Ampullaria prunella, Hupe, 1857

Cowie, Robert H. & Héros, Virginie, 2012, Annotated catalogue of the types of Ampullariidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, with lectotype designations, Zoosystema 34 (4), pp. 793-824 : 813

prunella Hupé, 1857 , Ampullaria

( Fig. 6B )

Ampullaria prunella Hupé, 1857: 67 , pl. 12, figs 4 [two figures], 4a.

CURRENT TAXONOMIC STATUS. — Unclear (see Remarks).

TYPE SPECIMENS. — Syntypes MNHN 4620 (7 spms; see also Tillier 1980: 16) ; possible syntype MNHN 23086 .

TYPE LOCALITY. — “les parties centrales de l’Amérique du Sud, de Rio de Janeiro à Lima, et de Lima au Para ” [in publication title] [“Cayenne” ( MNHN 4620)].

REMARKS

The syntypes are labeled as from “Cayenne” [ French Guiana] and the published type locality is South America. However, there are four calcified opercula associated with the specimens, which would indicate that they are not New World ampullariids. The largest shell is close to the dimensions given by Hupé and corresponds in shape, but it is smaller than the original illustration, which shows a shell with more prominent spiral color bands. Nonetheless, the description matches the shells well, especially as there are a number of rather distinctive features, including in particular the fine transverse striations and the dark brown periostracum. Therefore, it seems probable that these were indeed the shells Hupé was describing, which suggests that he was mistaken regarding their origin. However, there are other shells that are very similar to these types in the MNHN general collections (Zoothèque) also labeled as Ampullaria prunella from South America, but with no opercula. Tillier (1980: 16) suggested that these specimens represented an Asian or African species [of Pila ] that had been introduced but had since disappeared from French Guiana. Given these uncertainties, we refrain from designating a lectotype.

Figures

FIG. 6. — A, Ampullaria physis Hupé,1857,lectotype MNHN 23084, 41.4 mm; B, Ampullaria prunella Hupé,1857,syntype MNHN 4620, 25.7 mm; C, Ampullaria puntaplaya Cousin, 1887, lectotype MNHN 4622, 35.6 mm; D, Ampullaria pygmaea Récluz, 1851, syntype MNHN 4623, 7.0 mm; E, Meladomus pyramidalis Bourguignat,1879,syntype MNHN 4624, 42.5 mm; F, Ampullaria reyrei Cousin,1887, possible syntype MNHN 23087, 60.3 mm; G, Ampullaria scalaris d’Orbigny, 1835, lectotype MNHN 23088, 48.9 mm; H, Ampullaria schrammi Crosse, 1876, lectotype MNHN 4630, 41.7 mm.