Pupilla loessica Ložek, 1954

Haase, Martin, Meng, Stefan & Horsák, Michal, 2021, Tracking parallel adaptation of shell morphology through geological times in the land snail genus Pupilla (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Pupillidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191 (3), pp. 720-720 : 720-

Pupilla loessica Ložek, 1954

The type locality of P. loessica, Předmostí at Přerov in Moravia ( Czech Republic), is a world-famous archaeological site. In loess sediments, mined for brick production in the past, a Gravettian-temporal cultural layer was excavated (e.g. Žebera et al., 1955). Because the type material of P. loessica has been destroyed ( V. Ložek and curator E. Kadlecová, pers. comm.), a neotype should be defined in order to anchor this essential Pleistocene indicator species and preclude taxonomic confusion of this morphologically and ecologically variable and (historically) widespread species. For differentiating features see the Material section above and our present comparisons. Today, the excavation site virtually does not exist anymore and the important geological profiles including Ložek’s profile in the former western mine and Kneblová’s profile in the former northern mine near HradiŠtko [according to Žebera et al. (1955)] are no longer accessible. According to Ložek (1954), the type series came directly from the HradiŠtko limestone hill from the younger loess (Würmian III or Weichselian III). In the vicinity of the plateau, there are still loess outcrops, however, consisting only of an uppermost layer of loess, presumably from the high cold period of the LGM of the Weichselian glacial. This layer is sterile, virtually without any mollusc shells (S. Meng, pers. obs. based on processing a 10 L sample taken during a visit on 13 September 2019). The layer where Ložek found the original material of P. loessica must have been beneath the examined uppermost layer of loess. Because HradiŠtko is an important cultural and natural monument, further excavations are prohibited. However, in Ložek’s collection in the National Museum of Prague, two series of P. loessica also collected from the profile Kneblová in 1955 are present. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only material from the type locality that has not been lost. It was taken from a depth of 9.5–11.0 m, thus it is much older than the lost type material and it probably originates from the Rissian or Saalian glacial complex (e.g. Žebera et al., 1955; Svoboda et al., 1994). However, as the profile Kneblová is only a few hundred meters away from the original site and the material was more or less “approved” by the author, we selected the neotype of P. loessica from this series of a total of four shells ( Fig. 10 ) with the following data:

Ložek collection, National Museum Prague (without collection number).

New type locality: Předmostí at Přerov in Moravia ( Czech Republic), profile Kneblová (49°28’02.0’’N, 17°26’16.7’’E) in the former northern mine .

Age and geology: Saalian Complex, loess, depth 9.5–9.8 m.

Height, 2.91 mm; width 1.63 mm.

For further data including the accompanying fauna see Žebera et al. (1955).

Figures

Figure 10. Pupilla loessica. Series of four shells from type locality Předmostí at Přerov (Czech Republic, fossil from Saalian loess) in frontal and lateral view. A is the designated neotype. All deposited at the National Museum of Prague.