Inchoatia megdova
Encyclopedia
Inchoatia megdova is a species
of air-breathing land snail
, terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae
, the door snails.
is horny brown, weakly striated. The cervix is more prominently striated. The shell has 11-13 whorls
with white suture. The cervix is with weak basal keel. The dorsal keel is very weak if present. The aperture
is not detached. The parietalis and columellaris is prominent, lunula dorsolateral, basalis very short. There is no platal callus and no frontal upper palatalis. Subcolumellaris is visible in a perpendicular view. Clausilium
plate is usually with edge at the outer margin.
The width of the shell is 3.7-4.5 mm. The height of the shell is 18–23 mm.
Inchoatia megdova differs from Inchoatia haussknechti
in the presence of a short basalis, absence of a sulcalis, clausilium plate with edge at the outer margin. Carinigera pharsalica has a less slender shell, the cervical keels are weaker, the suture is even less papillated, a dorsal lunula and no frontal upper palatalis, the outer edge of the clausilium is weaker.
In Inchoatia megdova the shells are broader than 3.0 mm, i.e. larger than in Inchoatia haussknechti
, sharp riblets are lacking even on the initial teleoconch whorls, and there is a prominent plica basalis, which is obsolete or lacking completely in Inchoatia haussknechti.
areas areas from south Ipiros to Central Greece. The range of this species is very disjunct
.
Inchoatia megdova tavropodensis is found c. 10 km as the crow flies from Inchoatia haussknechti
alticola, but both taxa are quite different ecologically, occurring at very different altitudes. The population with Inchoatia megdova bruggeni was found only 7 km from the type locality of Inchoatia haussknechti hiltrudae. In this case, both taxa are found at relatively low altitudes, so that Inchoatia haussknechti cannot be considered a high alpine species versus a lowland Inchoatia megdova.
Diagnosis: The teleoconch is with rather inconspicuous sutural papillae. The parietal side of the apertural border is not or somewhat protruding. It is without upper palatal plica. The lamella subcolumellaris is not or hardly visible in frontal view.
Range: The type locality is Do
, Thessalia, Karditsa
: Morfovouni, 1.25 km S of Mesenikolas. Other known locality is: Greece, Sterea Ellas, Etoloakarnania: 2 km south of Ditiki Frangista, 600 m alt. This subspecies has been reported from the two localities, that are 40 km apart and situated in geographically quite different regions, whereas Inchoatia megdova tavropodensis is reported from only a few km distant of the southern record for Inchoatia megdova megdova. Also after a renewed investigation, based on newly collected material, the surprising observation by Hausdorf (1987) with regard to the distribution of Inchoatia megdova megdova, was confirmed by Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd (2009).
.
Diagnosis: The teleoconch is with conspicuous sutural papillae. Parietal side of the apertural border is not protruding. The clausilial apparatus is with a prominent but short plica basalis, a prominent white palatal knob, and a lamella subcolumellaris that is visible in frontal view.
Shell description: The shell is sinistral, with a very slender spire
, with nearly straight sides. The shell has 11-12¾ whorls
. The uppermost whorls are moderately convex and separated by an indented suture, the lower ones increasingly more flattened and separated by an increasingly more shallow suture. The shell is yellowish brown, with a white sutural line and many prominent white papillae along the adapical border of the whorls. On the upper half of the shell, the papillae may be vaguely lengthened in the regular shell colour by striae that reach at most about the periphery of the shell; only the final quarter of the [body whorl] with irregular radial riblets. Cervical part of the body whorl is with a rounded basal keel, separated by an indentation from a rather prominent dorsal hump.
