Dear Aydin and other stygian snail fanciers,

Leslie Hubricht and several other spelunking naturalists have found new
species of nonmarine American mollusks found exclusively in caves.  A
(partial) list of the names have reveals some apt and clever etymologies:

Aquatic prosobranchs:
Amnicola cora Hubricht, 1979
Amnicola stygia Hubricht, 1971
Antrobia culveri Hubricht, 1971
Antroselates spiralis Hubricht, 1963
Fontigens proserpina (Hubricht, 1940)
F. tartarea Hubricht, 1963
F. turritella Hubricht, 1976
All eight species of Phreatodrobia Hershler and Longley, 1986

Aquatic basommatophoran pulmonate:
Physella spelunka (R. Turner and Clench, 1974)

Terrestrial basommatophoran pulmonate:
Carychium stygium Call, 1897

Terrestrial stylommatophoran pulmonates:
Helicodiscus hadenoecus Hubricht, 1962*
H. notius specus Hubricht, 1962*
Monadenia troglodytes Hanna and A. G. Smith, 1933
Speleodiscoides spirellum A. G. Smith, 1957

*One of these is Aydin's species; each feeds on cave cricket guano!

In the course of a discussion on shell coloration in the earlier days of
Conch-L, the characteristic and rapid evolutionary loss of eyes and general
pigmentation in these and troglodytes of other phyla was considered a clue
to the importance of pigmentation in invertebrates.

Harry


At 08:03 AM 3/31/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Leslie Hubricht described a Helicodiscus from a cave & if I am not mistaken
>it hasn't been found elsewhere. I don't have the paper with me but the
>citation is:
>
>Hubricht
>Nautilus 75:102-107, 1962
>New species of Helicodiscus from...
>
>
>Aydin
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Ross Mayhew [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2000 09:41
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Cave-dwelling molluscs?
>>
>>
>> I'd like to know if there are any known molluscan inhabitants
>> of caves?
>> i have heard there are some Clausiidae in Japaneese caves, but do not
>> know if they just hang out near the entrance or not.  Can anyone
>> enlighten the list and me on this topic?
>> -Ross.
>> --
>> Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells:
>> Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com
>> "We Specialize in the Unusual"
>> Phone: (902) 876-2241; Fax: (603) 909-8552.
>> But try to find "something for Everyone"!!
>> Snail Mail: 349 Herring Cove Rd, P.O Box 20005, Halifax, N.S., Canada,
>> B3R 2K9.
>>
Harry G. Lee
Suite 500
1801 Barrs St.
Jacksonville, FL 32204
USA   904-384-6419
<[log in to unmask]>
Visit the Jacksonville Shell Club Home Page at:
http://home.sprynet.com/~wfrank/jacksonv.htm

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