Plekocheilus (Eurytus) Albers, 1850

Borrero, Francisco J. & Breure, Abraham S. H., 2011, The Amphibulimidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Orthalicoidea) from Colombia and adjacent areas, Zootaxa 3054, pp. 1-59 : 25

Subgenus Plekocheilus (Eurytus) Albers, 1850

Type species by subsequent designation ( Albers 1860): Helix pentadina d’Orbigny, 1835 .

Distribution. West Indies ( St. Lucia, St. Vincent), Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama.

Remarks. In the last comprehensive revision of this genus, Pilsbry (1895 [ 1895 –1896]) divided this subgenus into seven groups of species. His grouping was based solely on shell morphology and mainly used shape, surface sculpture, columellar fold, expansion of peristome and suture of last whorl to differentiate among species. Anatomical data have been presented for relatively few of the more than 60 taxa known in this subgenus ( Breure 1978, 2009; Breure & Schlögl 2010). Our grouping is thus based mainly on shell morphology, supplemented by the sparse anatomical data available for Colombian species.

An additional comment on ecological settings where species of Eurytus occur is warranted. Based on ecological information then available, Breure (1979) suggested that two groups of species may be distinguished within this subgenus, namely a group that lives mainly in rain forest at altitudes of up to circa 1000 m, and a second group of species that live mainly in montane forest at altitudes of circa 1250–3500 m. We continue to adhere to this view, but have chosen to provide this information under each species when available, rather than providing a listing by elevation. Further, a number of species are still known only from the type collections, often without precise locality data.