A new species of Vitrina (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Vitrinidae) from Kenya with a discussion of the genus in East Africa

2005·1.4 MB·English

by  Verdcourt, B

BASTERIA, 69:147-156,2005
Anewspecies ofVitrina(Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Vitrinidae) fromKenya
witha discussion of thegenus inEast Africa
B. Verdcourt
Royal BotanicGardens,Kew, Richmond,Surrey,TW93AB,U.K.
Vitrina chyuluensis spec. nov. is described from theChyulu Hills,Kenya.Ithas arather large
shell and is characterised by a longspermathecalduct, very fine plicaebetween distal and
proximalpartsofthepenis, and athree-ridgedjaw.The descriptionisfollowed byadiscussion
onthe classification ofEastAfrican speciesofVitrina and onthevariation incharactersproba-
bly oftaxonomic significanceatspecificlevel. The paperis concluded by somecomments on
namingVitrinafromEastAfrica.
Keywords: Gastropoda,Pulmonata,Vitrinidae,Vitrina,taxonomy,Kenya,EastAfrica.
INTRODUCTION
QuentinLuke during abotanicalcollecting expedition to theChyulu Hills, Kajiado
District, Kenya (02°39' S, 37°52'E), collectedsome helicarionoidsnailsin montane forest
onrecentvolcaniclava.Iatfirstassumedthattheseven specimensinthesamplebelonged
to the same species, one more mature than the others. Dissection showed it tobe a
Chlamydarion VanMol, 1970, whichIcouldnotmatchwithdescribed species. Inorderto
verifycertainfeaturesI dissectedafurtherspecimen only tofindithadatotally different
anatomyand wasinfactaVitrinaaswerefourotherspecimens. Oneotherwas ajuvenile
Chlamydarion. Ihave for many yearsbeen attempting to make some sense of the East
Africanspecies ofVitrinaDraparnaud, 1801,and dissectednumerous specimens fromthe
East Africanhighlands. AlmostnomolluscshavebeencollectedintheChyulu Hills and
Iwas not surprised tofindthe Vitrina differedin certain particulars fromany Ihad dis-
sectedfromelsewhere.
DESCRIPTIVEPART
Vitrina(Calidivitrina) chyuluensis spec.nov. (figs 1-3)
Materialexamined. - Kenya,KajiadoDistrict, ChyuluHillsmain forest,nearCamp 3,Mbirikani
GroupRanch, alt. 1960 m, leg. QuentinLuke, 14.iii.2004 [RMNH 99586 (shell), (softparts)/holotype;
RMNH99587/3paratypes].
Diagnosis. - AVitrinawitharather large shell characterisedby alongspermathecal
duct, very fine plicae betweendistalandproximal partsof thepenis and a three-ridged
jaw.
Description. - Shell(fig. 1)typically vitrinoid, thin,very pale greenish brown,of3V2
whorls, withno apical puncturesbutfairlystrongirregularwrinkles.
Animalwithmantlefaintly to distinctly spotted; right handmantleflap completely
pale andunmarkedbutwithastripe onmantlejustanteriortoitparalleltotheshelledge
andcrossingthebreathinghole;tailwithadistinctblackkeelstrip,notactuallykeeledbut
148 BASTERIA,Vol. 69, No. 4-6, 2005
Fig. 1. Vitrina chyuluensis spec. nov., shell ofholotype (RMNH 99586);measurements 13x 10x8 mm
(Dmax x DminxH). Kenya,KajiadoDistrict,ChyuluHills,nearcamp 3, Mbirikani GroupRanch, alt.
1960m,Q.Luke leg.,March2004.PhotoJ.Goud,Leiden.
in fact grooved.Onespecimen hadmuchpaler markings butofessentially thesamechar-
acter. Footuniformly pale.
