Cochlostoma (T.) elegans ( Clessin, 1879 ), 1897

Zallot, Enrico, Kamchev, Panche, Schilthuizen, Menno, Fehér, Zoltán, Mattia, Willy De & Gittenberger, Edmund, 2024, Cochlostoma Jan, 1830 revised: an overview of the subgenus Turritus Westerlund, 1883 and its species (Caenogastropoda, Cochlostomatidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 927, pp. 1-163 : 89-92

Cochlostoma (T.) elegans ( Clessin, 1879)

Figs 72 (cyan dots), 73E, 77–81

Pomatias elegans Clessin, 1879: 122–123 .

Pomatias (Eupomatias) elegans var. irrregularis Wagner, 1897: 11 , pl. 1 fig. 11.

Pomatias (Eupomatias) elegans var. spectabilis Wagner, 1897: 11 , pl. 1 fig. 12.

Pomatias (Eupomatias) elegans var. tumida Wagner, 1897: 12 , pl. 1 fig. 13a–b.

Pomatias (Eupomatias) elegans var. similis Wagner, 1897: 12 , pl. 1 fig. 14.

Pomatias (Eupomatias) elegans var. oostoma Westerlund, 1883: 12 , pl. 1 fig. 10a–b.

Pomatias (Eupomatias) elegans var. imoschiensis Wagner, 1906: 98–99 , pl. 3 fig. 1a–b.

Pomatias (Eupomatias) braueri var. latestriatum Wagner, 1897: 10 , pl. 1 fig. 8.

Syntype

CROATIA • ♀; “ Cochlostoma (C.) elegans (Clessin) Orig. 1897 T.1 F.9–Kroatien: Podgorje , Velebith , Clessin 1889”; SMF158949 .

Other specimens

CROATIA • syntype of C. (T.) elegans irregularis ; Velebit ; 43.8634° N, 15.83° E; A.J. Wagner leg.; SMF158959 /5 • syntype of C. (T.) elegans tumida ; 10- Visočica near Gospić ; 44.43° N, 15.3713° E; A.J. Wagner leg.; SMF158970 /3 • syntype of C. (T.) elegans imoschiensis ; 7- Imoschi , Süddalmatien; 43.4505° N, 17.2091° E; Sturany leg.; SMF158972 /10 • syntype of C. (T.) elegans irregularis ; 1?- Velebit ; 44.5339° N, 15.0772° E; A.J. Wagner leg.; NHMW25349 • syntype of C. (T.) elegans imoschiensis ; 7- Imotski ; 43.4473° N, 17.214° E; 1901; Sturany leg.; NHMW34514 • syntype of C. (T.) elegans tumida ; 8- Rača by Sveta Jurai; 44.9277° N, 14.9199° E; A.J. Wagner leg.; NHMWK46907 • syntype of C. (T.) braueri latestriatum ; 9- VakanskiVrh ; 44.3661° N, 15.509° E; A.J. Wagner leg.; NHMW66398 • syntype of C. (T.) braueri spectabilis ; 11- Lukovo Zugarje ; 44.26° N, 15.12° E; A.J. Wagner leg.; MIZPASW 6590 • 2- Senj (topotypical); 44.9851° N, 14.9311° E; 1999; De Mattia leg.; WdM1862 • 3- Senj-Sveti Jurai (topotypical); 44.9187° N, 14.9241° E; 2009; De Mattia leg.; WdM6887 • 4- Razbojište near Oltari ; 44.9084° N, 14.9453° E; 2009; De Mattia leg.; WdM6896 • 5- 1.7 km E of Vidovac; 44.5246° N, 15.0718° E; 1999; Fehér and Tamás leg.; HNHM91857 • 6- Velika Paklenica ; 44.3326° N, 15.4833° E; 1999; Fehér and Tamás leg.; HNHM91859 • 7- Imotski ; 43.4505° N, 17.2091° E; 2008; Dányi, Fehér, Kontschán and Murányi leg.; HNHM97265 .

Type locality

Clessin (1879) wrote: “Diese Art wurde mir von Professor Stossich von Croatien mitgetheilt, ohne nähere Angabe des Fundortes. [This species was communicated to me by Professor Stossich of Croatia, without any further details of the place of discovery]”. The label SMF- 158949 states: “ Kroatien: Podgorje, Velebith, Clessin 1889”. This is a region at the foothill of the Velebit Mountains along the Croatian coast between Senj and Zrmanja, more than 130 km long.

Description

SHELL. Spaced riblets on last part of protoconch. Teleoconch spotless. Whitish not very prominent ribs often highly but irregularly inclined with respect to main axis. Mouth very inclined too, with moderately strong lip and flat columellar lobe leaving wide umbilicus well visible.

MEASUREMENTS. 18 ♀♀: whorls= 6.3–8.5, H =5.5–8.0 mm, H/W=2.01–2.57, roundness =0.09–0.17, ribs incl.= 45–58°, apert. incl. =18–33°, ribs/mm 1 st wh. =3–17, ribs/mm 4 th wh.=6–14.

FEMALE GENITAL ORGANS. As in C. (T.) nanum .

Remarks

We synonymize all the so-called subspecies because they do not have their own exclusive ranges with diagnostic character states. We synonymize C. (T.) braueri latestriatum ( Wagner, 1897) with C. (T.) elegans despite the lack of anatomical and molecular data on the following ground: the syntype of C. (T.) braueri latestriatum from Vaganski Vrh ( Fig. 80A ) has a shell substantially differing from the other supposed syntype of “ latestriatum ” from Visočica peak ( Fig. 80B . Vaganski Vrh and Visočica peak are mentioned as type localities in the original description). The latter presents the same shell morphology of the “ dubium ” specimens from Mount Metla ( Fig. 89 ). The same shell morphology and geographical proximity (roughly 20 km along the same mountain range) between Visočica peak and Mount Metla induce to think that they are conspecific and both specimens of C. (T.) dubium ( Wagner, 1897) . Therefore, the syntype of this taxon is the specimen from Vaganski Vrh, but it is not clear why it has been defined as a subspecies of “ braueri ” instead of C. (T.) elegans : comparing specimens as in Fig. 81 , this appears much more probable than assigning it to a species living much further north and, as far as is known, restricted to a single mountain (Mount Klek). Moreover, Vakanski Vrh is only a few kilometers distant from Velika Paklenica, from where the sample is embedded in the phylogenetic tree in the “ elegans ” branch.

There are probably populations of C. (T.) elegans that have a subspecific status, but this has to be studied in more detail.

Figures

Fig. 72. Distribution of samples of clade B: red =Cochlostoma (T.) nanum (Westerlund, 1879); cyan =C. (T.) elegans. Black center for the samples with amplified 16S.

Fig. 80. Wagner assigned these two specimens to Cochlostoma (T.) braueri latestriatum (Wagner, 1897). A. Vaganski Vrh, HR (NHMW-66398). B. Visočica bei Gospić, HR (SMF-158918/10). They are not conspecific.

Fig. 89. Lectotype (here designated) of Cochlostoma (T.) dubium (Wagner, 1897) (SMF-180822).

Fig. 81. Wagner assigned these 2 specimens to two different species. A. Cochlostoma (T.) braueri latestriatum (Wagner, 1897), probably ♂, Vaganski Vrh, HR (NHMW-66398). B. C. (T.) elegans imoschiensis, ♀, Imoski, Dalmatia, HR (RNHM-W34514).