Caving for snails in northern Albania

2015·7.9 MB·English

by  Gittenberger, Edmund

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Caving for snails in northern Albania
Edmund Gittenberger
NaturalisBiodiversityCenter,P.O.Box9517,NL-2300RALeiden,TheNetherlands;[email protected]
Shpella e Deleve
Thetroglophilousgastropodspeciesthatwere
recordedatthreelocalitiesinnorthernAlbaniaare ThissmallcavebelowtheruinatDrisht,NEof
dealtwith.Forthesesitesdetailedco-ordinatesand Shkodër,locatedatUTMCM851.647(42°07'33.8''N
UTM1-kmsquaredataarepresented.Agardhiellajo- 19°36'38.1''E)wasvisitedbytheauthorOctober17th, 23
hanniandVirpazaria(Aemiliella)ripkeniarbeniarede- 2011,assumingthatitwouldbethetypelocalityof
scribedasnewtoscience.Areviseddiagnosisisgiven Virpazaria(Aemiliella)pastorpueriA.,N.&P.L.Reis-
forVirpazaria(V.)deelemanorumdhorai.Hydrocena(H.) chütz,2011.Alocalboykindlyguidedmetothecave,
cattaroensisisreportedasnewforAlbania. whichissituatedbelowthelocalruinofacastle.Even
withdetailedco-ordinates,theentrancecannotbe
Keywords:Gastropoda,taxonomy,troglobiticsnails,distribu- foundeasily,becauseitishiddenbetweenthebushes.
tion,Albania. Lateron,P.L.Reischützinformedmethatthetypelo-
calityofthisVirpazariaisnotreallyacave,butaniche
alongtheroad.
Introduction TheShpellaeDeleve(=caveofthesheep),asit
wascalled,caneasilybeenteredonallfoursasfaras
DuringashortvisittonorthernAlbania,mainlyto thenarrowingdarkend,wherehumanscannotcrawl
collectatissuesampleofaVirpazariaspeciesforDNA anyfurther.ShellsofVirpazaria(Aemiliella)ripkenipas-
sequencing,twolocalitieswithspeciesofthatgenus torpueriareverycommonthere,withthreeadditional
werevisited.Theseplaceswererecentlydescribedby troglobiticmolluscanspecies.Allfourspeciesare
Reischützetal.(2010,2011).AthirdlocalitywithVir- dealtwithbelow.
pazariawasadditionallydiscovered.Thenewdatathat
becameavailableduringthisfieldworkarepresented Caenogastropoda,HydrocenidaeTroschel,1857
below.Arrangedbylocality,somecorrectionsandad-
ditionstotheliteratureontroglophilousgastropods Hydrocena(H.)cattaroensis(L.Pfeiffer,1841)(Figs1,2)
arepresented.Tofacilitatefurtherresearch,theloca-
tionofthethreesiteshasbeenrecordedwitha CyclostomacattaroenseL.Pfeiffer,1841:225.
GarminGPS12XL.Inonecaseaphotographofacave Hydrocena(H.)cattaroensis-Gittenberger&Maassen,1980.
entranceisaddedforthesamereason.
RMNH=NaturalisBiodiversityCenter,Leiden Notes.–Fiveshellswerefound(RMNH5003969/5),
(formerlyRijksmuseumvanNatuurlijkeHistorie). fourofwhichwithacircularboringhole,pointingto
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Theso-calledpalatallamellaisinfactatripartite
structure.Itsshortfrontalpartisconnectedtothe
upperoneoftwonearlyparallel,elongateddenticles,
thathavelargelymergedintoasingle,prominentcal-
luspad,whichissituatedlessthan1/8ofawhorlfrom
themouth-edge.Infrontalview,thiscallusisseenas
twoprominent,interconnected,whiteknobsonthe
palatalwall,theloweroneofwhichissituatedslightly
deeperinsidetheaperture.Thereisaprominentbasal
lamella,runninglessthan⅛whorlinsidetheaperture
andamuchlessprominentbasaldenticlehalfwaybe-
tweenthislamellaandthecolumella.The1½-1¾pro-
Figs1,2.Hydrocena(H.)cattaroensis(L.Pfeiffer,1841),CrnaGora, toconchwhorlsarecoarselygranular;thefollowing
Kotor(=Cattaro),inwaterfilmonthecitywall;A.C.Gitten- 3-3¾teleoconchwhorlshave52-66calcareousradial
berger-deGrootleg.1,shell(height2.9mm),withfinespiral riblets,whicharedoubledinheightbythinperiostra-
lines,thatarenotindicated,and2,insideoftheoperculum,with callamellae.Inbetweentheribletstherearesomeir-
theprominentapophyse(maximaldiameter1.2mm).AfterGit- regularradiallinesandnomicrosculptureofspiral
tenberger&Maassen,1980:10,figs2,3. lines.