Genital anatomy(fig. 3). Thepenial sheathconsistsof two parts, a muscularovoid
distalpart slightly pointed andwiththepenial retractor attachedslightly belowtheapex;
the proximal part is cylindrical, forming aright angle withthe upperpart with a deep
groovebetween thematthe inner angle. Inother species ofVitrinaIhave dissectedthere
is aseriesofstrongplicate foldsin this groovebut theseare muchreduced in the present
species. The series of smalltubercles onthelower part nearly always presentinAfrican
materialIhavedissected arepresent, therebeing nine. Thepenisitselfis clavate, follow-
ing roughly the shape of the sheath but much more slender. The right ocular retractor
passes betweenthemaleand thefemaleducts.Atriumwell developed. Vas deferensleav-
ing thepenial sheathnearbaseofdistalovoid part. Spermatheca and ductmuchlonger
than thepenial sheath, totalling ± 13 mm. Jaw (fig. 2) 1.25mm wide,oxygnathous but
three-ridgedtransversely, a characternotobserved inany othervitrinid.Thinkingitmight
be anabnormality I dissected asecond youngerspecimen which confirmedthe ridging
andalso thelonger spermathecal duct.Radula formula40.14.C.14.40,the mainmarginals
withlateralcusptowards thebaseof centralcusp,not pincer-likebut theoutermost mar-
ginals havethecusps moreequal andpincer-shaped.
Measurements.Shell:13xl0><8mm;foot:27x5 mm.
Distribution.- Kenya, Chyulu Hills.
Ecology. - The montane forest is dominatedby Tabernaemontana (Apocynaceae),
Neoboutonia(Euphorbiaceae) and Ficus thonningii Bl. (Moraceae); the snails were onthe
leavesoftheunder-shrubPiper capenseL.f.(Piperaceae). TheChyulus areanareaofrecent
Verdcourt:A newspecies ofVitrinafrom Kenya 149
Figs2-3. Vitrina chyuluensisspec. nov.(detailsas
forfig. 1).2,jaw;3,genitalanatomyofholotype.
Abbreviations: a, atrium;o, oviduct; p, penis
(shownseparatelyontheleft);pp,penialplicae;
pr,penialretractor;ps,penial sheath;pt,penial
tubercules; s, spermatheca; sd, spermathecal
duct;vd,vasdeferens.
igneous activity withvastareasoflavaandhundredsofsmallconesratherthan largeiso-
latedvolcanoes.
Theblack markings ontheanimalsbrought tomind Vitrinanigrocincta vonMartens,
1897, describedfrom Kilimanjaro from materialcollectedby Volkensbetween 1900and
3800m. Itmightwell covermorethanonespecies. Itwas described fromthreesyntypes,
thelargest being 8x6*5mm. Von Martens states thatthe animalis pale yellowish grey
withsharply definedirregularblack marks, mantlewitha black stripe on theright side
parallel to the peristome; the tail has a longitudinal medianblack stripe. Hubendick's
description andillustrationsof the anatomyof thisspecies (Hubendick, 1953)arebased
onSjostedt materialfrom3000-3500m onMt.Meru andmaterialfromKibonotoin Berlin.
VonMartens doesnot mention this localityanditis notclearifitis typematerial; thereis
noindicationwhocollectedit, buthemusthave hadaccess to preserved animalsto give
such a detaileddescription. Hubendick'sillustrationsshow a spermatheca and ductno
longer thanthepenis and materialI havedissectedfrom3100 m onMt.Kilimanjaro had
themonly slightly longer.
THE CLASSIFICATIONOF EASTAFRICAN VITRINA
Thecommentarywhichfollowsformspartof apaperwhichwas neverpublished. A.
Holmcollectedaspeciesof Vitrinafoundontheforestedrim ofNgorongoro Craterwhich
Iconsideredwasnew.Unfortunately thematerialselectedasholotype andparatypewas
150 BASTERIA, Vol. 69,No. 4-6,2005
mislaid and neverrefound. No further material haseverbeen collected atNgorogoro so
far as Iamaware.As IdissectedmorematerialfromEast Africafurthercharacters came
to lightwhich Ihadnot consideredwhendealing withtheNgorongoro materialso until
morematerialiscollectedthereitwouldbeunwise todescribeit.Sincethecrateris awell-
known tourist attractiontheforestedcrater slopes probably remainundamaged and fur-
thermaterialwillone daybecomeavailable.
