Limax seticus
| Limax seticus | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Limax seticus | ||||||||||||
| Andrzej Wiktor & Ulrich Bößneck , 2004 |
Limax seticus is a species of nudibranch from the family of snails (Limacidae), which belongs to the land snails (Stylommatophora). It was found at 4,700 to 4,800 m above sea level in Nepal. The type locality is thus the highest point in the world at which a current snail species was found alive.
features
Limax seticus is a small species of Limax that is stretched out to 39 mm long. The coat takes up about 12 mm. The body width is about 5 mm. The weak keel is long and reaches the rear end of the mantle shield. The body of the animal is jet black. Only the three-part sole has an almost white middle field. The lateral fields are also blackish. A rounded field is set off around the breathing hole (pneumostome). About 20 furrows can be seen between the central keel and the breathing hole. The slime is colorless.
In the genital apparatus, the hermaphroditic gland is large and consists of a poorly articulated lobe. The hermaphrodite is almost straight. The egg ladder with (still) small albumin gland and prostate. The free fallopian tube (oviduct) is very short and tubular. The spermatic duct (vas deferens) is also not very intertwined and only flows slightly laterally into the apex of the penis. The penile retractor muscle starts right next to it. The worm-shaped penis reaches about 2.5 times the body length. The end part is a little thicker. The seminal vesicle (spermathec) is egg-shaped with a relatively long stalk that is about as long as the vesicle itself. The seminal vesicle opens into the atrium near the penis, which is long compared to other Limax species.
The intestine is laid in three loops, the last loop is the longest of the three intestinal loops. One caecum is missing.
Similar species
Limax seticus resembles the black snail in the genital apparatus ( Limax cinereoniger Wolf , 1803). However, it is much smaller and has a long keel that reaches up to the coat shield. The animals are completely black including the keel and with the exception of the white central area of the sole.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The species is so far only known from the type locality. This is at Dudh Lekh near Sankha Lagna, Chachour, Bajura District , Seti Zone , Nepal , coordinates: 29 ° 56 '09 "N, 81 ° 40'32" E.
The few specimens were collected on a moraine at the base of stones at 4,700 to 4,800 m above sea level. It is the highest point where snails have been found, and they are not common here. A total of 13 specimens were found in ten hours. The species was associated with a Pyramidula sp., Also a land snail from the superfamily of the Pupilloidea . Only representatives of the Anadenidae family have been found up to 4,500 m above sea level.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
The species was first described by Andrzej Wiktor and Ulrich Bößneck in 2004. So far it is only known from the type locality in a few copies, which were collected in July 2001 by Ulrich Bößneck and A. Weigel. The holotype (No. MP 968) and some paratypes (No. MP 968) are deposited in the Natural History Museum of the University of Breslau , three paratypes have been deposited in the Natural History Museum in Erfurt (No. NME 0421U). The species name is derived from the Seti zone (or province) in Nepal.
The discovery of a Limax species in the Himalayas at such a great height was a very big surprise, as the genus Limax is essentially restricted to Europe and Western Asia. It could be a relic occurrence, but a much larger distribution of the genus Limax than known so far cannot be ruled out, as most of the regions between the location of L. seticus and the Caucasus and Asia Minor, the most eastern locations of the genus so far, have hardly been found are examined for slugs.
literature
- Wiktor, Andrzej & Ulrich Bößneck 2004: Limax (Limax) seticus n.sp. from high mountains in Nepal (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Limacidae). Folia Malacologica, 12, 183-187, Breslau / Wrocŀaw ISSN 1506-7629 Abstract .