Abida secale vilellai, Kokshoorn & Gittenberger, 2010

Kokshoorn, Bas & Gittenberger, Edmund, 2010, Chondrinidae taxonomy revisited: New synonymies, new taxa, and a checklist of species and subspecies (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Pulmonata) 2539, Zootaxa 2539 (1), pp. 1-62 : 20-21

Abida secale vilellai subspec. nov. (pl. 6 figs M–P)

Type series.— Spain, Lérida. Holotype ( RMNH 109892 ): Sierra del Comte , Port del Comte, S of Tossa Pelada mtn, 2,100 m alt., Escola leg.

Paratypes: type locality ( RMNH 54960 /3); Sierra del Cadí , Torre del Cadí mtn, 2,400 m alt., 42.28387°N / 1.56363°E, 04-viii-2004 ( RMNH 99118 /6) .

Distribution.—See fig. 2 .

Description (n=10).—Shell slender to broadly fusiform, with 8 1/8–8 3/4 moderately inflated whorls, sculptured with regularly placed, moderately strong axial ribs. Body whorl slightly flattened obliquely and more or less narrowed, without a distinct keel. Palatal side of the aperture slightly protruding. A vague external indentation may accompany the palatalis superior; at the position of the infraparietalis the apertural lip is usually slightly indented. The palatal side of the aperture appears vertical (in lateral view). Umbilicus narrowly open. Shell height, 6.8–7.7 mm; width, 2.6–2.8 mm.

Apertural lip reflected, thickened, discontinued at parietal side or connected by a faint callus. Angularis not connected to spiralis. Subangularis obsolete or absent. Columellaris slightly more prominent than the infracolumellaris and reaching shortly beyond columella. Both lamellae do not extend to the apertural lip. Palatalis inferior and palatalis superior clearly indented, reaching the edge of the aperture. At the inconspicuous, anterodorsal palatal center a vague suprapalatalis and infrapalatalis may be present.

Differentiation.—The shells are on average larger than those in populations of the other high-altitude taxa occurring at comparable altitudes, i.e. A. s. cadiensis, A. s. cadica, A. s. ionicae, A. s. peteri and A. s. merijni. Abida s. vilellai is most similar to A. s. tuxensis, differing in size and by a reduction of the number of the apertural teeth and their prominence. Intermediates between A. s. tuxensis and A. s. vilellai are know from the Wflank of the Torre del Cadí mtn. The specimens from the type locality possess a more strongly reduced apertural dentition than those from the Torre del Cadí. Specimens from the latter locality have a prominent infrapalatalis and sometimes a suturalis.

Derivatio nominis.—With great pleasure we have named this subspecies in honour of the Spanish malacologist Manuel Vilella Tejedo, President of the Associació Catalana de Malacologia, to acknowledge his long-lasting stimulating work on the Catalan malacofauna.

Genetic barcode.—GenBank accession number EU395372 .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution of Abida secale subspecies (I) in NE Spain and Andorra.