Hello all,

We would be interested in hearing from any folks who have collected
periwinkles of the genus Littoraria in Hawaii.

Specifically, I and Lu Eldredge (Bishop Museum, Honolulu) are
interested in learning of any specimens of Littoraria scabra (sensu
stricto) from the Hawaiian Islands.  Important data would be
location, date, habitat, and collector.

David Reid (British Museum) in his 1986 monograph (reference below)
clarified the Littoraria species in the Islands, noting that what was
most commonly called L. scabra was in fact Littoraria intermedia.
Thus, for example, the figure of "Littorina scabra" in Alison Kay's
1979 classic "Hawaiian Marine Shells"  (figure 24G on page 72) is in
fact Littoraria intermedia, not L. scabra.

The columella of Littoraria scabra is white and wide, whereas L.
intermedia has a narrow and purple or brown columella (with
additional anatomical differences, of course).

Littoraria scabra is strongly associated with mangrove trees (and
associated littoral trees such as Hibiscus), and is rare on rocks,
retaining walls, etc., whereas L. intermedia is found on both
mangroves and rocks.

Many thanks!

Jim Carlton

_________________________________

D. G. Reid. 1986. The Littorinid Molluscs of Mangrove Forests in the
Indo-Pacific Region: the genus Littoraria. British Museum (Natural
History), London. 228 pp.)
  _________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------