Limax dobrogicus
| Limax dobrogicus | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Limax dobrogicus | ||||||||||||
| Grossu & Lupu , 1960 |
Limax dobrogicus is a nudibranch species from the family of snails (Limacidae), which belongs to the land snails (Stylommatophora).
features
Limax dobrogicus can be 140 to 150 mm long when stretched, animals at rest and preserved animals are 50 to 60 mm long. The animals are colored gray-yellow; the animals are covered by a thick, sticky, yellowish layer of mucus. In specimens preserved in alcohol, even the preservation medium turns yellow. Without this layer of mucus, the animals are ash gray with lighter, more or less regularly distributed lighter spots. The relatively large antennae are bluish in color. The mantle shield is rounded at the front and rear end and has little distinct, concentric wrinkles. The wide open breathing opening (pseumostom) lies in the rear third of the mantle shield. The keel is very short and not very prominent; it is only more clearly visible towards the tip of the tail. too clear towards the rear end. The mucus on the sole of the foot is colorless.
The oval shell plate in the jacket is very thin and transparent with a wide, uncalcified edge area.
The intestine has six intestinal loops that have no attachments. The penis and retractor muscles of the right antenna cross one another. In the genital system, the brownish-yellowish hermaphrodite gland consists of three to four uniform oval lobes. The hermaphroditic duct (ductus hermaphroditicus) is comparatively short, about the same thickness over its entire length and not twisted or spiraled. The whitish protein gland (albumin gland) is relatively large. The translucent egg ladder (spermoviduct) is surrounded by a thick, transparent shell made of protein. It is a little twisted but not spiraled and shows some small constrictions in the first third. The prostate is comparatively thick with small constrictions; the spermatic duct runs almost straight, is comparatively short and ends at the end of the penis (into the penis). The penis is relatively short (about ⅓ the length of the body or less) and has an angled hook-shaped appendix or appendix at the apical end. The appendix and penis proper are connected by muscle fibers and connective tissue. The penile retractor muscle attaches to the appendix. The free fallopian tube (oviduct) is relatively short and thin and widens significantly towards the mouth in the atrium. The spermathek (seminal vesicle) is elongated-oval, with a long, thin stem and broad foot at the mouth into the atrium. In the interior of the (everted) penis, two longitudinal folds run parallel to each other, which become stronger towards the apical end. One of the folds is a little stronger than the other fold.
Similar species
Limax dobrogicus can only be compared to Limax hemmeni Rähle, 1983, which is endemic to the island of Samos (Greece) , due to the peculiar penile formation with the angled appendix, which is connected to the penis proper by muscle fibers and connective tissue . However, this species has a longer penis and a triangular sheath that ends at the back.
Geographical distribution, habitat and way of life
The species has only been found very rarely in the old linden-oak forest near Cocoş Monastery, a few kilometers south of the Danube in northern Dobruja (Romania) and near Bursa (western Turkey).
In the Dobrudscha, the species lives under dead wood or under the bark of dead wood, inside hollow trees or deep cracks in the trees, where there is always shade and moisture. It appears to be exclusively nocturnal as it has never been found crawling during the day, even when other snails (and other Limax species) have been found under favorable conditions. In June only adults were found. The animals are quite sluggish and sensitive to disturbances. They contract very quickly and take a very long time to become active again and keep crawling. So far nothing is known about nutrition, copulation and reproduction.
Taxonomy
The taxon was first described in 1960 by Alexandru Grossu and Dochita Lupu . Wolfgang Rähle (1939–2019) described the species in 1992 from western Turkey.
supporting documents
literature
- Grossu, Alexandru V. & Dochita Lupu 1960. Revision of the genus Limax from Romania, including a description of some new species. Archives for Molluscology, 89 (4/6): 157–165, Frankfurt / M. ISSN 0003-9284
- Grossu, Alexandru V & C. Tesio 1975: Suggestions for species grouping within the family Limacidae (Gastropoda, Pulmonata) by biochemical methods. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 41 (4): 321-329, London. ISSN 0260-1230
- Rähle, Wolfgang 1992: Nudibranchs from Northern Anatolia. Announcements of the German Malacoological Society, 49: 5–11, Frankfurt / M. ISSN 0418-8861
- Schütt, Hartwig 2010: Turkish Land Snails. 559 pp., 5th, revised edition with color photos. Verlag Natur & Wissenschaft, Solingen ISBN 978-3-936616-63-7
Individual evidence
- ^ Wiktor, Andrzej 2001: Fauna Graeciae. VIII. The slugs of Greece (Arionidae, Milacidae, Limacidae, Agriolimacidae - Gastropoda, Stylommatophora). 240 p., Natural History Museum of Crete & Hellenic Zoologic Society, Heraklion, Crete.