Von Martens (1895, 1897)wasthefirstpersonto describeVitrinidaefromEast Africa
(as distinctfromEthiopia); hegaveinformationaboutthemantleflaps andcompared the
radulaofVitrinaoleosavonMartens, 1895,withthatofVitrinadraparnaldi Cuvier, 1817[i.e.
Phenacolimax major (Ferussac, 1807)]. Pollonera (1909) figured the genital anatomy of
VitrinaibandensisPollonera, 1907.Pilsbry (1919:283)establishedthesubgenus Calidivitrina
for Vitrinaoleosa largely based on thepremise that "the marginal teethall havesimple,
thorn-like cusps,notbifid as partof themare intypical Vitrina”and "themantlehasno
shell lobes or if present they are so small they disappear by contraction in alcohol".
Anothercharacterwhichisalsomentionedisthelack ofpuncturation oftheshellso char-
acteristic ofHolarctic species. The manydissections carried outontheextensivematerial
already mentioneddemonstratethat either the description of Calidivitrinamust be con-
siderably modifiedor more thanone groupof Vitrinawith unmodifiedvagina occur in
EastAfrica. Many specimens havebeenexamined wherethemarginal teeth areobvious-
ly bicuspid andpincer-shaped andotherswheretheposition ofthesmallercuspbecomes
higherand smallerandfinally isnomorethanasmallnick attheapexofthe maincusp.
Whetherthesestatescorrespond to differentspecies oris sometimesmerevariation in one
species is not yet clear. Shell lobes arevery well developed in mostspecies, sometimes
almostenveloping the wholeshell. In fact someof the largest Ihave seenhavebeen in
Holm61 fromthe Ruwenzori, MijusiValley, which is strongly atvariance withPilsbry's
observations.Finally Vitrinavariopunctata Connolly, 1925,fromMtElgon (Connolly, 1925)
haseither thewholeshell orallbuthalfofthebody whorl punctate. Itis cleartherefore
thatnoneofthecharactersPilsbrymentionedto distinguishCalidivitrina, holdsfortherest
ofEast Africa.
Hubendick(1953) published areviewof theanatomyfortheeastern Africanspecies
withdrawingsofthedissectionsofallthetypespecimens hecouldlocate.His maininter-
estwasto determinetherelationships ofthesespecies totheEuropean species. Theresults
didnotestablishhowmanyvalidspecies thereactually werenor howthey couldbe dis-
tinguished anatomically. The drawingsofthegenitaliaarenotstrictly comparable. He did
demonstratethattwo quitedifferentgroupsofvitrinidoccurred in eastern Africa. Some
materialfrom Muhavura(on theborderof Uganda and Rwanda: 1°23'S, 29°41' E) col-
lectedbyHedberg hadthespecialised vagina ofPhenacolimaxStabile, 1859,butnofurther
materialhasbeendiscovered.Forcart(in litt.)diddeterminea green-shelled species with
blackanimalsfromhighaltitudesonMtKenya asPhenacolimaxspec. nov. butlater(1978)
madenoreferenceto thisandIthinkitwas in error.
Forcart(inlitt.)statedthathehadseennomaterialfromEthiopia thatcouldbeattrib-
uted to Calidivitrina.He had dissected a good dealof material collectedby Hugh Scott.
