Virpazaria (Virpazaria) backhuysi Gittenberger, 1969

Fehér, Zoltán, Deli, Tamás, Erőss, Zoltán P. & Lika, Romilda, 2019, Taxonomic revision of the subterranean genus Virpazaria Gittenberger, 1969 (Gastropoda, Spelaeodiscidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 558, pp. 1-25 : 7

Virpazaria (Virpazaria) backhuysi Gittenberger, 1969

Fig. 1 G–L

Virpazaria (Virpazaria) backhuysi Gittenberger, 1969: 299–301 , fig. 5.

Virpazaria (Virpazaria) backhuysi – Welter-Schultes 2012: 212 .

Diagnosis

Small, discoid and shouldered shell, low but raised spire, wide umbilicus. Callous thickening along entire basal peristome, a smaller knob on palatal peristome. High and thick parietal flap reaching almost up to angular junction. Aperture crescent-shaped, all of it but the sinus region covered by a parietal flap in frontal view.

Material examined

Holotype

MONTENEGRO • Virpazar, “Cp.360”; Dabović leg.; NHMW-E 48856 .

Dimensions

H 1.5 mm; W 2.5 mm (holotype).

Distribution

Only the holotype specimen is known, which came from the Edlauer Collection and was probably collected in the 1930s. On the label only “Virpazar Cp.360” is stated. Virpazar is a small historical town with a fortress. In past decades, various malacologists have sampled in and around Virpazar, including E. Gittenberger, H. Nordsieck, A. and P.L. Reischütz, P. Subai and the authors of the present paper, but no one has been able to refind this enigmatic species. This either means that V. backhuysi has a very narrow range and/or is a locally very rare species, or that we searched in all the wrong places. In case of old museum material, the possibility of a past mix-up can never be excluded (see also the doubt regarding the real origin of the type series of V. ripkeni ), but it is also feasible that the label information refers to the area around Virpazar in a broader sense. Due to this uncertainty we cannot conclude anything about its preferred bedrock type.

Figures

Fig. 1. Shells of species of Virpazaria Gittenberger, 1969. A–F. Virpazaria (Virpazaria) adrianae Gittenberger, 1969, holotype (NHMW-E 57441). G–L. Virpazaria (Virpazaria) backhuysi Gittenberger, 1969, holotype (NHMW-E 48856). Scale bar = 1 mm.