Additions to the knowledge of the land snails of Sabah (Malaysia, Borneo), including 48 new species
Author
Vermeulen, Jaap J.
Author
Liew, Thor-Seng
Author
Schilthuizen, Menno
text
ZooKeys
2015
531
1
139
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.531.6097
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.531.6097
1313-2970-531-1
C845838EC9124BD8AB4E07980F91959E
Taxon classification Animalia Stylommatophora Ariophantidae
Genus
Microcystina
Moerch
, 1872
Nanina
subgenus
Microcystina
Moerch
, 1872: 311.
Microcystina
(
Moerch
) Godwin Austen, 1882 (1882-1888): 11.
Diagnosis for the Sabah species.
Shell minute or very small, thin, lenticular, inflated-lenticular to depressed-ovoid; spire almost flat to moderately elevated. Surface shiny or glossy. Sculpture very fine, hardly prominent. Umbilicus open but very narrow, to closed, often partly or entirely covered by a minute, triangular spur protruding from the columellar corner of the peristome; this spur lacking or inconspicuous in juveniles. Dimensions: Width of adult shells 1.7-3.6 mm.
Remarks.
The genus
Microcystina
includes small (up to 3.6 mm wide) species with lenticular (depressed ovoid in
Microcystina physotrochus
) shells. Invariably, the shell surface seems smooth at a first impression, any sculpture present on the shells is very fine and inconspicuous. This distinguishes the smaller species of
Microcystina
(particularly
Microcystina sinica
) from sympatric, yet undescribed
Charopa
species (
Charopidae
), which have lenticular, minute shells (width of adult shells 0.9-1.9 mm) with a much more conspicuous sculpture. In several
Microcystina
species the umbilicus is partly or entirely covered by a minute, triangular spur protruding from the columellar corner of the peristome.
Borneo
Macrochlamys
and
Everettia
(
Ariophantidae
), and
Helicarion
(
Helicarionidae
) may have similarly shaped shells, including the inconspicuous sculpture, but they are larger (width of adult shells 8 mm or more).
Placement of
Microcystina
into the family
Ariophantidae
follows
Schileyko (2003)
.
We provide a review of the Sabah species of
Microcystina
. We divide the genus into two informal groups.