Having dealtextensively withEuropean Vitrinidae(1944, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956a,
1957, 1959)he turned to thoseof Africa (1956b, 1959, 1978). In his 1959 paperhe refers
Ethiopian materialto PhenacolimaxHesse,subgenus ArabivitrinaThiele, 1931.1senthima
considerableamountofmaterialbetween1957and 1960,buteventually hefoundhecould
notprepareanaccount of the actual species involved;he still emphasized (in litt., 1978)
thesimplemarginal cuspsand reducedmantleflaps asa distinctionofCalidivitrinawhich
means, I think, thathecould nothaveexaminedall the materialIsent tohimmuch of
whichhadclearlybicuspid marginals and veryextensivemantleflaps.Healsomentioned
Verdcourt:A newspecies ofVitrinafrom Kenya 151
thelateralserrationbelowtheectocone insomeouter marginals intypical Vitrinawerenot
foundinCalidivitrina, butIhavefound theoutermost marginals insome specimens are
serrate withup to seven cusps(e.g. Mt.Kenya,Ragati Forest,2000m,Holm173). Forcart
alsopointed out(inlitt., 10.iii.1958)thatEucobresiaBaker, 1929(SemilimaxHesse, 1923,non
Gray, 1847) couldnotbe distinguished fromCalidivitrina, thelatter beingtheoldername.
Hausdorf's(2002) recent cladistic analysis of theVitrinidaeis, however,strongly atvari-
ance withthis.Calidivitrinais placedcloser toArabivitrinathantoEucobresiaandhepoints
outthat theVitrininae auct.include thegroups inwhichthevaginal stimulatorhasbeen
lost,namely Vitrinaand Calidivitrina, andispolyphyletic. Hesuggests thatsubfamiliesare
notnecessary. Of theseventeen charactersusedby Hausdorfin his charactermatrixused
forthe analysis, seven are not applicable to Calidivitrinasince the stimulatorand penial
tunica areabsent; the seventeenthcharacter assumes that themarginal teethare never
multicuspid but this is not always correct. He estimates the number of species of
CalidivitrinatobeeightbutalsostatesfiveArabivitrinaoccur in EastAfricaso presumably
he is including Ethiopia. I have seenno ArabivitrinafromEast Africa whichbearing in
mindthecloseaffinityofEthiopian and Kenya highland plantsand animalsis surprising.
He does not record Phenacolimaxfrom East Africa so presumably doubts Hubendick's
record.
VARIATION IN CHARACTERSATSPECIFICLEVEL
1.Colourofshellandanimal- The colouroftheshellvariesfromwhiteto darkolive
green,the latter always associated withhigh altitudes on Mts. Kenya, Kilimanjaro and
Ruwenzori. Theanimalvariesfromvery pale whitish to jet black, thespecies withdark
green shells always having black animals. On Mt. Kenya during the International
Geophysical Year expedition in 1957 itwas notedby several collectorsthatVitrinavaried
considerably incolour.Thereportatthetimementionedthecommon Vitrinaoccurring at
3000 m onLobeliamaybeonespecies butif so itis veryvariable.There mayofcoursebe
several species livingtogether. Usually themantleand body are yellowish withblack or
blackishmarkings andthehindendof thebody hasablackish dorsalstreak. The solehas
numerous smallyellowish spotsandthetentaclesaredarkish.Somespecimens, however,
areveryblackin appearanceandtheshellappearsdark;othersarebrownandyellowand
some are entirely pale withvery pale markings and still othershave avery distinctred
tinge. Someofthedifferencesremain noticeablein spirit material.
There isevidence,however,that materialfromoneprecise locality canbe veryuni-
form in colourand anatomy. Some 500 specimens collectednear thebase camp on the
SirimonTrack by Wachtersduring theVanGoethemMt.Kenya Bio-Expedition weresam-
pled andfoundtobe virtually identicalanduniformly pale in colour.
Von Martens described Vitrina nigrocincta from Kilimanjaro with black markings
around the mantle edge and much material fromthe mountain has such markings but
some is totally devoidof them.It seems doubtfulthat species canbe distinguished on
colour although the green-shelled black animals are not the same as the paler ones
although littlematerial hasbeen availableforanatomicalwork.
2. Radula.-As hasbeenmentionedthereis considerablevariation in thecuspsof the
marginal teeth varying from virtually thorn-like unicuspid teeth with a mere minute
notchatthebaseofthelong cusps to distinctly bicuspid pincer-shaped teeth.My studies
ofpopulations fromonearea indicatethattheshape isconstant butamore detailedstudy
including possible changes duringthedevelopment oftheanimalis neededto checkthis.
