Two new taxa of land snails of the genera Kalidos and Ampelita from Madagascar (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)

2006·1.5 MB·English

by  Verdcourt, B

BASTERIA, 70:103-108,2006
Twonewtaxaof landsnailsofthe generaKalidos andAmpelita
fromMadagascar (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)
B.Verdcourt
Royal BotanicGardens,Kew, Richmond,SurreyTW93AB,U.K.
Kalidos dupuyi(Ariophantidae)and Ampelitalamarei dendritica(Acavidae)aredescribedasnew
taxafrom SW. and NE. Madagascarrespectively.
Key words: Gastropoda, Pulmonata,Ariophantidae,Kalidos, Acavidae, Ampelita, taxonomy,
Madagascar.
INTRODUCTION
VariousKewbotanistswhilstonexpeditions to Madagascar havebrought backmol-
luscs they foundincidentally. I havealready reported onsome of these Icouldidentify
withsomecertainty (Verdcourt,2002). ThereremainedothersIcouldonly suggestnames
foror whichproved impossible toname, forexample manyTropidophora specimens; these
have beenplaced in The Natural History Museum,London.Two taxa which although
very characteristicincolourIfailedtonamefromFischer-Pietteetal.(1994)Iamtreating
asnewanddescribebelow.
Thefollowing abbreviationsare used: BM, The Natural History Museum, London;
RMNH, National Museum of Natural History, Leiden; MNHN, Museum National
d'HistoireNaturelle,Paris.
DESCRIPTIONS
Ariophantidae Godwin-Austen, 1888
Kalidos dupuyi spec.nov. (figs 1-6)
Material examined. — SW. Madagascar,NW.comerofLac Tsimanampetsotsa,onvery dry lime-
stoneunderbushes, David J.Du Puyleg., 12.i.l989(RMHN 104690/holotype,104691/7paratypes;BM/2
paratypes;MNHN/1paratype).
Diagnosis. — Aratherlarge, broadly conical shell, subangulate whenadult, with a
broad,brownspiralbandonawhitebackground.
Description. —Shell(figs2-6) depressed helicoid,thespire distinctly raised,broadly
conicalwithsides distinctlyconvex forminganapexofabout172°,whitewithabroadspi-
ralbrownbandabout5 mm wideneartheperistome. Umbilicus distinct, about3.5mm
wide.Whorls7Vi, moderately convex, the lastsubangulate attheperiphery (but injuve-
nileonly20mm widesharply acute). Suturemoderate.Apical2Viwhorlssmooth,therest
withstrong close irregular ribs, 3-8 permm. Thebroad spiralbrownbandis margined
104 BASTERIA,Vol. 70, No. 4-6,2006
Figs 1-2.LivingKalidos dupuyispec. nov.from thetypelocalityduringarainstorm on12.i.1989, includ-
ingapairin copulation. Fromcolour slidesbyDrD.J.Du Puy.
Verdcourt:Twonew taxaoflandsnailsofthegeneraKalidosandAmpelita 105
withnarrow white subsuturaland peripheral bandsonthebody whorl, thesutural one
continuing for about41/2whorls. The apex is uniformlybrown;base of shell pale with
some transverse brownish streaks, the transverse ribs being fainter. Aperture oblong-
lunate,obliquely retractedatabout45° fromvertical; margin ofperistome slightly thick-
enedanddark(from photograph)but sharpin nearly adultholotype.
The collector tookthree photographs (figs 1-2) of theliving animal during a rain-
storm, including apair incopulation. Hewas reluctantto killany specimens butcollect-
ed anumberofempty shellsall saveoneunfortunatelyworn.
Dimensions. — Majordiameter28.5mm,minor diameter25mm;height 17mm;aper-
ture14 mmwide, 10mmtall.
Distribution.— SW. Madagascar, ReserveNaturelleintegrateLac Tsimanampetsotsa.
Discussion. — I was unableto match this species with any of the illustrationsin
Fischer-Piettteetal. (1994). Kalidoslapillus Fischer& Bedoucha,1966,isrecordedfromthe
areabuthas5Viwhorls, granular abovewithtransverse andspiral striae.Kalidospiperatus
(Fulton, 1901) is similarin shape butmuch smaller, with quitedifferentcolourpattern.
