Montenegrina laxa laxa ( Kuester , 1861)

Feher, Zoltan & Szekeres, Miklos, 2016, Taxonomic revision of the rock-dwelling door snail genus Montenegrina Boettger, 1877 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Clausiliidae), ZooKeys 599, pp. 1-137 : 46-48

Taxon classification Animalia Stylommatophora Clausiliidae

Montenegrina laxa laxa ( Kuester, 1861) Fig. 21A

Clausilia laxa Küster, 1861 in Küster 1844-1862: 276, plate 31, figs 14-16. - Schmidt 1868: 68-69.

Delima (Albanodelima) weigneri Poliński, 1924: 143-145, plate 4, figs 7-8. - Wagner 1924: 119.

Clausilia (Delima) laxa - Westerlund 1884: 54.

Montenegrina laxa laxa - Nordsieck 1972: 29-30, plate 5, fig. 40. - Zilch 1981: 130. - Nordsieck 2009: 73.

Diagnosis.

Shell medium to large, yellowish-corneous. All whorls smooth. Neck weakly inflexed, wrinkled-costate. Basal and peripheral crests weak. Peristome ovoid to somewhat angular, with simple margin. Lamellae superior and spiralis mostly do not overlap. Subcolumellar lamella barely, clausilium plate not visible through the aperture. Lunella lateral. Subclaustralis shorter than the basalis, sulcalis residual or absent. Anterior plica superior long, almost parallel to the plica principalis, not connected to the lunella complex.

Dimensions

(in mm). Hs: 16.3-21.8, Ws: 4.6-5.9 mm ( Nordsieck 1972).

Type locality.

"wahrscheinlich aus der Gegend von Castel nuovo" = Montenegro, probably from the area of Herceg-Novi [ laxa ]; "monts Mali Dajtit à l’Est de la ville de Tirana, près de la route de Tuffina à Safa Muzizes" = Albania, Mt. Dajti east of Tiranë, route from Tufinë to the Qafa e Murrizës [ weigneri ]; "la vallée de la rivière Terküza” = Albania, N of Tiranë, gorge of the Lumi i Tërkuzës [ weigneri ].

Type material.

Syntypes of weigneri are thought to be in the MIZPAS (not seen).

Other material.

Albania, Tirana, “Römerbrücke” (= Roman bridge), leg. Fuchs (SMF 94109a [ Nordsieck 1972: fig. 40], NHMW-E 32318, NHMW-K 54402, NHMW-K 50578, SMF 94109); "Mal i Krujë” (likely erroneous locality record), leg. Fuchs (NHMW-E 32479, NHMW-K 50575); Tiranë District, NE of Herraj, gorge of the Lumi i Tërkuzës near the dam of the Lumi i Bovillës, 330 m, 41.4446°N, 19.8661°E, leg. ZF, TN, EM, 16.iv.2014 (HNHM 99032); gorge of the Lumi i Tërkuzës 0.5 km beneath the dam, 240 m, 41.4412°N, 19.8636°E, leg. ZF, TN, EM, 16.iv.2014 (HNHM 99033); gorge of the Lumi i Tiranës, 5 km NE of Ferraj, 290 m, 41.3948°N, 19.9000°E, leg. ZF, TN, EM, 16.iv.2014 (HNHM 99035); Shkalla e Tiranit, gorge of the Lumi i Tiranës, 400 m, 41.4022°N, 19.9012°E, leg. ZE, ZF, KK, 10.iv.2001 (HNHM 86044); between Ferraj and Shtish (NE of Tiranë), at the bridge of the Lumi i Tiranës, 200 m, 41.3798°N, 19.8592°E, leg. ZE, ZF, KK, 10.iv.2001 (HNHM 86043).

Distribution.

Dajti-Kruja mountain range in central Albania. Known from the gorges of the Tiranë and Terkuzë Rivers, north of Tiranë (Fig. 23).

Remarks.

The illustration with the name laxa was published in 1860, but a description of the species only in 1861 (both in Küster 1844-1862). Therefore the latter is considered the year of description ( Welter-Schultes 1999).

Montenegrina species do not occur in the area of Herceg-Novi, which was given by Küster (1844-1862) as the type locality. This record is either incorrect or based on marine flotsam ( Nordsieck 1972). Without type material and reliable type locality this taxon could be identified using the precise description of Schmidt (1868), which was based on the type series. In the view of Wagner (1924), laxa is a synonym of wohlberedti and not identical with weigneri . By contrast, Nordsieck (1972) claims that the Terküza Valley population fits well Schmidt’s description, therefore he considers laxa a senior synonym of weigneri . The latter view has been widely accepted in the past 40 years. In order to preserve nomenclatural stability, we stick to this practice.