152 BASTERIA, Vol. 69,No. 4-6,2005
The numberofteethin arow isknowntobehighlyvariableinmany groupsofsnailsbut
itmaypossiblybeofsomeuse as acharacter. TheformulainVitrinaoleosafromHolm s.n.
was givenbv Hubendick(1953)as 35.13.C.13.35and Ifound30.11.c.11.30and27.12.C.12.27
in Holm 61 and Holm47, all three from the same locality Bujuku Valley (Ruwenzori,
Uganda). Widely differingnumbershavebeenfound inotherspecies. Ifound theformu-
lafor V. variopunctata (Mt. Elgon, Holm76)tobe 15.9.C.9.15and Peile(in Connolly, 1931)
gives 22.10.C.10.22.Up to 54 marginal teeth occur in material from the East Aberdares
(Holm267).There is variation inthe cuspsof theoutermostmarginalteethwhichcanbe
two-cusped liketherest or threeto five- oreven seven-cusped. Mordan& Marins (2001)
show thatthevariation in themarginal teethofthe vitrinidgenusPlutonia Stabile, 1864,
intheAzores is evenmore diverse.
3.Genital anatomy-Apart fromthePhenacolimaxfromMuhavura(Uganda) thevari-
ationinthelower ductsof the East African materialdissected isrestricted. The narrow
spermatheca gradually passing into a shortductfoundin Vitrinaoleosadiffersnoticeably
fromtheoblong, ellipsoidor subglobose spermatheca moreclearly demarcatedfromthe
ductfoundin allotherEast Africanspecies dissected.Theductvaries mostly fromunder
1 mm to 4mm butductsup to 8mmhavebeenfound in onespecimen fromMt. Kenya
andprobably indicatesa distinctspecies. Thevaginavaries fromalmostobsoleteto3mm
long.
Theinternal structure of the penis, particularly of the folds andpenial gland, may
provide the mostusefulcharacters for specific distinctions. Hubendick (1953) discusses
thisandfiguressectionsbutIhavefoundthemvery confusing. Neubert(1998)gives more
intelligible drawings of anArabianspecies. Thevariation and development withinone
species needsinvestigationandalsotheeffectofdifferentmethodsofpreservation onthe
appearanceof the organs. Penial glands which appear very differentin single prepara-
tions mayowethedifferencestothesereasonsratherthantointrinsicspecific differences.
4.Mantleflaps - Themantleflap variesfromanarrowarcto alarge elongate struc-
ture whichalmostcoversthe shell reaching 9mmlong and 11mmwide withright hand
lobe5 x 12mm.Thesize doubtlessvariesaccording tothe development oftheanimaland
themodeof preservation mayalterthesize. Notesneedtobemadeonlivinganimals.
NAMING VITRINAFROM EASTAFRICA
Apart fromtypematerialmostsubsequent specimens havebeennamedVitrinasp.or
given a namepurely on geographical grounds. The following comments may help to
direct futurefieldwork undertakentotry andsort outthespecies.
Vitrinaoleosa from Ruwenzori is apparently well characterised by its elongate or
obovoid spermatheca gradually passing into the duct, reduced mantle lobes, aculeate
marginal teethand yellow-green depressed shell.Pilsbry (1919) describedthe animalas
dirtychamois with pale grey marbling but von Martens (1895) describes it asblackish.
