Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis, De Mattia & Reier & Haring, 2021

De Mattia, Willy, Reier, Susanne & Haring, Elisabeth, 2021, Morphological investigation of genital organs and first insights into the phylogeny of the genus Siciliaria Vest, 1867 as a basis for a taxonomic revision (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Clausiliidae), ZooKeys 1077, pp. 1-175 : 1

Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis ssp. nov.

Figs 1.F, 18.1-18.2, 19.1-19.5, 24.5, 24.6

Type locality.

Italy, Sicily, Municipality of Borgetto, Anime Sante hill, road to Romitello, 400 m asl, 38°02'59.53"N, 13°08'58.55"E.

Type material.

1 Holotype (NHMW 113613) [Lab ID 46_1, COI: MW758890, ITS2: MW757080, MW757089, MW757090] and two Paratypes (NHMW 113614): Italy, Sicily, Municipality of Borghetto, Anime Sante hill, road to Romitello, 400 m asl, 38°02'59.53"N, 13°08'58.55"E, [Lab ID 46_2, COI: MW758891; Lab ID 46_3, COI: MW758932], W. De Mattia and J. Macor leg., 22.vi.2015. 3 dissected spm. 3 Paratypes (CWDM 18223): same locality.

Shell diagnosis.

Shell not decollate; whorls rib-striated; dorsal keel not distinguishable; inferior lamella very high; anterior upper palatal plicae present detached from the lunella; parietalis short partially overlapping of the spiralis; palatal edge of clausilium plate distally receding, plate gutter-like narrowed, palatal edge against distal end bent upwards and more or less pointed.

Shell description

(Figs 19 .1-19.5, 24.5, 24.6). The shell is elongated, fusiform to slightly pyriform, sinistral and not decollate. It is light reddish-brown in colour. The external surface is irregularly ribbed and striated. The spire is slowly and regularly growing with 9 ½ -10 ¼ slightly convex whorls. The sutures are shallow with whitish papillae, mainly present along the 4th-8th whorls. The whitish papillae become much less dense along the first four whorls of the teleoconch. The suture is dark red in colour, forming a darker line along it. The basal and the cervical keels are almost indistinguishable or not present. The umbilicus is closed. The aperture is ~ 1⁄4 of shell height and subovoid in shape. The PRI is long and moderately raised, wider along its posterior part and not fused with the L. The PRI is not visible from a frontal view of the aperture. The L is anterior, with a very reduced, knob-like PUPP connected to it. The AUPP is strong, detached from the L and well visible from the aperture. The BAS starts directly from the L and it is long and strong, clearly visible from the aperture. The SCL is vestigial to absent. The IL is very high. The SUL is tooth-like and partially overlaps with the spiralis. The SCOL is not emergent. The peristome is continuous, markedly thickened and reflected. It is not superiorly fused to the wall of the first whorl. The palatal edge of the clausilium is distally receding and bent upwards. The plate is narrow and gutter-like. The palatal edge against distal end is bent upwards and more or less blunt.

Measurements.

Holotype: not decollate shell height 18.7, whorl width 4.2, aperture height 3.9, aperture width 2.8. Paratypes (n = 20, not decollate): shell height 19.0 ± 0.3, whorl width 4.3 ± 0.1, aperture height 3.8 ± 0.1, aperture width 2.9 ± 0.1.

External morphology of the genital organs (Fig. 18 .1).

The FO is as long as or slightly longer than the V (FO/V range 1.0-1.1). The VD is thin along its whole course. The FDBC is longer than the BC+SDBC (FDBC/BC+SDBC range 1.5-1.8). The BC+SDBC is club-like to cylindrical and as long as the V (BC+SDBC/V = 1.0), with no clear distinction between the SDBC and the BC. The apex is big and rounded. The D is longer than the V (D/V range 2.2-2.7) and longer that the BC+SDBC (D/BC+SDBC range 2.1-2.5), slightly thinner than BC+SDBC and with a small and round apex. The V is cylindrical. The A is very large. The PC is longer than the V (PC/V range 2.1-2.2). The PR is long and robust. The transition P-E does not show any ET. The E is almost as long as the P (E/P range 0.8-0.9), gradually shrinking and turning into the VD. The transition area between the E and the VD is not clearly visible outside.

