All-inclusive descriptions of new freshwater snail taxa of the hyperdiverse family Tateidae (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda) from the South Island of New Zealand
Author
Verhaegen, Gerlien
218491F7-1BE3-438C-8CAE-F11733A06D5C
AG Vogelwarte, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstrasse 23, Greifswald, Germany; Present address: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research (X-star), Advanced Science-Technology Research (ASTER) Program, 2 - 15, Natsushimacho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237 - 0061, Japan.
gerlienverhaegen@hotmail.com
Author
Haase, Martin
8CE4B347-14C5-464F-99C4-DE2263FC55D5
Vogelwarte, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstrasse 23, Greifswald, Germany.
martin.haase@uni-greifswald.de
text
European Journal of Taxonomy
2021
2021-01-18
731
71
96
journal article
8827
10.5852/ejt.2021.731.1205
d48c7b51-c9b4-49e7-8abf-1ecee8db36a1
2118-9773
4446916
CBF3D6E0-9896-4852-AA9F-6DD49C950795
Opacuincola gretathunbergae
sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
FCAB414F-A55A-4819-AFE1-CE2AF78D6B2F
Figs 4
E–F,
5
D–E,
6
D,
8
C,
11
B,
12
;
Tables 1–2
Diagnosis
The new species is most similar to
Op. ngatapuna
in terms of shape and epidermal pigmentation. It differs from the latter in 11 diagnostic DNA positions, in being much larger and in penial morphology. The penis and penial lobe of
Op. gretathunbergae
sp. nov.
are considerably more delicate.
Etymology
The dedicatee of this new species is the Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. Starting with a single-person school strike and demonstration to save our climate she has sparked the global movement “Fridays for Future” supported primarily by young people and managed to finally get momentum in global politics toward action against climate change after warnings of scientists have been largely ignored for more than 30 years. We wish her and the movement the endurance necessary to keep the pressure up!
Material examined
Holotype
(
Fig. 4E
)
NEW ZEALAND
•
Kahurangi National Park
,
W of Motueka, Cobb Dam Road
;
41°04ʹ25.0ʺ S
,
172°45ʹ18.5ʺ E
;
1 Mar. 2016
;
G. Verhaegen
and
M. Haase
leg.;
on leaves, stones, woody debris in trickle along road
;
NMNZ.M.330191
.
Paratypes
(
Figs. 4F
;
5
D–E)
NEW ZEALAND
•
21
specs; same collection data as for holotype;
NMNZ.M.330192
.
Description
SHELL (
Figs 4
E–F, 5D–E). Blunt-conical to pupiform, about 1.65 times as high as than wide, whitetranslucent with brown periostracum; protoconch almost smooth with fine pits comprising ca 0.75 whorl (
Fig. 6D
); entire shell with 3.5 to 4.25 whorls, teleoconch initially with fine longitudinal ridges, then without structure apart from growth lines; umbilicus narrow; aperture orthocline, slightly higher than wide.
OPERCULUM. Orange, paucispiral; nucleus submarginal, without peg.
EXTERNAL FEATURES (
Figs 4
E–F). Epidermis with irregular, large pigment blotches; eyes well developed and entirely pigmented; tentacles without particular ciliation.
MANTLE CAVITY (n = 3). 10–12 ctenidial filaments; osphradium ovate-elongate, behind middle of gill.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. Radula has formula R 5-6 1 5–6/3–4 3–4, L 5–6 1 6, M1 22–26, M2 31–32 (
Fig. 8C
); stomach without caecum; rectal loop pointing left in roof of mantle cavity, in males more distinct than in females.
FEMALE GENITALIA (n = 2;
Fig. 12
). Ovary small, simple sac starting> 1.5 whorls below apex, comprising 0.25 whorl and not reaching stomach; renal oviduct first coiling 180° clockwise, then 270° counterclockwise; one distal, large receptaculum seminis lying against anterior area of bursa copulatrix; bursa copulatrix large, globular, extending behind much smaller albumen gland, bursal duct entering anteriorly; ovoviviparous, brooding at least three embryos in pallial oviduct, pallial oviduct as brood pouch with very short albumen gland and large capsule gland, the latter histologically uniform in CT scans.
MALE GENITALIA (n = 4). Testis lobate sac, starting ca 0.75 whorl below apex, comprising up to 1 whorl, may reach stomach; vesicula seminalis coils along anterior half of testis; proximal vas deferens inserts close to middle of kidney-shaped prostate, distal vas deferens leaving anteriorly; penis long, slender, continuously tapering, pointed; distinct lobe on right side pointing forward (
Fig. 11B
).
Remarks
The sister relationship of
Op. gretathunbergae
sp. nov.
to
Op. ngatapuna
was fairly well supported (
Fig. 2
). The average COI p-distance was 0.014 and there were eight
type
1 characters in COI and three in 16S (
Table 2
). Morphologically, the new species is larger. Univariate tests comparing shell dimensions could not be conducted, though, because of the small sample size available for
Op. ngatapuna
. But the PCA (
Fig. 3
) and the data in
Haase (2008)
are clear regarding the size difference. Anatomically, only the male genitalia could be compared because this information is lacking for
Op. ngatapuna
(
Haase 2008
)
. The well-developed eyes indicate that the new species is a true crenobiont.