Apertural lip is thickened by a whitish callus, broadly reflected, continuous but not protruding at the parietal side. Clausilial apparatus with a prominent lamella parietalis, reaching about ⅛ whorl into the aperture
, where it ends next to the most frontal part of the lamella spiralis, which extends for about ½ whorl inside. The lamella columellaris is clearly protruding into the aperture and reaching slightly further than the lamella spiralis inside. The lamella subcolumellaris is prominent, slightly curved and clearly visible in frontal view. Plica principalis is prominent, reaching less far inside than the lamella spiralis, but clearly further than the upper palatal plica, thickened in front where it is connected with a (very) conspicuous white knob, which is shortly lengthened inside, without coming close to the lunella. Lunella situated dorsolaterally; the short posterior part of the upper palatal plica is about as long as the short but relatively conspicuous plica basalis. Clausilial blade is simple, without notches.
The width of the shell is 3.6-4.0 mm. The height of the shell is 16.2-20.3 mm.
Range: The type locality is Greece, Thessalia, Trikala
: 7.5 km WNW of Pyli
(= Pili), 8.5 km S of Elati
along road to Agh. Prokopios, 675 m alt. This subspecies is known from the type locality only.
Diagnosis: The teleoconch is with rather inconspicuous sutural papillae. The parietal side of the apertural border is protruding. The upper palatal plica is prominent. Lamella subcolumellaris is clearly visible in frontal view.
Range: The type locality is "Triklonon 5.5 km Richtung Chalkiopuli"; Greece, Sterea Ellas, Etoloakarnania: Triklono, 5.5 km to Chalkiopouli. This subspecies is only known from the type locality.
Diagnosis: Teleoconch is with conspicuous sutural papillae. The parietal side of the apertural border is not or slightly protruding. The upper palatal plica is prominent. Lamella subcolumellaris is not or hardly visible in frontal view.
According to Nordsieck (2007) this taxon is “.. clearly more similar to Carinigera semilaevis than to Carinigera megdova; its occurrence is nearer to the type locality of Carinigera semilaevis than to that of Carinigera megdova.” The obvious similarity should have been specified to take this view into consideration. The location of type localities cannot be accepted as indicative, especially not since according to Hausdorf (1987: 174). According to the Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd (2009) the closest congeneric population belongs to Inchoatia megdova megdova.
Range: The type locality is "am Fluß Tavropos, Kalkfelsen bei der Brücke, 26 km von Karpenision, etwa 340 m ü.M.". Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd (2009) have found this subspecies at Greece, Sterea Ellas, Evritania: 11.5 km WNW of Karpenisi
(road to Agrinio), 370 m alt. Most probably this is also the type locality so this subspecies is only known from the type locality.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of air-breathing land snail
Land snail
A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...
, terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae
Clausiliidae
Clausiliidae, common name door snails, are a taxonomic family of small, very elongate, mostly left-handed, air-breathing land snails, sinistral terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks....
, the door snails.
Description
The shellGastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
is horny brown, weakly striated. The cervix is more prominently striated. The shell has 11-13 whorls
Whorl (mollusc)
A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...
with white suture. The cervix is with weak basal keel. The dorsal keel is very weak if present. The aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
is not detached. The parietalis and columellaris is prominent, lunula dorsolateral, basalis very short. There is no platal callus and no frontal upper palatalis. Subcolumellaris is visible in a perpendicular view. Clausilium
Clausilium
The clausilium is a calcareous anatomical structure which is found in one group of air-breathing land snails: terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails...
plate is usually with edge at the outer margin.
The width of the shell is 3.7-4.5 mm. The height of the shell is 18–23 mm.
Inchoatia megdova differs from Inchoatia haussknechti
Inchoatia haussknechti
Inchoatia haussknechti is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails.- Description :...
in the presence of a short basalis, absence of a sulcalis, clausilium plate with edge at the outer margin. Carinigera pharsalica has a less slender shell, the cervical keels are weaker, the suture is even less papillated, a dorsal lunula and no frontal upper palatalis, the outer edge of the clausilium is weaker.
In Inchoatia megdova the shells are broader than 3.0 mm, i.e. larger than in Inchoatia haussknechti
Inchoatia haussknechti
Inchoatia haussknechti is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails.- Description :...
