Polydontes on the other Greater Antilles. Drier conditions on Cuba have resulted in the divergence of Zachysia from Polydontes.
This classification, to be used in a new inventory of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States, is intended to describe ecological taxa, arrange them in a system useful to resource managers, furnish units for mapping, and provide uniformity of concepts and terms.Wetlands are defined by plants (hydrophytes), soils (hydric soils), and frequency of flooding. Ecologically related areas of deep water, traditionally not considered wetlands, are included in the classification as deepwater habitats. Systems form the highest level of the classification hierarchy; five are defined—Marine, Estuarine, Riverine, Lacustrine, and Palustrine. Marine and Estuarine Systems each have two Subsystems, Subtidal and Intertidal; the Riverine System has four Subsystems, Tidal, Lower Perennial, Upper Perennial, and Intermittent; the Lacustrine has two, Littoral and Limnetic; and the Palustrine has no Subsystems.
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56349/1/MP105.pdf
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56347/1/MP103.pdf
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56321/1/MP076.pdf
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