Five alien achatinid land snails (Gastropoda, Eupulmonata) first reported in greenhouses of Italian botanical gardens Author Manganelli, Giuseppe 0000-0002-8453-280X Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy & NBFC (National Biodiversity Future Center), Palermo, Italy Author Benocci, Andrea 0000-0003-3145-215X Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Accademia dei Fisiocritici, Piazzetta S. Gigli 2, 53100 Siena, Italy Author Barbato, Debora 0000-0003-1105-1711 Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy & NBFC (National Biodiversity Future Center), Palermo, Italy Author Giusti, Folco 0000-0001-8722-4653 Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy text ZooKeys 2024 2024-07-29 1208 99 132 journal article 300348 10.3897/zookeys.1208.119147 06a147da-4f99-4a61-9c8a-db99a7f99164 BEF04EEA-B9D0-4220-9BC4-84208488CCF2 Paropeas achatinaceum ( Pfeiffer, 1846 ) Bulimus achatinaceus Pfeiffer, 1846: 82 . Type locality: “ Java ”. Type material: lectotype no. ZMB Moll. 65746, Zoological Museum, Berlin ( Naggs 1994 : fig. 1). Material examined. Italy • 173 shells and 21 spirit specimens; Padua , Biodiversity Garden ( Botanical Garden of Padua ); 45 ° 23 ' 52.59 " N , 11 ° 52 ' 50.37 " E ; 06 Mar. 2019 ; D. Barbato leg.; GMC 57373 . Description. Shell (Figs 21–24 ). Dextral, medium in size, minutely perforate to imperforate, elongate, slender, conical, rather robust, pearly off-white, opaque, with 7–9 slightly convex whorls, separated by rather deep and in places irregularly crenulate sutures. Apex obtuse, rounded, and smooth. Last whorl ~ 1 / 3 of shell height. Aperture small, ~ 1 / 4 of shell height, obliquely pyriform, slightly prosocline. Peristome interrupted, slightly thickened along outer margin, slightly reflected on columella, with callous rim on parietum and columella; columella straight; outer margin sinuous in lateral view (approximately inverse S-shaped). Protoconch smooth; teleoconch with evident irregular collabral striae. Shell dimensions: SH 9.4–13.1 mm ; SD 2.9–3.8 mm ; AH 3.0– 3.5 mm ; AW 1.8–2.2 mm . Shells of Paropeas achatinaceum from the Biodiversity Garden (Botanical Garden of Padua), D. Barbato leg. 06 Mar. 2019. Female distal genitalia (Figs 25 , 27 ). Free oviduct long and wide. Bursa copulatrix sac-like, oval with long slender duct (slightly longer than bursa copulatrix), initially slightly flared, and medially convoluted around free oviduct. Vagina long and wide (longer than free oviduct) with huge proximal lateral bulge containing large ligula. Genital anatomy of Paropeas achatinaceum from the Biodiversity Garden (Botanical Garden of Padua), D. Barbato leg. 06 Mar. 2019: 25 genitalia (hermaphrodite gonad excluded) 26 detail of proximal penial complex 27 internal structure of vagina. Male distal genitalia (Figs 25–27 ). Vas deferens of variable diameter (proximal tract narrow, medial tract slightly wider and final tract very narrow), entering penial complex at its proximal end. Penial complex consisting of epiphallus, penial caecum and penis. Epiphallus very short. Penial caecum very short (as long as epiphallus). Penis very long, distinctly divided into proximal and distal parts by difference in calibre; proximal part longer (almost twice distal penis), slender and thin walled; distal penis shorter (half proximal penis), thick, muscular walled and enveloped by penial sheath. Penial retractor muscle bifid, one branch inserted on proximal end of penis, the other branch on tip of penial caecum. Genital atrium (Figs 25 , 27 ). Short. Remarks. Paropeas achatinaceum is one of the best known subulinids thanks to the excellent anatomical study and the careful taxonomic revision by Naggs (1994) . Our anatomical study (Figs 25–27 ) fully agrees with that of Naggs (1994) . This species is regarded as native to tropical Asia, where it occurs from Nepal and Sri Lanka to South East Asia . Outside this area it is found in Australia and Pacific islands, West Indian Ocean islands, Europe, and the West Asia (see Table 3 for details and references). Geographical distribution of Paropeas achatinaceum . Asterisks indicate countries / islands where the species has been recorded only in greenhouses or very disturbed anthropogenic habitats; hash symbol denotes one record based on a specimen of unknown origin recovered from sandy detritus collected on a beach.
Regions Countries / Islands References
Europe Austria *, Italy *, and Malta # Horsák et al. (2020) , Cilia et al. (2022) , this paper
West Indian Ocean Mascarene and Seychelles Naggs (1994) , Griffiths and Florens (2006)
West Asia Iraq Hussein et al. (2018)
South Asia Nepal and Sri Lanka Naggs (1994) , Budha et al. (2015)
South-East Asia Borneo, Indonesia, and Singapore Naggs (1994) , Schilthuizen and Rutjes (2001) , Tan et al. (2015) , Nurinsiyaha et al. (2016) , Phung et al. (2017)
East Asia Dongsha Island and Hong Kong Naggs (1994) , Wu et al. (2007)
Oceania Australia and Pacific islands (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Samoa, and Tonga) Naggs (1994) , Cowie (2000 , 2001 ), Shea (2007) , Brook et al. (2010) , Stanisic et al. (2010) , Kerr and Bauman (2013) , Brook (2014) , Cowie et al. (2017)
The species was found in the Biodiversity Garden (Botanical Garden of Padua), where it forms a well-established population, as in Vienna Zoo, Austria ( Horsák et al. 2020 ). In contrast, the report from Malta is only based on a specimen of unknown origin recovered from sandy detritus collected on a beach ( Cilia et al. 2022 ). This is the first report from Italy and the third from Europe.