, sharp riblets are lacking even on the initial teleoconch whorls, and there is a prominent plica basalis, which is obsolete or lacking completely in Inchoatia haussknechti.
Distribution
Inchoatia megdova is distributed in limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
areas areas from south Ipiros to Central Greece. The range of this species is very disjunct
Disjunct distribution
In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
.
Subspecies
According to the Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd (2009) the species Inchoatia haussknechti include 4 subspecies:- Inchoatia megdova megdova (Nordsieck, 1974)
- Inchoatia megdova bruggeni Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd, 2009
- Inchoatia megdova palatalifera (Hausdorf, 1987)
- Inchoatia megdova tavropodensis (Fauer, 1993)
Inchoatia megdova tavropodensis is found c. 10 km as the crow flies from Inchoatia haussknechti
Inchoatia haussknechti
Inchoatia haussknechti is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails.- Description :...
alticola, but both taxa are quite different ecologically, occurring at very different altitudes. The population with Inchoatia megdova bruggeni was found only 7 km from the type locality of Inchoatia haussknechti hiltrudae. In this case, both taxa are found at relatively low altitudes, so that Inchoatia haussknechti cannot be considered a high alpine species versus a lowland Inchoatia megdova.
Inchoatia megdova megdova
Synonyms include:- Carinigera megdova Nordsieck, 1974
- Carinigera (Carinigera) megdova
Diagnosis: The teleoconch is with rather inconspicuous sutural papillae. The parietal side of the apertural border is not or somewhat protruding. It is without upper palatal plica. The lamella subcolumellaris is not or hardly visible in frontal view.
Range: The type locality is Do
Do
Do may refer to:*The verb "to do", which may serve as an auxiliary verb*Do or Dao, a political division in Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and ancient China*Dō , a number of spiritual, martial, or aesthetic disciplines...
, Thessalia, Karditsa
Karditsa
Karditsa is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa peripheral unit.Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BCE. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the road to Karpenisi, and the road to Palamas and Larissa...
: Morfovouni, 1.25 km S of Mesenikolas. Other known locality is: Greece, Sterea Ellas, Etoloakarnania: 2 km south of Ditiki Frangista, 600 m alt. This subspecies has been reported from the two localities, that are 40 km apart and situated in geographically quite different regions, whereas Inchoatia megdova tavropodensis is reported from only a few km distant of the southern record for Inchoatia megdova megdova. Also after a renewed investigation, based on newly collected material, the surprising observation by Hausdorf (1987) with regard to the distribution of Inchoatia megdova megdova, was confirmed by Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd (2009).
Inchoatia megdova bruggeni
The specific name bruggeni is in honour of Dutch malacologist Adolph Cornelis van BruggenAdolph Cornelis van Bruggen
Adolph Cornelis van Bruggen, also known as A. C. van Bruggen or Dolf van Bruggen is a malacologist, entomologist and botanist from the Netherlands. His interest in the tropics and tropical Africa has dominated his broad scientific interest for more than 50 years now...
.
Diagnosis: The teleoconch is with conspicuous sutural papillae. Parietal side of the apertural border is not protruding. The clausilial apparatus is with a prominent but short plica basalis, a prominent white palatal knob, and a lamella subcolumellaris that is visible in frontal view.
Shell description: The shell is sinistral, with a very slender spire
Spire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
, with nearly straight sides. The shell has 11-12¾ whorls
Whorl (mollusc)
A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...
. The uppermost whorls are moderately convex and separated by an indented suture, the lower ones increasingly more flattened and separated by an increasingly more shallow suture. The shell is yellowish brown, with a white sutural line and many prominent white papillae along the adapical border of the whorls. On the upper half of the shell, the papillae may be vaguely lengthened in the regular shell colour by striae that reach at most about the periphery of the shell; only the final quarter of the [body whorl] with irregular radial riblets. Cervical part of the body whorl is with a rounded basal keel, separated by an indentation from a rather prominent dorsal hump.