Von Martensstates thereis noneck flap and only asmalltongue shaped shell flapand
Pilsbry statesthey aremore or lessabsent.My ownexaminationofHolm47and61 from
Mijusi Valley at3950-4000magreeswiththeshapeof thespermatheca and ductandthe
marginal teethbutthemantleflaps arevery well-developed inHolm65andperhaps sug-
gestsanotherspecies maybepresent. Anything fromtheRuwenzorirangewitha green-
ish ambershelland uniformlyblack animalcanbe assumedtobe V. ibandensis.Pollonera
(1909)figures thegenitalanatomyofthisbutmakesnomentionofmantleflaps;using his
Verdcourt:A newspecies ofVitrinafromKenya 153
informationthatthe drawing isenlarged by fourtimesthevaginais distinct, 2.5mm long
andthelowerpartofthepenis elongated,5 mmlong. Thepenis certainlydiffersfromthe
figuresgiven byHubendick(1953)of theothertwogreen-shelled Vitrinawhichhavebeen
dissected - V. ericinellae d'Ailly, 1910, and V. viridisplendens d'Ailly, 1910,both from
Kilimanjaro. Hubendick also states that the vagina is "very short" and "hardly any"
respectively although thisis not clearfromhis figures. Polloneraalso describedV. cagnii
Pollonera, 1906, fromRuwenzori butfigured only theshell. Pilsby (1919) reduces this
withoutcommentto V.oleosaandthefigures oftheshellssuggestthisis correct, butifit
iseventually proved thatseveralspecies occuronthemountain thisnamewillalsohave
tobe taken into account. Attempts to find Pilsbry's original dissected material proved
unsuccessful. Thiele (1911) also described V. bambuseti from Sabinjo (Sabinio) and V.
tenuissimafromKarissimbi(Karisimbi),bothvolcanoesintheVirunga Mts.in easternD.R.
Congo (formerly Zaire).The materialwas in spiritbut he didnot describe theanatomy
although Hubendick(1953) laterdescribedthelatter.
The Phenacolimaxknown fromMuhavura(Hubendick, 1953)hasnotbeennamedbut
isunlikely tobeidenticalwiththeEthiopian species. Ihavenotseentheoriginal Hedberg
materialand donot know howadequate itis. Nofurthermaterialhasbeen seen.
Theonly species actually describedfrom Mt.Elgon is themost easily recognised of
allEastAfricanspecies, viz. V. variopunctata withasmallvery compressed shell.Connolly
pointed outthatitwas characterisedbythewholeshellbeingpunctured allover [not just
theapical whorlasin Vitrinapellucida (Miiller, 1774)]andhealsofigures theradula(Peile,
in Connolly, 1931). My observations on materialcollectedby Holm (Holm 76 from E.
Elgon at2900 m) and Anderson(E. Elgon, 2490 m) indicatethat theextentof thepunc-
turing canbe variableandoftenlacking onthemainpartofthebody whorl.
Hubendick(1953) describesthe genitaliaof anunnamedVitrinacollected at 4250m
on Koitoboss, Mt. Elgon. His figure does show the insideof the penis but he gives a
description ofthefolds,whichis difficulttofollowbutsuggests itis a distinctspecies.
Ihaveexaminedspecimens ofaVitrina(Holm 131)fromtheeastern sideofMt.Elgon
at3150m withasmall ambershellbut verymarkedmantleflaps and avery characteris-
ticpenial gland andpincer-shaped marginalteeth.Therearethereforeprobably threedis-
tinctVitrinaonMt. Elgon.
Material from the fairly close Cherangani Hills (Holm 55 and 65), 4 km N. of
Kaisungor at2900m,has acombinationofdistinctivecharacters:a quitestrongly striate
shell, along atrium, very distinctvagina, distinctivepenial foldsandclearlybicuspid pin-
cer-shaped marginal radula teeth. Sample I.F. Thomas4, collectedby Pokot childrenon
giantlobeliaat3150 m onCherangani,alsohadclearlybifidmarginal teethwiththemain
cuspaboutthreetimesthesizeofthesmallerone; theinternalpenis structurewasnot con-
formwiththatintheHolmmaterialandwas takenupentirelyby glandular material,the
gland capis acuminate andbeneathitthereareaboutadozenannularflanges.
Agreat dealof materialhas beencollectedin the Kenya Highlands andhas mainly
been named Vitrina ugandensis Thiele, 1911, which was described from Kenya, Mau
Escarpment fromshellsalone,or V.lacteaConnolly, 1925,describedfromMtKenya (mate-
rial collectedby Kemp andby Gregory is cited). Connolly (1925)merely mentions thatV.
lacteahasalessprominent apexbuthedoes,however,give radulainformationforV.lactea
provided by Peile. This shows the marginals to be aculeate with a small entocone.
