Ampullaria retusa

Cowie, Robert H., 2015, The recent apple snails of Africa and Asia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Ampullariidae: Afropomus, Forbesopomus, Lanistes, Pila, Saulea): a nomenclatural and type catalogue. The apple snails of the Americas: addenda and corrigenda, Zootaxa 3940 (1), pp. 1-92 : 64

retusa

Ampullaria retusa Philippi, 1851 . Updated status of type material – lectotype ( Köhler & Glaubrecht, 2006: 209–210): ZMB 1339. Additional type material —possible paralectotypes: MNHNCL 15936 (2 spms., old number 61.073).

Additional remarks. Cowie & Thiengo (2003: 74) listed this taxon in Pomacea as a New World ampullariid, synonymized with flagellata Say by Pain (1964: 227), but with some doubt regarding its type locality. However, the two MNHNCL specimens, of which Cowie & Thiengo were not aware, are accompanied by a single calcified operculum, which would indicate that one at least of these shells is not a species of Pomacea but of Pila , and therefore an Old World, not New World species. Unfortunately, the lectotype, which is the specimen illustrated by Philippi (1851: pl. 5, fig. 1), has no associated operculum. However, its label reads “ Ampullaria retusa v. Olfers” (possibly in Philippi’s hand), and von Olfers, to whom Philippi attributed the name, was a German diplomat in Rio de Janeiro in the early nineteenth century and is known to have collected natural history specimens in Brasil and elsewhere in South America. In the same hand, the label also reads “Rio Rapunini – Schomburgk”, and Schomburgk had led an expedition in the then British Guiana (now Guyana). Also on this label, in another hand, is written “Original zu Phil. Chemn ed rev. 5,1”, indicating that it was the specimen illustrated by Philippi (1851: pl. 5, fig. 1). This detailed labelling indicates that the lectotype is almost certainly a New World species. The locality on the lectotype label and given by Philippi (1851: 18) as “Rio Rupunin” is here taken as correct, which indicates that this species is not a synonym of flagellata Say , which is a Central American species. One (perhaps both) of the MNHNCL specimens, the label of which says “ Ampullaria retusa v. Olf.” and “Brandt” (presumably the collector), appear not to be the same species as the lectotype. Therefore, one or both of the MNHNCL specimens either 1) were not part of the type series of Philippi and were misidentified, mis-labelled or a label from a different lot became associated with them; 2) were part of the type series of Philippi but had been mixed with the ZMB specimen prior to Philippi describing the species and were taken by him to be the same species as the ZMB specimen, or 3) were part of the type series and of New World origin, and the operculum is from another specimen that was placed with them by mistake. Further research is necessary to resolve the status of the MNHNCL specimens.