ShellsofV.(A.)r.pastorpuerimeasure3.1-4.1mm
inwidthand1.7-2.3mminheight[n=52],versus3.5-
anunknownpredator.Itisnotsurprisingthatthis 3.9mminwidthand1.9-2.2mminheight[n=8]inV.
species,whichhasbeendescribedfromMontenegro (A.)r.ripkeni.Intheformersubspeciestherelative
(=CrnaGora),alsooccursinadjoiningnorthernAlba- heightofthespirevaries;arelativelydepressedshell
nia.AtitstypelocalityKotor(=Cattaro)ithasbeen
foundathumidplaces,intheopenairontheoldcity
wall(personalobservation).Itsoccasionaloccurrence
incaveshasbeenmentionedbefore(Gittenberger&
24 Maassen,1980).
Pulmonata,StrobilopsidaeWenz,1915
Virpazaria(Aemiliella)ripkenipastorpueri
A.,N.&P.L.Reischütz,2011(Figs3,4)
Virpazaria(Aemiliella)pastorpueriA.,N.&P.L.Reischütz,
2011:57.
Reviseddiagnosis.–Ribletsmorewidelyspacedthan
inthenominatesubspecies,viz.lessthan70onthe
lastwhorl.Thepalatallamellaisconnectedinfront
withamoreorlessprominentknobontheperistome.
Infrontalview,twointerconnected,white,palatal
knobsareseeninsidetheaperture.
Description.–Shelldiscoidwithamoreorless
stronglydepressedspire.Theumbilicusiswidely
open,measuringlittlemorethan¼ofthetotalshell
width.Aperturallipcontinuous,witharelativelythin
parietalflap,andareflectedandstronglythickened Figs3,4.Virpazaria(Aemiliella)ripkenipastorpueriA.,N.&P.L.
basalandpalatalperistome.Theupperpartofthe Reischütz,2011.Albania,NEofShkodër,ShpellaeDeleve,a
palatalperistome,borderingtheaperturalsinus,isrel- smallcavebelowtheruinatDrisht,locatedatUTMCM851.647
ativelynarrow.Thereisamoreorlessprominent (42º07'33.8''N19º36'38.1''E).Shellwidth3.3mm.SEMphoto-
knobontheperistomewherethepalatallamellacon- graphsbyDr.L.P.vanOfwegen.
tactstheaperturalborder.
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measures3.4x1.9mmversus3.7x2.2mmforashell
witharelativelyhighspire.
Notes.–Thesampleof52fullygrownshells
(RMNH5003970/52),collectednearthetypelocality,
necessitatedareviseddiagnosisanddescription.This
taxondiffersonlyslightlyfromthenominatesub-
speciesandnotatallinthecharactersthatareindi-
catedintheoriginaldiagnosis.Theshellsareneither
smallernorrelativelyhigherandthickerdiscoid.
SeealsothedescriptionofV.(A.)ripkeniarbeni
subspec.nov.below.
PupillidaeTurton,1831
Agardhiellajohannispec.nov.(Fig.5)
Material:Albania,ShpellaeDeleve(=caveofthesheep)below
theruinatDrisht,NEofShkodër,UTMCM851.647
(42°07'33.8''N19°36'38.1''E);leg.17.x.2011.Holotype(RMNH
5003971)andparatypes(RMNH5003972/2).
Diagnosis.–Shellmorethan2mmbroad;aperture
withaprominentcolumellarisandparietalis,acrenu-
lateparietalsideandnearlyparallel,narrowlyre-
flectedcolumellarandpalatallips.
