Alycaeus kelantanensis Sykes, 1902

Foon, Junn Kitt & Liew, Thor-Seng, 2017, A review of the land snail genus Alycaeus (Gastropoda, Alycaeidae) in Peninsular Malaysia, ZooKeys 692, pp. 1-81 : 31-34

Alycaeus kelantanensis Sykes, 1902 Figures 7 P–Q, 21, 31K

Alycaeus kelantanense Sykes, 1902: 60-62, Figure 11-12.

Alycaeus kelantanensis : Möllendorff 1902: 135-149; Laidlaw 1928: 35; Berry 1965: 28; Schilthuizen et al. 1999: 353; Maassen 2001: 22; Clements et al. 2008: 2760; Liew 2010: 101; Tarruella and Domènech 2011: 72, figure 2C.

Type locality.

Kelantan, Malay Peninsula.

Type material.

Syntype. Kelantan: RMNH 153594/1 (Seen).

Other examined materials.

KTN 01 Gunung Reng, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6837/1. KTN 45 unnamed hill at Kampung Bayu, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6236/6, BOR/MOL 12974/1. KTN 66 Batu Tongkat, Kelantan: ZRC 1975.2.21.838-875/44. KTN 77 Bukit Sejuk, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6199/3, BOR/MOL 6231/1. KTN 95 Gua Panjang, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6200/6, BOR/MOL 6829/1, BOR/MOL 8329/13, BOR/MOL 8330/5. KTN 109 part of Gua Panjang, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 12973/1. KTN 134 Gua Batu Boh, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6828/1, BOR/MOL 8328/3, BOR/MOL 8409/3. KTN 135 Gua Serai, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 242/1. KTN 136 Gua Musang, Kelantan: ZRC 1975.2.21.250-349/102, ZRC 1975.2.24.452-476/25, ZRC 1975.2.24.309-351/43. KTN 139 unnamed hill, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6197/5. KTN 148 'Hill 001', Kelantan: BOR/MOL 12976/4. KTN 149 unnamed hill, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6833/1, BOR/MOL 8333/11. KTN 176 Batu Lesong, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6830/1, BOR/MOL 8331/7, BOR/MOL 8332/8. Mykarst-168, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6189/2, BOR/MOL 6838/2. Mykarst-186 Gua Madu, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6234/1, BOR/MOL 6825/1, BOR/MOL 8327/7, ZRC 1975.2.21.350-430/91. Limestone outcrop 3 km north of Felda Ciku 5 settlement, Kelantan: BOR/MOL 6238/3. Bukit Gua Peraling, Kelantan: ZRC 2.24.440-451/12. Kelantan: RMNH 153593/3, ZMA 33451/2. PHG 40 Gua Layang, Pahang: BOR/MOL 6822/1, BOR/MOL 8325/2, BOR/MOL 8326/7. PHG 114 ‘Boomerang’ Hill, Pahang: BOR/MOL 6188/2. Unnamed limestone hill north of Jalan Lipis-Gua Musang Lama, Felda Chegar Perah I and II, Pahang: BOR/MOL 6233/1, BOR/MOL 6814/1, BOR/MOL 8321/5, BOR/MOL 8322/3.

Description.

Protoconch. Smooth.

Shell shape. Conical. Shell height: 3.33-5.04 mm. Shell width: 3.36-5.04 mm.

Spire. Spire height: 1.08-1.76 mm. Spire width: 1.40-2.25 mm. Number of whorls: up to 4. Spire shape: oblong conical. Whorl periphery rounded. Umbilicus open.

Whorl constriction. At about 3 ⅝ whorls posterior of protoconch.

Breathing tube. Length: 0.38-0.67 mm.

Aperture and peristome. Aperture circular, moderately expanded to very expanded. Aperture height: 1.82-2.73 mm. Aperture width: 1.69-2.46 mm. Peristome double, thickened, folded posteriorly into a wing-like upper palatal structure, notched at suture. Peristome orientation 26-34° oblique with respect to the coiling axis.

Spiral lines. Distinct. Regularly spaced. Approximately 15-28 lines per 1 mm.

Radial ribs running anterior of breathing tube. Radial ribs pronounced, evenly spaced. Approximately 12-18 ribs per 1 mm.

Radial ribs running perpendicular to breathing tube. Radial ribs pronounced, white and thicker than those anterior of breathing tube, evenly spaced. Approximately 12-29 ribs per 1 mm.

Radial ribs running posterior of breathing tube. Radial ribs absent immediately posterior of constriction, becoming pronounced and evenly spaced at the middle, absent again towards the aperture. Approximately 11-20 ribs per 1 mm.

Operculum. Concave, rounded. Exterior covered with thin calcareous layer, with very indistinct appressed multilamellae. Interior covered with proteinaceous coating, smooth, with indistinct mamilla.

Shell colour. Whorls white throughout. First 3 whorls occasionally yellow.

Living animal. Body cream-white. Head pinkish. Tentacles yellow, with red tips.

Habitat and ecology.

Lives in rock crevices and limestone solution holes. In moist, shady forests. Occur on both limestone and non-limestone areas.

Distribution range.

Widespread across southern Kelantan.

Differential diagnosis.

Alycaeus kelantanensis varies in shell size and whorl convexity but can nevertheless be distinguished from other similar sized Alycaeus by its rather angular and winged double peristome, pronounced and widely-spaced radial ribs and spiral lines, as well as the red-tipped yellow tentacles of its soft body. Alycaeus kelantanensis is similar to A. clementsi sp. n. in shell colour but differs in being consistently smaller shelled (smaller by about 2.13 mm in shell height, 2.32 mm in shell width), having smooth operculum exterior and a more angular double peristome.

Discussion.

The type specimen for A. kelantanensis was collected by John Waterstradt, likely from the Pulai Princess Cave hill (4°47'38"N, 101°56'31"E), south of Gua Musang, Kelantan (after Liew et al. 2014, Waterstradt 1902). Alycaeus kelantanensis shells from across its range are consistent in their diagnostic characters but varies in shell size within and between populations. Aside from the locations listed above, this species has also been recorded from limestone hills near Kuala Betis, 25 km west of Gua Musang, Kelantan ( Berry 1965) and in the non-limestone Lojing Highlands, Kelantan ( Liew 2010).