Kalidoschastellii(Ferussac, 1832)has adifferentcolourpattern.
AcavidaePilsbry, 1895
Ampelita lamarei dendriticasubspec. nov. (figs 7-10)
Material examined. — NE. Madagascar, 14km W.ofAntanambe,MananaraAvaratra Biosphere
Reserve,nearR.Mavohoh, 240m alt.,rainforest,HenkBeentjeleg.(no4317),24.X.1994(holotypeRMNH
104692).
Diagnosis. — Closely similar in shape to A. lamareisakalava (Angas, 1877) and the
many taxa similarbut distinguished by thecombinationof threedarkbandswithinthe
aperture and densehieroglyphic and dendriticmarksonoutsideof shell.
Description. —Shell(figs7-10)asymmetrically depressedhelicoid, thespire slightly
but distinctlyraised, the sidesalmost straight, very obtuseat theapex, theangle being
about150°.Body whorl withthreeinternaldarkbands showing through the shellvery
distinctlybuttheentireyellowish outersurfaceofthebody whorlhas densebrownirreg-
ularspeckling of fine hieroglyphic, vermiformand dendriticmarks, this area bordering
theshiny circum-umbilicalridge andunlikethatissmoothnotstriate.Withintheaperture
there are three darkbrownbands reaching probably to the apex; theapical whorlsare
entirely brown save for an irregular pate sutural band. Umbilicusnarrowly pyriform,
about 2 mm long, at the bottomof a funnel-shaped declivity of the body whorl sur-
roundedbyaraisedtransversely striateyellowish ridge. Whorls4V4, quitesharply keeled
atperiphery, convex save for a distinctspiral grooveabovethekeel onthebody whorl.
Aperture4/5-elliptic,retractedabout30°fromthevertical, theperistome stronglyflanged
forabout 1.5mm,withrecurved margin.
Dimensions. — Majordiameter26 mm,minordiameter19mm; aperture14mmwide
andtall.
106 BASTERIA, Vol. 70, No. 4-6,2006
Figs3-6. Holotypeshell ofKalidos dupuyispec. nov.(RMNH 104690),SW.Madagascar,NW.cornerofLac
Tsimanampetsotsa.
Distribution.— NE. Madagascar, 16°S, Mananara NordPareNational
Discussion. — Emberton (1990) has suggested that A. lamarei (Pfeiffer, 1853), A.
lamareisakalava (Angas, 1877), A. hova (Angas, 1877), A. subsepulcralis (Crosse, 1868), A.
alluaudi(Dautzenberg, 1894), A. caducaFischer-Piette, Blanc &Salvat, 1975,A. lamothei
(Dautzenberg, 1894),A.peramplaDautzenberg, 1907,A.stragulum (Crosse&Fischer, 1873),
and A.watersi (Angas, 1877)maybeallthe samespecies and thisappearsvery possible.
Thissimplifies things to some extentbut doesnot suggestto methat one can ignore all
thevariation. Adetaileddescription ofthevarious'morphs' and their possible relationto
geography is stillof interest.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanksareduetoMs Virginie Herosofthe Molluscadepartment of theMuseum
Nationald'HistoireNaturelleforloaning tome typematerialofKalidoslapillus andtomy
colleagues Drs H.Beentje and D.J. DuPuy forcollecting thematerialduring theirofficial
botanicalcollecting expeditions. Theprofessional photographs ofthe shellsare acknowl-
edged to MrJeroenGoudof theLeidenMuseum.
Verdcourt:Twonew taxa oflandsnailsofthegeneraKalidosandAmpelita 107
Figs7-10.Holotypeshell ofAmpelitalamarei dendriticasubspec.nov.(RMNH104692),NE.Madagascar,14
km W. ofAntanambe,MananaraAvaratra BiosphereReserve, nearR.Mavohoh,240m alt.,rainforest.
REFERENCES
EMBERTON,K.C., 1990.Acavidlandsnails ofMadagascar:subgenericrevision basedonpublisheddata
(Gastropoda:Pulmonata: Stylommatophora).—Proceedings oftheAcademyofNaturalSciencesof
Philadelphia142:101-117.
FISCHER-PIETTE, E.,C.P. BLANC,F. BLANC & F. SALVAT, 1994. Gasteropodesterrestres pulmones
(excl.Veronicellidae etg. Elisolimax). —Faune deMadagascar83:1-551.
VERDCOURT, B.,2002. Records ofnon-African tropicallandsnails,Part1.—Conchologist'sNewsletter
163:258-268.