Description.–Shellcylindrical,withashortdome-
shapedapicalpart;lastwhorloccupyingmorethan
halfthetotalshellheight.Protoconchwithagranular 25
surface.Teleoconchwithsharpradialribs,6/mmon
thepenultimatewhorl.Aperturewithabroadly
roundedbase,nearlyparallelcolumellarandpalatal
borders,andanobliqueparietalcalluswithsixcrenu-
lations,whichcorrespondwiththeradialribs.The
aperturallipisclearlyreflected,apartfromtheupper
palatalthird,whichiscurvedbackwardsinside Fig.5.Agardhiellajohannispec.nov.,holotype(RMNH5003971),
view.Thecolumellarisandtheparietalisaremuch Albania,NEofShkodër,ShpellaeDeleve,asmallcavebelow
moreprominentthantheshortinfraparietalisandthe theruinatDrisht,locatedatUTMCM851.647(42º07'33.8''N
obsoleteangularis.Initiallyincreasingsomewhatin 19º36'38.1''E).Measurements5.1×2.2mm.Macro-photographby
prominence,thecolumellarisrunsabouthalfawhorl Dr.A.J.deWinter.
deepinside.Theparietalisisbipartite,withafrontal
segmentthatisaboutaslongandhighastheinfra-
parietalis,andaclearlyhigherandlongerpartthat
runsasdeepasthecolumellarisinside.Theholotype
hasalsoaminutesubcolumellardenticle.Theumbili-
cusisverynarrow,slit-likeopen. asnewtosciencewasnotdifficult.Agardhiellajohanni
Thedimensionsoftheholotype(protoconch1¾, isnotparticularlysimilartoanyoftheknown
teleoconch5¼whorls)andparatype1(protoconch species.Theshellsarerelativelybroad,asin
1½,teleoconch5⅛whorls)areverysimilar,viz. A.daboviciGittenberger,1975,A.extravagantaSubai,
height5.1mmandwidth2.2mm.Paratype2isdam- 2008,andA.zoltanorumSubai,2008,allofwhich
agedandcannotbemeasured. occurgeographicallycloseinnorthernAlbaniaand
Notes.–Inarecentmonographconsideringthe CrnaGora(Montenegro).Inthesespecies,however,
Agardhiellaspeciesfromthecountriesborderingthe aswellasinthespecieswithsmallershells,theshell’s
AdriaticSea,Subai(2008)dealtextensivelywiththe aperturaldentitionisverydifferent.
variousspeciesinthatarea.Asaconsequence,recog- Derivationominis:theepithetjohannireferstoMr
nizinganAgardhiellaspeciesfromnorthernAlbania J.J.J.Teunissen,whofacilitatedmyvisittoAlbania.
Gittenberger,E.–CavingforsnailsinAlbania
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Figs6,7.TheentranceoftheShpellaeRozafës(=caveofRozafa)belowtheRozafacastleinShkodër,UTMCM753.562(42º02’55.5’’N
26 19º29’37.6’’E),photographedwhilestandingonthepavementalongthestreet,withMrArbenKraja(standingattheright)andtheau-
thor(creepingattheleft).PhotographsbyMsDr.A.C.Gittenberger-deGroot.
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StrobilopsidaeWenz,1915
Virpazaria(Aemiliella)ripkeniarbenisubspec.nov.
(Fig.8)
Material:Albania,ShpellaeRozafësinShkodër,UTMCM
753.562(42°02’55.5’’N19°29’37.6’’E);E.G.leg.18.x.2011(holo-
type,RMNH5003974);M.Slooffleg.v.2013(paratypes,RMNH
5003975/2).
Diagnosis.–Theupperpalatallamelladoesnotor
hardlyreachtheaperturallip,whichisnotthickened
Fig.8.Virpazaria(Aemiliella)ripkeniarbenisubspec.nov.,holo- byaknob-likecallusatthe(near-)contactsite.In
type(RMNH5003974),Albania,ShpellaeRozafësinShkodër, frontalview,theinternalpalatalcallusisnotpro-
UTMCM753.562(42º02’55.5’’N19º29’37.6’’E).Shellwidth3.1 videdwithtwoknobs.Shellsrelativelysmall.
mm.MsI.vanNoortwijkdel. Notes.–Becausethe52specimensofVirpazaria
(Aemiliella)ripkenipastorpuerithatarementioned
abovedifferslightlyfromthe3shellsthatarereferred
PristilomatidaeT.Cockerell,1891 tohere,anewsubspeciesisdescribed.