Materialfromratherloweraltitudeshas usuallybeenattributedtoV. ugandensis andthat
from over 3000 m to V. lactea. Smith (1903) gave the altitude of materialcollected by
Doherty ontheMauEscarpment as 6500-9000ft(1950-2700m). Thelowestaltitudefor
Vitrinain Kenya is materialcollected atThika, ChaniaFalls, 1500 m (Polhill 110).
Holm267 from theE. Aberdares at2900 m is distinctivein having more marginal
154 BASTERIA, Vol. 69,No. 4-6,2005
teeth thanseen in any otherEast African Vitrina, the formulabeing 50-54.11.c.11.50-54;
they are clearlytwo-cusped andtheouterones distinctly pincer-shaped. Thepenial gland
is distinctivewith capitate apexwith abouta dozen flanges beneathand witha row of
seven nodules arranged longitudinally and just overlapping the flanges. Whetherthese
are homologous withthemuchmorespiniformpapillae describedby Mordan&Martins
(2001)for oneof the vitrinidsfrom Santa Maria, Azores, is an interesting question. An
immaturespecimen, Holm 168, just labelledAberdares, but fromthe samealtitude, had
theformula29.9.C.9.29withsimilarteeth.
There are at leastfourspecies of Vitrina onMt Kenya and itis necessary to decide
whichshouldbe calledV.lactea.Hubendick(1953) gives adetaileddescriptionandfigures
of the genitaliaof materialcollectedby Holm in theeastern partof the TelekiValley at
4150-4230m whichhe refersto V.lactea,butdoesnot mention thecolourof theshellsor
animalsnor doestheraduladescriptionmentionthemarginal teethindetail.Othermate-
rialcollectedbyHolmfromtheTyndall Glacierat4450misreferredtoV.baringoensis E.A.
Smith, 1894,whichbothConnolly (1925)andI(Verdcourt, 1956,1983)havedemonstrated
is notaVitrina.Theanatomyis saidtoscarcely differfromthematerialreferredto V.lactea
andthecolouroftheshelland animaland detailsof themarginal radularteethare miss-
ing. Vitrinabaringoensis wasbasedonmaterialfromtwo well-separated localities,Baringo
and Mt. Kenya, and probably covers more than one species of shelled Urocyclidae
(‘Helicarion’ofearlierauthors). Abundantmaterial(10 D), collectedby Wachters during
theBelgian MtKenya Bio-Expedition at thebase camponthe SirimonTrack, has shells
whichexactly matchthetypematerialofV.lactea and theradulaconforms.
A.Andersoncollectedmanyspecimens neartheMeteorological Station ontheNaro-
moruTrack at3080-3150m whichhave shellsmatching V. lactea and a radulaagreeing
withthat depicted by Connolly. Otherspecimens examinedwithsimilar marginal teeth
were collectedby Andersonin the TelekiValley at3715m. Elsewhereonthe mountain
materialwithvery differenttwo-cusped pincer shaped marginals occur at varying alti-
tudes,Holm 189fromRagati Forestat2000m,TattersfieldfromnearLakeEllisat3500m,
andHolm s.n. at3280montheW.sideofthemountain.
One specimen collected by Liliane (143D) near the base camp onthe Belgian Mt
Kenya Bio-Expedition has the spermathecal duct 8 mm long, 2-3 times longer than in
othermaterialexamined;itmaywell representa distincttaxon.
Materialwithdark greenshellshas beencollected by Mrs Joy Bally (later Mrs Joy
Adamson)at3150m intheMacKinderValley butnoanimalswerepreserved. M.Coecol-
lectedmaterialwithvery soft deep shellsandintensely black animalsunderrocks with
littlevegetation onthe Lewis Glaciermoraineat 4440 m. Forcart (in litt., 19.V.1968)sug-
gested thismightbeanewPhenacolimaxbutnomentionwas madeof itin hispaper(1978)
andI donotthinkhedissectedit. I hope totrace thismaterialandexamine it.
