A review of the land snail genus Alycaeus (Gastropoda, Alycaeidae) in Peninsular Malaysia
Author
Foon, Junn Kitt
Author
Liew, Thor-Seng
text
ZooKeys
2017
692
1
81
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.692.14706
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.692.14706
1313-2970-692-1
1B7C3F517CF543338EAB1CB1BD9D8A07
1B7C3F517CF543338EAB1CB1BD9D8A07
Alycaeus virgogravida
sp. n.
Figures 30, 31S
Type locality.
Limestone hill at east side of Pulau Dayang Bunting, off Langkawi Island, Kedah (
6°12'26"N
,
99°47'04"E
).
Type material.
Holotype. Limestone hill at east side of Pulau Dayang Bunting, off Langkawi Island, Kedah: BOR/MOL 12978. Paratypes. Limestone hill at east side of Pulau Dayang Bunting, off Langkawi Island, Kedah: BOR/MOL 12979/1, BOR/MOL 6248/6.
Etymology.
Latin, meaning pregnant maiden. Named after the type locality, Pulau Dayang Bunting, meaning island of the pregnant maiden.
Description.
Protoconch. Smooth.
Shell shape. Conical. Shell height: 4.71-5.14 mm. Shell width: 4.44-4.97 mm.
Spire. Spire height: 1.68-1.77 mm. Spire width: 2.19-2.50 mm. Number of whorls: up to 4
1/2
. Spire shape: oblong conical. Whorl periphery rounded. Umbilicus open.
Whorl constriction. At about 4
1/4
whorls posterior of protoconch.
Breathing tube. Length: 0.49-0.51 mm.
Aperture and peristome. Aperture circular, expanded. Aperture height: 2.10-2.36 mm. Aperture width: 2.10-2.29 mm. Peristome double, not thickened, notched at suture. Peristome orientation 29-33° oblique with respect to the coiling axis.
Spiral lines. Distinct. Regularly spaced. Approximately 18-34 lines per 1 mm.
Radial ribs running anterior of breathing tube. Radial ribs pronounced, evenly spaced. Approximately 11-15 ribs per 1 mm.
Radial ribs running perpendicular to breathing tube. Radial ribs pronounced and thicker than those anterior of breathing tube, evenly spaced. Approximately 14-17 ribs per 1 mm.
Radial ribs running posterior of breathing tube. Radial ribs pronounced, unevenly spaced throughout.
Operculum. Concave, rounded. Exterior calcareous layer thick, smooth and polished. Exterior nucleus punctured through, with a cup-like projection. Four concentric ridges were distributed in the tunnel within the thick, cup-like projection. Interior calcareous, with dense concentric circles of multimellae, nucleus punctured through. Operculum edge teethed, etched with regularly spaced grooves.
Shell colour. Whorls yellow. Peristome white.
Living
animal. Unknown.
Habitat and ecology.
Unknown.
Distribution range.
Known only from the type locality Pulau Dayang Bunting, Langkawi archipelago.
Differential
diagnsosis.
Alycaeus virgogravida
sp. n. is similar to
A. kapayanensis
in having a conical shell but is distinguished by its more expanded whorls, spacing of radial and spiral ribs, and notably, the thick, calcareous operculum with cup-shaped nucleus.
Alycaeus virgogravida
sp. n. is distinguished from the globose-shelled
Alycaeus liratulus
, the only other species in Peninsular Malaysia with cup-shaped operculum nucleus, by its conical shell.
Discussion.
Alycaeus virgogravida
sp. n. is the only small, conical and yellow
Alycaeus
species in Peninsular Malaysia with cup-shaped operculum.
Figure 30.
Alycaeus virgogravida
sp. n.
A-E
Shell of holotype, BOR/MOL 12978
F-H
Close up of shell of holotype, BOR/MOL 12978
I-L
Operculum of holotype, BOR/MOL 12978. Scale bars:
A-E
, F, G 1 mm; H,
I-L
0.5 mm. All photographs by Junn Kitt Foon.
Figure 31. Synoptic view of the 23
Alycaeus
taxa in Peninsular Malaysia. Scale bar: 5 mm. Photograph of
Alycaeus carinata
by Thor Seng Liew. Photograph of
Alycaeus altispirus
by
Pall-Gergely
Barna, courtesy of R. Janssen, SMF. All other photographs by Junn Kitt Foon.