Internal morphology of the genital organs

(Fig. 18 .2). The A shows a set of irregular fleshy folds. The P presents four to five large longitudinal fleshy segmented pleats. These pleats distally become weak and irregular entering in the A. The fine structure of the penial wall is smooth. The PP is big, rhombus-shaped and smooth. The P-E transition presents one ER with the PP originating from it. The ELP are not connected with the ER. The epiphallar formula is: 1ER(PP)+ELP. The E shows a pattern of 3 to 4 irregular longitudinal extremely fringed pleats. These pleats abruptly fade and most of the epiphallus is smooth. The V is smooth with a finely granulated surface.

Comparative and taxonomical remarks.

Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis ssp. nov. was reported as "Sagana form" in Nordsieck (2013b: 8; personal communication), which differs from the nominate subspecies by a higher inferior lamella, a lower anterior upper palatal plica more or less developed and the palatal edge of the clausilium less strongly bent upwards. The type locality (Anime Sante hill along the Borghetto-Romitello road) is very close to Sagana, which is found 3.5 km eastward. This taxon is similar to the Siciliaria calcarae cruenta ssp. nov. (described below) from Monte Gibilmesi, that is also found at short distance from Sagana (1.5 km northeast) but differs from the latter by its more striated shell, lighter colour and the more developed AUPP which is always visible from the frontal view. Siciliaria calcarae cruenta ssp. nov. belongs to haplogroup 2, whereas Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis ssp. nov. belongs to haplogroup 1.

Distribution.

Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis ssp. nov. is exclusively known from the type locality. It is likely to be present along the whole northern limestone slopes of the Anime Sante hill (Romitello) as far as Sagana, thus further field investigations are needed in order to clearly define its actual distribution range.

Ecology.

The subspecies is found on limestone boulders and under scattered rocks.

Etymology.

Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis ssp. nov. is named after the nearby Borgetto town (Borgetto-Partinico), where the new subspecies was discovered.

Figures

Figure 1. Wagner's (1913, 1925) and Brandt's (1961) Siciliaria genital drawings A Siciliaria septemplicata, Wagner, 1913: plate 572, fig. 14 B Siciliaria grohmanniana grohmanniana, Wagner, 1925: plate 1, fig. 8 C Siciliaria calcarae calcarae, 1925: plate 3, fig. 25 D Siciliaria ferrox, Brandt, 1961: fig. 1 E overall Siciliaria / Sicania and Sicilian Mauritanica distribution F Siciliaria / Sicania and Sicilian Mauritanica distribution of taxa.

Figure 18. Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis ssp. nov., road to Romitello, Borghetto 18.1 whole distal genital organs 18.2 internal distal part of genital organs. Siciliaria calcarae jatinensis ssp. nov. San Giuseppe Jato 18.3 whole distal genital organs 18.4 internal distal part of genital organs 18.5 detail of the pseusopapilla 18.6 whole distal genital organs 18.7 internal distal part of genital organs. Siciliaria calcarae parajatinensis ssp. nov., west side Monte Kumeta 18.8 whole distal genital organs 18.9 internal distal part of genital organs.

Figure 19. Siciliaria calcarae borgettensis ssp. nov., road to Romitello, Borghetto 19.1 shell 19.2 detail of the aperture 19.3 clausiliar plate double side 19.4 shell 19.5 detail of the aperture. Siciliaria calcarae jatinensis ssp. nov. San Giuseppe Jato 19.6 shell 19.7 detail of the aperture 19.8 clausiliar plate double side. Siciliaria calcarae parajatinensis ssp. nov., west side Monte Kumeta 19.9 shell 19.10 detail of the aperture 19.11 detail of the columellar side of last whorl 19.12 clausiliar plate double side.