Five species havebeendescribed fromKilimanjaro. Vitrina nigrocincta was described
by vonMartens (1897) andhas beenmentionedpreviously. Ihaveexamined severallots
ofmaterialwhichonewouldexpecttobethesameasVolkens'sloweraltitudespecimens.
Holm218 from NW.of Bismarck (nowMandara) Hut at3100m had themarginal teeth
withthelongcusps fivetimes aslong as theshortonesandHolm 203 fromneartheHut
itselfat2480m hadsimilar cusps,but Holm208 fromneartheHut at2480m hadmar-
ginals withpincer-like cusps.BothHolm203and208havetheanimalsmarkedwithblack
orbrown.Holm266a fromKitoto onthenearby Mt.Meru atanunspecified altitudehas
marginals similartothoseinhis203 and 218.D'Ailly (1910)wrotetheaccountof themol-
luscs collected by Sjostedt's Kilimanjaro-Meru-Expedition; unfortunately he gave no
anatomicaldetails.He records V. nigrocincta fromMeru andKilimanjaro, over 1600 speci-
mens being collected oneachmountain.Hepoints out that vonMartens'smaterialwas
Verdcourt:Anewspecies ofVitrinafromKenya 155
juvenile (presumably onevidenceof shelldimensions- thereisnoevidenceheactually
saw the material). Materialwas recorded from 3000-4400m on Meru and2500 m on
Kilimanjaro. D'Ailly (1910) also described three other species from Kilimanjaro: V.
kiboschoensis isbased on46 specimens fromKiboscho at3000m in theheathzone found
mostly betweentheleavesofLobeliadeckenii(Asch.) Hemsl.; V.ericinellaeisbased on 174
specimens fromKiboscho also at 3000 m altitudein theheathzonewitholive strigose
shellswith a whiteapex and pale brown animals,and V. viridisplendens is basedon 64
specimens also fromKiboscho at3000-4000mnear theupperlimitof vegetation witha
blackishanimaland yellow-greenor darkgreenishbrownshell.D'Ailly doesnot mention
Dautzenberg's V. lobeliaecola(1908, based onmaterialcollectedby AlluaudonLobelia in
"zone desprairies" at3200m) although hecites hispaperelsewhereso musthave been
aware ofit. V. kiboschoensis couldbe synonymous;fromthe descriptions they are similar
in colour,measurementsandhabitat.Hubendick(1953)has dissectedspecimens ofallthe
species collectedby Sjostedt; it appearsthat V. nigrocincta hasa longer vagina andmore
numerous marginal teeth than the otherthreebuthow far the species couldbe distin-
guished by such detailsneeds are-examination of the abundantoriginal materialwith
this view inmind.D'Ailly had akeen eye andhisspecies are probably valid.In 1955I
examinedthe material in Stockholm and my notes give "dark greenish brown" for V.
viridisplendens, "grey-black radially flammulateshellwhiteinside andwithwhitetip" for
V.ericinellae and "yellow-brown" for V. kiboschoensis. I collected V. viridisplendens near
Peter's (now Horombo) Hut at 3750m understones in January 1955but unfortunately
sentallthematerialaway forexamination insteadofdoingit myself.
Onespecimen ofgreatinterestremainstobementioned.Hubendick(1953)mentions
aspecimen fromtheUsambaras,Tanzania,collectedin spiritandfigures itsanatomy.He
seemstohavebeentotally unawarethatthisis anexceptional occurrence fromalow alti-
tude(±1000m;Conradtcollectedonly in the East Usambaras) andis moreover themost
southerly record of thegenus in Africa. Conradt'scollectionwas madelong beforevon
Martens'sgreatworkonEastAfrican molluscs(1897)so itiscurioushemadenomention
of thisspecimen. I sawno traceof aVitrina whilst Ilived in thearea in 1949-1950.Itis
almost certain to be a distinct endemic species. Itis asurprisingly low altitudefor the
genus.
Describedby Thiele(1911) fromshellscollectedbyDoherty sentbyE.A.Smithtovon
Martenswithouttheexactlocalitybeing given (seeConnolly, 1925).
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