Apertural lip is thickened by a whitish callus, broadly reflected, continuous but not protruding at the parietal side. Clausilial apparatus with a prominent lamella parietalis, reaching about ⅛ whorl into the aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
, where it ends next to the most frontal part of the lamella spiralis, which extends for about ½ whorl inside. The lamella columellaris is clearly protruding into the aperture and reaching slightly further than the lamella spiralis inside. The lamella subcolumellaris is prominent, slightly curved and clearly visible in frontal view. Plica principalis is prominent, reaching less far inside than the lamella spiralis, but clearly further than the upper palatal plica, thickened in front where it is connected with a (very) conspicuous white knob, which is shortly lengthened inside, without coming close to the lunella. Lunella situated dorsolaterally; the short posterior part of the upper palatal plica is about as long as the short but relatively conspicuous plica basalis. Clausilial blade is simple, without notches.
The width of the shell is 3.6-4.0 mm. The height of the shell is 16.2-20.3 mm.
Range: The type locality is Greece, Thessalia, Trikala
Trikala
Trikala is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala peripheral unit, and is located NW of Athens, NW, of Karditsa, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki, and W of Larissa...
: 7.5 km WNW of Pyli
Pyli
Pyli is a municipality in the Trikala regional unit, Greece. Situated 18 km west of Trikala, right at the bottom of two mountains Itamos, and Koziakas, which mark the beginning of the Pindos mountainline, Pyli marks the entrance to a great gorge and the natural path that leads to the city of...
(= Pili), 8.5 km S of Elati
Elati
Elati , may refer to several villages and a mountain in Greece:*Elati, Arcadia, a village in the Arcadia prefecture*Elati, Arta, a village in the Arta Prefecture*Elati, Ioannina, a village in the Ioannina Prefecture...
along road to Agh. Prokopios, 675 m alt. This subspecies is known from the type locality only.
Inchoatia megdova palatalifera
Synonyms include:- Carinigera (Carinigera) megdova palatalifera Hausdorf, 1987
- Albinaria megdova palatalifera
Diagnosis: The teleoconch is with rather inconspicuous sutural papillae. The parietal side of the apertural border is protruding. The upper palatal plica is prominent. Lamella subcolumellaris is clearly visible in frontal view.
Range: The type locality is "Triklonon 5.5 km Richtung Chalkiopuli"; Greece, Sterea Ellas, Etoloakarnania: Triklono, 5.5 km to Chalkiopouli. This subspecies is only known from the type locality.
Inchoatia megdova tavropodensis
Synonyms include:- Carinigera (Carinigera) tavropodensis Fauer, 1993
- Carinigera megdova
- Albinaria semilaevis tavropodensis
Diagnosis: Teleoconch is with conspicuous sutural papillae. The parietal side of the apertural border is not or slightly protruding. The upper palatal plica is prominent. Lamella subcolumellaris is not or hardly visible in frontal view.
According to Nordsieck (2007) this taxon is “.. clearly more similar to Carinigera semilaevis than to Carinigera megdova; its occurrence is nearer to the type locality of Carinigera semilaevis than to that of Carinigera megdova.” The obvious similarity should have been specified to take this view into consideration. The location of type localities cannot be accepted as indicative, especially not since according to Hausdorf (1987: 174). According to the Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd (2009) the closest congeneric population belongs to Inchoatia megdova megdova.
Range: The type locality is "am Fluß Tavropos, Kalkfelsen bei der Brücke, 26 km von Karpenision, etwa 340 m ü.M.". Gittenberger & Uit de Weerd (2009) have found this subspecies at Greece, Sterea Ellas, Evritania: 11.5 km WNW of Karpenisi
Karpenisi
Karpenisi is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the peripheral unit of Evrytania. The area around Karpenisi is mountainous while farmlands are mainly in valley areas....
(road to Agrinio), 370 m alt. Most probably this is also the type locality so this subspecies is only known from the type locality.