Valvata succinea Chen, He & Fan, 2024

Fan, Shu Yun, He, Yue Ming, Xiang, Hong Quan & Chen, Hui, 2024, A new species of the genus Valvata (Gastropoda: Valvatidae) from Lake Lugu, southern China, Ecologica Montenegrina 71, pp. 284-291 : 286-291

Valvata succinea Chen, He & Fan , sp. nov.

( Fig. 2 )

Material examined. 3 ex. From Lake Lugu , Yanyuan County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture; 27°43'1" N, 100°45'47" E, 2703 m alt. 14.07. 2023, Yue-Ming He leg ( Fig. 1 ) .

Holotype. Shell length 3.28 mm, width 2.62 mm, height 1.32 mm, NNU YNLG001 .

Paratypes. 2 ex. NNU YNL002–003 , shell length 3.62– 2.79 mm, width 2.73– 2.37 mm, height 1.58– 1.38 mm, same data as holotype .

Locus typicus. Lake Lugu, Yanyuan County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China; 27°43'1" N, 100°45'47" E, 2703 m alt.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin word "succinea ," meaning ambercolored. We suggest the Chinese common name as “ dzffiDzDz ”.

Description. Shell 1.58- 1.38 mm high and 3.62– 2.79 mm length, width 2.73– 2.37 mm, light orange, discoidal, 3.5 whorls, smooth, thin, accompanied by tangential growth lines, evenly and slowly increasing, spire little elevated, apex blunt; suture deep; aperture round, inner lip smooth, orange-white. Umbilicus wide, nearly all whorls visible within ( Fig. 2A–H ).

Operculum 1.46– 1.02 mm high, round, thin, concave, edges transparent, 6–7 dextral silver whorls, with oblique growth lines; anterior side light white, dorsal side smooth, light yellow, outer ring silver ( Fig. 2I, J ).

Anatomy. Mantle greyish brown, head yellowish; snout bifid, with a brown pigmented. Eye black, around with a brown pigmented; foot yellowish, mantel tentacle thin, white, with brown spots; tentacle with brown pigmented, frontend white. Penis possess curved and thick, long and arises at the basis of the right cephalic tentacle, white, the posterior end of the penis is swollen; ejaculatory duct thick, yellow-white, front end is thick, while the back end becomes thinner ( Fig. 2K, L ).

Differential diagnosis. Compared to Valvata middendorffi (Starobogatov & Zatravkin, 1985) and V. frigida (Westerlund, 1873) , the new species has a smaller aperture, more densely packed growth lines on the shell surface, and a shallower umbilicus; unlike V. cristata (Müller 1774) and V. hokkaidoensis (Miyadi, 1935) , the new species has a wider umbilicus, slightly higher spire, and the whorls of the operculum are silvery; compared to V. sibirica (Middendorff, 1851) , the new species has a smaller aperture and a shallower suture.

Distribution. This new species has only been found along the shores of Lake Lugu in Yanyuan County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.

Ecology. V. succinea sp. nov. is primarily distributed on the undersides of stones in the shallow water areas along the lake shore ( Fig. 3 ).

Molecular results. A total of 40 mitochondrial COI sequences from 27 species were utilized in the phylogenetic analyses ( Table. 1) A 607 bp COI segment was aligned. The GTR+I+G4+F model was selected as the best-fit of nucleotide substitution by the BIC criterion. ML and BI analyses resulted in congruent tree topologies with some minor differences in the terminal lineages ( Fig. 4 ). Molecular phylogenies based on BI and ML analyses showed that V. succinea sp. nov. V. sibirica , V. hokkaidoensis , V. frigida and V. middendorffi were nested a monophyletic group with strong support (BPP = 1, BS = 98%,). The average COI genetic distance (uncorrected p-distance) between the V. succinea sp. nov. and the three closely related congeners ranged from 3.37% to 7.22%.

Discussion

The habitat of Valvata succinea sp. nov. in Lake Lugu is quite unique, currently only found beneath the stones along the shore. Although there are many reed beds along the western shore of Lake Lugu, V. succinea sp. nov. has not yet been found within them. V. succinea sp. nov. has not yet been discovered within them. Due to the tourism development around Lake Lugu, most of the lakeshore has been damaged, and V. succinea sp. nov. can now only be found near some peninsulas. Therefore, further investigation into Lake Lugu is necessary to better understand and protect the biodiversity of these ancient lakes.

Acknowledgements

We are thanks to Chongye Li for assistance with the collection of samples.

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Figures

Figure 1. Collecting sites for Valvata succinea sp. nov. in Lake Lugu, Yunnan, China.

Figure 2. Valvata succinea sp. nov. (A–D) Holotype, NNUYNLG001; (E, F) Paratype, NNUYNLG002; (G, H) Paratype, NNUYNLG003; (I, J) Opercula; (K, L) Dissection with labelled structures. Scale bar = 1mm (A–H); 0.5mm (I, J); 2mm (K); 1mm (L). Abbreviations: e, eye; p, penis; t, tentacle; mt, mantel tentacle; sn, snout; f, foot.

Figure 3. (A) Natural habitat and (B) color in life of Valvata succinea sp. nov. Photographs by Yue-Ming He, 9 April 2021, Lake Lugu, Yunnan Province, China.

Figure 4. A Bayesian inference (BI) tree based on the COI sequence. Values at nodes represent support values for BI and maximum likelihood (ML). Only values> 0.5 or 70 are shown.