Laeocathaica pewzowi Moellendorff , 1899

Wu, Min, Shen, Wang & Chen, Zhong-Guang, 2023, Land snail diversity in central China: revision of Laeocathaica Moellendorff, 1899 (Gastropoda, Camaenidae), with descriptions of seven new species, ZooKeys 1154, pp. 49-147 : 49

Laeocathaica pewzowi Moellendorff, 1899

Figs 2A , 3 , 19D , 21 , 42F , 47G, H

Laeocathaica pewzowi Möllendorff, 1899: 98, pl. 6, fig. 4, 4a; - Sturany 1900: 22, pl. 2, figs 25-28; - Wiegmann 1900: 115, pl. 3, fig. 104; - Möllendorff 1901: 302; - Gude 1902: 6; - Yen 1939: 150, pl. 15, fig. 40; - Schileyko 2004: 1686, fig. 2174A; - Chen and Gao 2004: 329, fig. 320 (an erroneous figure that should be a Laeocathaica odophora ); - Páll-Gergely et al. 2022: 67, fig. 23C, D.

Laeocathaica (Laeocathaica) pewzowi - Zilch 1968: 174; - Richardson 1983: 78.

Museum material.

SMF 9084, lectotype; Wen-hsien, S-Gansu; Potanin 248, 661, 793, Slg. O. v. Möllendorff. SMF 9085, paratypes, four fms; same data as lectotype. SMF 24268 , Hung-dan (= Hengdan) b. Wen-hsien; Slg. O. v. Möllendorff, ex Berezowski. ZIN RAS No. 4, " Aegista pewzowi Schalf." 2 fma, locality unknown, coll. Potanin, 1885-IX-8, det. Möllendorff.

New material.

HBUMM08452, 1 fms and 4 juvs, Shangdezhen [尚德镇], Wenxian, Gansu Province, near point (32.907414°N, 104.76994°E); 2020-VIII, coll. Chen, Z.-G.

Distribution.

Gansu: Wenxian (type locality).

Additional information of shell.

Protoconch is smooth and has no granules, perhaps caused by erosion or weathering. Teleoconch has rough ribs between which fine threads are present. Spiral grooves are absent throughout.

General anatomy.

Head with flat but distinct eversible head wart. Jaw arcuate, with four projecting ribs.

Anatomy of genital organs.

Penial sheath covering ~ 1/9 of penis. Penis tubular and distally thicker. Inside penis, ~ 4 high parallel pilasters on proximal 2/3, at proximal ~ 1/4 two weak pilasters fusing into one Y-shaped fork. Fine pilasters on distal end of penis merging into ~ 7 thin or thick folds. Vas deferens narrow throughout. Vagina between atrium and dart sac not elongated. Vagina between dart sac and insertion of bursa copulatrix duct ~ 1/2 length of dart sac. Dart sac ~ 2/5 length of penis. Accessory sac tiny, internally solid, inserting into dart sac at middle part, opening to dart chamber. Mucous glands four, each singly tubular or simply branched. Proximal accessory sacs two, of similar size and symmetrical, apically separated and ventrally touching, each distally with an opening leading to proximal dart chamber. Bursa copulatrix duct of even diameter. Bursa copulatrix long-ovate.

Remarks.

The species has the most common pattern of the dart sac apparatus of the genus, i.e., two equally- sized and ventrally touching proximal accessory sacs, each with an opening leading to the dart chamber; this has been observed in ten of the 21 species anatomically studied herein. This species can be immediately recognized by its particular shell morphology.

Figures

Figure 2. A distribution map of all known species of Laeocathaica Moellendorff, 1899 except L. anceyi (Moellendorff in Ancey, 1889), L. hisanoi Pall-Gergely, 2022, and L. leucorhaphe Moellendorff, 1899 whose precise localities are not known; white dots: the localities where no Laeocathaica species was ever found B distribution of the new species described in this paper, yellow dots: L. qingchuanensis Wu, sp. nov., green dot: L. zhengpingliui Wu, sp. nov., brown dots: L. parapolytyla Wu, sp. nov., white dot: L. qiminglii Wu, sp. nov., pink dot: L. cheni Wu, sp. nov., blue dots: L. qishilii Wu, sp. nov., orange dots: L. nordsiecki Wu, sp. nov. C distribution of L. carinifera (H. Adams, 1870) (green dots), L. qingchuanensis Wu, sp. nov. (yellow dots), and L. stenochone Moellendorff, 1899 (blue dots) D distribution of L. amdoana Moellendorff, 1899 (green dots), L. distinguenda Moellendorff, 1899 (pink dots), and L. tropidorhaphe Moellendorff, 1899 (blue dots) C equivalent to the larger box in (A), B, D equivalent to the smaller box in (A).

Figure 3. Distribution map of Laeocathaica dityla Moellendorff, 1899 (green dots), L. odophora Moellendorff, 1899 (pink dots), L. pewzowi Moellendorff, 1899 (white dots), L. phaeomphala Moellendorff, 1899 (blue dots), L. polytyla Moellendorff, 1899 (yellow dots), L. potanini Moellendorff, 1899 (red dots), and L. prionotropis Moellendorff, 1899 (orange dots). Range of the map is defined by the rectangle in the thumbnail.

Figure 19. A Laeocathaica leucorhaphe Moellendorff, 1899, SMF 9073, lectotype B, C L. odophora Moellendorff, 1899 B SMF 8954, holotype C HBUMM 08430 - spec. 1 D L. pewzowi Moellendorff, 1899, SMF 9084, lectotype.

Figure 21. Genital anatomy of Laeocathaica pewzowi Moellendorff, 1899, ZIN RAS No. 4, " Aegista pewzowi Schalf. " A general view B left view of dart sac apparatus. Abbreviations: AS - accessory sac; At - atrium; BC - bursa copulatrix; BCD - bursa copulatrix duct; DS - dart sac; DtC - a chamber containing love dart; Ep - epiphallus; MG - mucous glands; P - penis; PAS - proximal accessory sac; PR - penial retractor muscle; PS - penial sheath; Va - vagina; VD - vas deferens. Asterisk * indicates the opening of proximal accessory sac.

Figure 42. Internal view of penis A, B Laeocathaica dolani (Pilsbry, 1934), HBUMM 00069 - spec. 1 A general view B proximal penis C L. christinae (H. Adams, 1870), HBUMM 01251 a-spec. 1, general view D L. phaeomphala Moellendorff, 1899, HBUMM 05433 - spec. 1 E L. odophora Moellendorff, 1899, HBUMM 08430 - spec. 1 F L. pewzowi Moellendorff, 1899, ZIN RAS No. 4, " Aegista pewzowi Schalf. " G, H L. parapolytyla Wu, sp. nov., HBUMM 06640 - spec. 1, holotype G general view H proximal part. Arrows indicate the position where two penial internal pilasters fuse into one distal pilaster.

Figure 47. SEM micrographs A, B Laeocathaica odophora Moellendorff, 1899, HBUMM 08430 A protoconch B teleoconch C, D L. dolani (Pilsbry, 1934), HBUMM 08439 C protoconch D teleoconch E, F L. nordsiecki Wu, sp. nov., HBUMM 08446, paratype, subadult E protoconch F teleoconch G, H L. pewzowi Moellendorff, 1899, HBUMM 08452 G protoconch H teleoconch I, J L. carinalis Chen & Zhang, 2004, HBUMM 08453 I protoconch J teleoconch K, L L. zhengpingliui Wu, sp. nov., HBUMM 05553 - spec. 2, paratype, juvenile K protoconch L teleoconch.