Seven new species of minute land snails have been discovered in the Chinese province of Guangxi by Dr Barna Pall-Gergely of Shinshu University and his colleagues from Japan, Switzerland and Hungary.
The holotype of Angustopila dominikae in the eye of a sewing needle to picture its extraordinary small size. Image credit: B. Pall-Gergely / N. Szpisjak.
The seven new species belong to three genera Angustopila, Hypselostoma and Krobylos within the family Hypselostomatidae.
The scientific names for the new species are Angustopila dominikae, A. fabella, A. subelevata, A. szekeresi, Hypselostoma socialis, H. lacrima and Krobylos sinensis.
“Adult individuals of Angustopila subelevata and A. dominikae represent the smallest known members of the Hypselostomatidae, and thus are amongst the smallest land snails ever reported,” Dr Pall-Gergely and co-author wrote in a paper published in the journal Zootaxa.
The single known shell of Angustopila dominikae was measured a mere 0.033 inches (0.86 mm) in shell height.
“The single empty shell of this new species was found in a soil sample at the base of limestone rocks. It likely lives on limestone walls as do other similar hypselostomatid species,” the scientists said.
“Since the species is known from one site only, it is evaluated as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria.”
Angustopila subelevata has a shell reaching a height of 0.034 inches (0.87 mm).
“Extremes in body size of organisms not only attract attention from the public, but also incite interest regarding their adaptation to their environment,” Dr Pall-Gergely said.
“Investigating tiny-shelled land snails is important for assessing biodiversity and natural history as well as for establishing the foundation for studying the evolution of dwarfism in invertebrate animals.”
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Páll-Gergely B et al. 2015. Seven new hypselostomatid species from China, including some of the world’s smallest land snails (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Orthurethra). ZooKeys 523: 31-62; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.523.6114
