Kartvelobia Grego & Mumladze, 2020

Grego, Jozef, Mumladze, Levan, Falniowski, Andrzej, Osikowski, Artur, Rysiewska, Aleksandra, Palatov, Dimitry M. & Hofman, Sebastian, 2020, Revealing the stygobiotic and crenobiotic molluscan biodiversity hotspot in Caucasus: Part I. The phylogeny of stygobiotic Sadlerianinae Szarowska, 2006 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Hydrobiidae) from Georgia with descriptions of five new genera and twenty-one new species, ZooKeys 955, pp. 1-77 : 1

Genus Kartvelobia Grego & Mumladze gen. nov.

Type species.

Kartvelobia sinuata Grego & Mumladze, sp. nov.

Species assigned to the genus.

Kartvelobia sinuata Grego & Mumladze, sp. nov., K. kinchkha Grego & Mumladze, sp. nov., K. shishaensis Grego & Mumladze, sp. nov.

Diagnosis.

The new genus differs from all known stygobiotic Hydrobiidae and Moitessieriidae by general shell shape with characteristically deeply sinuated labral margin; however, the smaller representatives of the genus can possess only very weak labral sinuation while still having elongate-oval shells with inflated whorls and aperture slightly detached from the body whorl.

Etymology.

Name derived from the name of Georgia in local language Sakartevelo (საქართველო), which is frequently used in its short vocative form as Kartvelo (ქართველო). Its gender is feminine.

Distribution.

The new genus is known from western Imereti region, where it can be found in springs and caves in the Turchu Gamosadivari basin and around the karstic Pakhe Plateau. In the Samegrelo region it is distributed in springs and caves on the eastern slope of Pakhe Plateau and from the springs around Mukhuri village (Fig. 8 ).

Figures

Figure 8. Distribution map of Kartvelobia gen. nov. 16 K. kinchkha sp. nov. (blue dot) 17 - 21 K. sinuata sp. nov. (magenta dots) 22, 23 K. cf. sinuata (purple dots) 26, 27 K. shishaensis sp. nov. (red dots).