Pollicaria elephas (Morgan, 1885)

Kongim, Bangon, Sutcharit, Chirasak, Naggs, Fred & Panha, Somsak, 2013, Taxonomic revision of the Elephant Pupinid snail genus Pollicaria Gould, 1856 (Prosobranchia, Pupinidae), ZooKeys 287, pp. 19-40 : 32-34

Pollicaria elephas (Morgan, 1885) Figs 2D 5A-C 6D Tables 1 2

Hybocystis elephas Morgan, 1885b: 70. Type locality: Perak. Morgan 1885a: 404, 405, pl. 7, fig. 1. Crosse 1885: 183-186, pl. 11, fig. 1. Fischer 1885: 174. Möllendorff 1886: 314. Möllendorff 1891: 346. Kobelt and Möllendorff 1899: 137.

Hybocystis jousseaumei Morgan, 1885b: 70. Type locality: Kinta, Perak. Morgan 1885a: 405, 406, pl. 7, fig. 2. Crosse 1885: 184.

Pollicaria elephas -Kobelt, 1902: 289. Laidlaw 1928: 33. van Benthem Jutting 1960: 12. Pain 1974: 176, pl. 6, fig. 1, 3. Abbott 1989: 46, 1 figure. Chan 1997: 11, fig. 1-2.

Material examined.

Five lots with 13 specimens of syntype deposited in MNHN, the specimen figured in the original publication is designated as the lectotype of Hybocystis elephas Morgan, 1885 MNHN 21309 ( Fig. 5A ), paralectotype MNHN 21310 (5 shells), 21311 (2 shells), 21312 (3 shells), 21313 (2 shells), RBINS 525391 (1 shell). Single syntype specimen is designated as the lectotype of Hybocystis jousseaumei Morgan, 1885 MNHN 21308 ( Fig. 5B ). Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia: ZMA E.A. Meene colln. Acc. no. 1982 (1 shell). Near bridge over river, road Ipoh to Tanjong Rambutan, Perak, Malaysia: ZMA J. Drijver colln. (5 shells). Perak, Malaysia: ZMB 75821 (2 shells), 38044 (1 shell), M. Schulz colln. 1216 (3 shells, smallest shell excluded). Bukit Chintamani, Selangor, Malaysia: CUMZ 1534. Gunung Kenting, Ampang Baru, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia: CUMZ 1535, 1536 ( Fig. 5C ), 1566, 1570.

Description.

Shell: Shell large, elongate pupoid uniform yellow to orange. Periostracum thin, corneous; shell surface with fine growth lines and last whorl with distinctly strong pitting dorsally. Whorls 6-7 whorls; sutures impressed; apex obtuse. Last whorl large about two-third of shell height, flattened in front. Aperture rounded, with shallow to deep posterior angle groove. Peristome continuous, little elevated, yellow to orange, internal parietal declining shoulder absent. Lip thickened, duplicated, and with distinct growth ridges; umbilicus narrow. Operculum thick, calcareous, concentric.

Radula: Taenioglossate radula, teeth arrangement with central, lateral and marginal teeth shape similar to Pollicaria myersii . Minor differences are the well-developed central cusp with one to three small lateral cusps of the central tooth, and the slightly elongate and slender central cusp of the inner marginal teeth.

Distribution.

This species has a restricted distribution and is known only from limestone outcrops in Perak, Peninsular Malaysia ( Morgan 1885a, b). Material collected for this study was from Kinta valley, Perak, and the southern part of the species’ historical range in Bukit Chintamani, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia is considered to be this locally endemic species.

Remarks.

The locally endemic Pollicaria elephas is confined to a few limestone outcrops in Peninsular Malaysia and shows several unique shell characters that separate it from its congeners. The major distinguishing characters of this species are the very large, monochrome yellowish to pale orange shell with the last whorl distorted ventrally and sculptured with scattered, deep pits dorsally; and rounded and thickened aperture. ( Table 2 , Fig. 5A-C ).

Morgan (1885a, b) proposed two nominal species of Pollicaria from Perak, which differed mainly by the shell size (larger shell Hybocystis elephas and smaller shell Hybocystis jousseaumei ). In the first revision of this genus, Crosse (1885) assumed that they were the same species and recognized only Pollicaria elephas . Thereafter Pollicaria jousseaumei was recognized as a synonym of Pollicaria elephas ( Kobelt 1902, Pain 1974). Examination of the type specimens ( Fig. 5A, B ) confirmed Pollicaria jousseaumei as junior synonym of Pollicaria elephas . Moreover, the recent land snail survey in Perak, Peninsular Malaysia recorded both large and small shell forms of the species from the same localities.

Figures

Figure 2. Living snails. A Pollicaria myersii from Pahom, Vang Vieng, Laos (CUMZ 1572; shell height about 40 mm) B Pollicaria mouhoti mouhoti from Tam Wungdang, Phitsanulok (CUMZ 1533; shell height about 35 mm) C Pollicaria mouhoti monochroma ssp. n. from the type locality (paratype CUMZ 1548; shell height about 30 mm) D Pollicaria elephas from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (CUMZ 1536; shell height about 45 mm).

Figure 5. Shell morphology of Pollicaria spp. A-C Pollicaria elephas A lectotype of Pollicaria elephas (MNHN 21309) B lectotype of Hybocystis jousseaumei Morgan, 1885 (MNHN 21308), and C specimen from Gunung Kenting, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (CUMZ 1536) D, E Pollicaria rochebruni D lectotype (MNHN 21305), and E specimen from Phuong Nga National Park, Vietnam (CUMZ 1568) F, G Pollicaria crossei, F lectotype (MNHN 21304), and G specimen from Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam (CUMZ 1588).

Figure 6. Radular morphology of Pollicaria spp. A Pollicaria myersii from Pahom, Vang Vieng, Laos (CUMZ 1572) B Pollicaria mouhoti mouhoti from Tam Wungdang, Phitsanulok (CUMZ 1533) C Pollicaria mouhoti monochroma ssp. n. from the type locality (paratype CUMZ 1548) D Pollicaria elephas from Gunung Kenting, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (CUMZ 1536) E Pollicaria rochebruni from Phuong Nga National Park, Vietnam (CUMZ 1568) F Pollicaria crossei from Cuc Phuong National Park, Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam (CUMZ 1588). Numbers indicated order of lateral and marginal teeth. Central tooth indicated by ' C '.