Thethreeshellsofthetype-seriesareassmallas
Vitreasubrimata(Reinhardt,1871) thesmallestamong52shellsofV.(A.)ripkenipastor-
pueri;theymeasure3.1×1.7mm,3.1×1.8mm,and
HyalinasubrimataReinhardt,1871:39.Lectotype(design.Pintér, 3.2×1.8mm,respectively.
1972:225[17]):SMF3482/1. Derivationominis:TheepithetarbenireferstoMr
Vitreasubrimata–Kerney&Cameron,1979:118,3figs.Horsák ArbenKraja(Shkodër),myguideinnorthernAlba-
etal.,2013:100,figs420-423.Pintér,1972:225[17],figs31- nia,whorememberedtheareawiththecorridoras
45,pl.3figs31-45. playgroundduringhischildhood.
27
Notes.–Inasampleof14shells(RMNH5003973/14), Roadside rock crevices NE of Xhaj
thelargestspecimenhas5¼whorlsandmeasures3.8
x1.8mm.Ascomparedtothefiguresintheliterature, Reischützetal.(2010)mentionedasiteNofShkodër,
theshellsarerelativelybroad,thuslesshigh.Near NEofXhajalongtheroadfromKopliktoBogë,
theaperture,thelastwhorlistwiceasbroadasthe wherecrevicesintherockscontainmudwithshells
penultimateone,orless. ofaVirpazariaspecies,whichtheydescribedasV.dho-
Foradetailedanalysisregardingthisveryvari- rai.TheplacecouldbelocatedatUTMCM802.857
ablespecies,orspecies-complex,seePintér(1972). (42°19'50.5''N19°36'21.1''E)bycomparingthephoto-
graphofthelandscape(Reischützetal.,2010:figs3,
Shpella e Rozafës 4)withtheactualsurroundingswhileslowlywalking
alongtheroad.Hereshellsoftwotroglophilous
ThenarrowcorridorbelowtheRozafacastlein specieswerefound,viz.Virpazaria(V.)deelemanorum
Shkodër,herecalledShpellaeRozafës(=caveof dhoraiA.,N.&P.L.Reischütz,2010,andGyralina
Rozafa)wasknowntomyguideMrArbenKrajaas (Spelaeopatula)candida(A.J.Wagner,1909).
playgroundduringhischildhood.Thephotographs
(Figs6,7)shouldassistinlocalizingtheentranceat Pulmonata,StrobilopsidaeWenz,1915
UTMCM753.562(42°02’55.5’’N19°29’37.6’’E).Idid
notenterthecorridorasfarastotaldarkness,partly Virpazaria(V.)deelemanorumdhorai
becauseinsideturningoverisimpossiblesothatone A.,N.&P.L.Reischütz,2010(Figs9,10)
hastocrawlbackwardswithlegsfirsttogetout.
Maybeitactsasawater-courseafterheavyrain,be- VirpazariadhoraiA.,N.&P.L.Reischütz,2010:29.
causetherewasveryfewbottommaterialtocollect.
Nearlyallshellsturnedouttobeofspeciesliving Reviseddiagnosis.–Palatalpartoftheperistomewith
nearbyatthesurface.AsingleVirpazariashell,over- twoknobs,theloweroneofwhichisthemostpromi-
lookedwhilecollecting,wastheexception.Onmyre- nent.Microscupturewithirregularradiallines
quest,MsM.SlooffvisitedthesameplaceinMay crossedbyveryfine,incisedspirallines.
2013andcollectedtwomorespecimens. Description.–Shelldiscoid,with4-4½whorls,and
Gittenberger,E.–CavingforsnailsinAlbania
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Fig.11.Gyralina(Spelaeopatula)candida(A.J.Wagner,1909),Alba-
nia,roadsiderockcrevicesNofShkodër,NEofXhajalongthe
roadfromKopliktoBogëatUTMCM802.857(42º19'50.5''N
19º36'21.1''E).Shellwidth5.5mm.
