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ELONA, REVISTA DE MALACOLOGÍA IBÉRICANº 2: 4-6 (2020)
4
First report of
Subulina octona
(Bruguière, 1789) (Gastropoda: Achatinidae) for
the Iberian Peninsula
SergioQuiñonero‐Salgado1*&JoaquínLópez‐Soriano1
1 AssociacióCatalanadeMalacologia,MuseuBlau,PlaçaLeonardodaVinci4‐5,08019Barcelona,Spain
*Correspondingauthor:sergioqs85@hotmail.com
Recibido: 2019/11/10. Aceptado: 2019/11/31
Primeracitade
Subulinaoctona
(Bruguière,1789)(Gastropoda:Achatinidae)enlaPenínsulaIbérica
Resumen:SecitaporvezprimeraparalaPenínsulaIbéricalaespeciealóctona
Subulina octona. Las conchas de varios
ejemplares, procedentes probablemente de algún invernadero cercano, fueron halladas en una riera cerca de Benicarló
(Castellón,ComunidadValenciana)
.
Ecosystems worldwide are facing a new era of
biological invasions, in which molluscs are
playing an ever-increasing role. Gastropods are
indeed one of the main groups involved in
biological invasions in continental ecosystems,
although there are only a few of them recognized
as aliens in the Iberian Peninsula. Their small
size, restricted distribution, and lack of experts
doing adequate field sampling, are probably the
main causes for the difficulty in finding and
studying exotic continental gastropods, and
keeping pace with their rate of arrival.
Horticulture has been considered as one of
the main vectors for introductions of exotic flora
and fauna, particularly molluscs (Hayes et al.,
2007; Cowie et al., 2008). This is particularly true
for oceanic islands, where maritime shipping has
been for decades the only contact with other
distant places, and the main vector for big scale
importation of biological materials, particularly
plants (Cowie, 2001; Cowie et al., 2008). In the
same way, some of the exotic small gastropods
already cited in the Iberian Peninsula are
believed to have used this commercial activity as
the vector for entrance and/or dispersion,
although this is not always easy to demonstrate.
Such is the case for Hawaiia minuscula (Binney,
1841), Zonitoides arboreus (Say, 1816), Polygyra
cereolus (Mühlfeldt, 1816), Lucilla singleyana
(Pilsbry, 1889), or Lucilla scintilla (Lowe, 1852),
among others. Usually, some of these species
are first cited in highly modified, anthropogenic
habitats, such as urban areas, botanical gardens,
or even greenhouses (Horsák et al., 2004;
Kaszuba & Stworzewicz, 2008; Quiñonero
Salgado et al., 2013, 2014 & 2019; Quiñonero
Salgado & López Soriano, 2015 & 2018; Torres
Alba et al., 2018), and only some of them are
able to become alien species, and even only in
some areas.
In the present article, we report the first record
of the exotic snail Subulina octona (Bruguière,
1789) (Fig. 1) for the Iberian Peninsula, after the
finding of some specimens in alluvial sediment:
Benicarló (Castellón province), [31TBE8176].
2019-10-26, SQS & JLS leg.; 14 specimens
found after examination of alluvial sediment
from an unnamed temporal water course.
Shells were found along dozens of specimens
of Physella acuta (Draparnaud, 1805), and a
few specimens of Zonitoides arboreus and
Hawaiia minuscula.
Subulina octona is native from the Caribbean
and tropical America, but it has been recorded as
an alien species in a number of tropical and
subtropical places, including many Pacific islands
(at least 16 archipelagos) (Deisler & Abbott,
1984; Cowie, 2001; Brodie & Barker, 2012). Its
first introduction in Hawaii seems to date back to
the end of 19th century (Cowie, 1997). In North
America and Europe, it has been found mainly in
greenhouses (Juřičková, 2006). The European
ELONA, REVISTA DE MALACOLOGÍA IBÉRICANº 2: 4-6 (2020)
5
reports seem restricted to England, Denmark and
Czech Republic, and no established populations
have so far been described (Juřičková, 2006;
CABI database, 2019).
The shell of S. octona is quite distinctive from
all other native snails in the area. It is about 14-
20 mm high, very narrow, straight-sided, with 9-
11 convex whorls separated by a deep suture.
The aperture is small and ovate, with a sharp
outer lip; base of columella slightly but distinctly
truncated. Shell is thin, colorless or yellowish
corneous, glossy and translucent, and growth-
lines are well-marked, especially on the last whorl
(Stanisic 1998; Juřičková, 2006). This species
lives mainly in ground litter, but can also be found
in open habitats (Juřičková, 2006). It has been
reported as a pest in some South American
countries, and it has the capability to form dense
aggregates of individuals in the moist ground in
experimental conditions (D’Avila et al., 2006).
While our finding consists of just 14
specimens dragged by a temporal water course,
and no established population has yet been
found, the most likely vector of introduction
seems to be horticulture. The observation that
some shells of other small exotic snails, such as
H. minuscula and Z. arboreus, were also in the
same sample, points to a recent introduction and
their release from a plant importing facility in the
vicinities. Efforts to find this origin have failed so
far, but continuous field surveys are in progress
to identify the source, and to ascertain if there is
an established population of any of these species
in the vicinities.
Acknowledgements
SQS & JLS are members of the “Grup de
Malacofauna Invasora de Catalunya” (GMIC) and
carry out the project “MINVACAT” (Molꞏluscs
Invasors de Catalunya) from Associació Catalana
de Malacologia. Our thanks to Enric Forner for
his help in the search for horticulture facilities in
the area, and helpful collaboration in field
surveys.
Figure 1: Specimens of Subulina octona (Bruguière, 1789) found at Benicarló (Castellón)
ELONA, REVISTA DE MALACOLOGÍA IBÉRICANº 2: 4-6 (2020)
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