Monthly Archives: December 2011
New taxa (29): Practicolella
In a recent issue of The Nautilus (Perez, 2011) a new species of polygyrid land snail of the genus Praticolella from northeastern Mexico is described. This species has established invasive populations in the United States and Caribbean and has been confused with P. griseola and P. berlandieriana. Praticolella mexicana spec. nov. is similar to P. griseola, but differs in being larger, having a more robust, depressed shell with white pigmentation, a flattened wide body whorl, and a more oval-shaped aperture. The range of these two species does not appear to overlap with P. berlandieriana, which is restricted to central, north, and east Texas. These two species are also circumscribed and their taxonomic history is reviewed. This new taxonomy was established using mitochondrial 16S rDNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences as well as geometric morphometric examination of the shells of each species.
New taxa (28): Thaumastus
In a recent issue of Zoologia (formerly Revista Brasileira de Zoologia) a paper appeared with new taxa of Orthalicidae (Pena et al., 2011).
Photo of the day (130): Bothriembryon
Alan Longbottom kindly sent me some notes and pictures of Bothriembryon species in the Esperance area of Western Australia.