5003976/34).Theydifferalsobythelowerpalatalknob
beingmoreprominentthantheupperone,andmaybe
bythepresenceofveryfine,incisedspirallines,which
arenotdiscernibleintheshellsofthetypeseriesofthe
nominatesubspecies.
PristilomatidaeT.Cockerell,1891
Gyralina(Spelaeopatula)candida(A.J.Wagner,1909)
Figs9,10.Virpazaria(V.)deelemanorumdhoraiA.,N.&P.L.Rei- (Fig.11)
schütz,2010,Albania,roadsiderockcrevicesNofShkodër,NE
ofXhajalongtheroadfromKopliktoBogëatUTMCM802.857 ZonitoidescandidusA.J.Wagner,inWohlberedt,1909:626[42].
(42º19'50.5''N19º36'21.1''E).Shellwidth3.4mm.SEMphoto- Retinella?(Spelaeopatula)candida–Zilch,1959:252,fig.891.
graphbyDr.L.P.vanOfwegen. Gyralina(Spelaeopatula)candida–Riedel,1980:44,165,figs112-
28 114.
amoreorlessstronglydepressedspire.Theumbilicus Notes.–Theglossy,white,discoidshells,withawide
iswidelyopen,measuringc.¼ofthetotalshellwidth. umbilicus,whichmeasures3/10ofthetotalshell
Aperturallipcontinuous,withathickenedparietal width,aredevoidofanyspiralsculpture.Thelargest
flap,andareflectedandstronglythickenedbasaland of7specimens(RMNH5003977/7)has4⅛whorlsand
palatalperistome.Onlytheupperpartofthepalatal measures5.7×2.5mm.Inagreementwiththeoriginal
peristome,borderingtheaperturalsinus,isrelatively description,thewhorlsareinconspicuouslyangledat
narrow.Thereisaprominentknobontheperistome theupside(‘..überderPeripherieschwachkantig..’).
abouthalfwayitspalatalsideandaveryprominent
onenearthepalataltobasaltransition.The1⅝-1¾ Acknowledgements
protoconchwhorlsarecoarselygranular,vaguelyra-
diallyarranged;thefollowingc.2¾teleoconchwhorls ThanksareduetoMsI.vanNoortwijk(Naturalis,Lei-
have46-51calcareousradialriblets,whicharedou- den),whomadethedrawing,Dr.L.P.vanOfwegen
bledinheightbythinperiostracallamellae.Inbe- (Naturalis,Leiden),whoprovidedtheSEMphoto-
tweentheribletstherearesomeirregularradiallines. graphs,Dr.A.J.deWinter(Naturalis,Leiden),who
Inspecimensthatarenotweathered,averyfinemi- contributedwithamacro-photograph,andMsDr.
crosculptureofincisedspirallinesisdiscernible.Shell A.C.Gittenberger-deGroot(Leiden),whopho-
measuring3.1-4.0×1.8-2.1mm. tographedthecorridorbelowtheRozafacastlein
Notes.–Judgingafterthedescriptionsandfigures, Shkodërshortlybeforetheauthorentered.I’malso
Welter-Schultes(2012:212)consideredVirpazariadho- gratefultoanunknownreferee,whosuggestedim-
raiajuniorsynonymofVirpazaria(V.)deelemanorum provementsofthetext,andIgratefullyacknowledge
Gittenberger,1975. MrArbenKraja(Shkodër)forguidinginnorthernAl-
Bothtaxaareatleastcloselyrelatedindeed.How- bania,MsMarianSlooff(KrimpenaandeIJssel),who
ever,the4shellsofthetypeseriesofV.(V.)deelemano- didnothesitatetotraveltotheShpellaeRozafës,
ruminRMNH(nos55031,55032,55033and55034), wheresheenteredthecorridorandcollectedabottom
measuring3.7-4.2×2.1-2.3mm,arenotonlyslightly sample,andMrJ.J.J.Teunissen(nowLeiden),who
higherthanthe34shellsofV.(V.)dhorai(RMNH facilitatedmyvisittonorthernAlbania.
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