Biologists led by Dr Somsak Panha from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok have described a new genus and three new species of carnivorous land snails from isolated limestone hills in western Thailand.
Carinartemis vesperus. Image credit: Thanit Siriboon et al.
The three new species belong to Streptaxidae, a near pan-tropical family of carnivorous land snails.
Members of this family are found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, from South America, Africa through India to Japan and Asia.
They hunt various soil invertebrates, and are considered to play a major role in limestone ecosystems.
The new genus, named Carinartemis, currently comprises two new species, Carinartemis vesperus and Carinartemis striatus.
The generic name, Carinartemis, is derived from the Latin ‘carina’ (keel) and Greek ‘artemis’ (goddess of the chase).
Carinartemis vesperus has suboblique-heliciform, white and translucent shell (up to 10 mm long).
“Whorls 7, spire conical with distinct suture. Shell surface glossy, with thin and fine transverse ridges,” Dr Panha and his colleagues wrote in a paper published in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (full paper in .pdf).
“Teeth arranged in anteriorly V-shaped rows, each row containing 47–49 teeth with the formula (23-24)-1-(23-24); central tooth small, short, triangular with pointed cusp.”
Carinartemis striatus. Image credit: Thanit Siriboon et al.
Carinartemis striatus has oblique-heliciform, white, dull and translucent shell (up to 12 mm long).
“Whorls 7, spire low conical with distinct suture. Shell surface glossy, with strong transverse ridges and varices present.”
“Teeth arranged in anteriorly V-shaped rows, each row containing 45–49 teeth with the formula (22-24)-1-(22-24); central tooth small, short, triangular with pointed cusp.”
The third species, named Indoartemon medius, belongs to a known genus.
Indoartemon medius. Image credit: Thanit Siriboon et al.
It has oblique-heliciform, white and translucent shell (up to 11 mm long).
“Whorls 7, spire conical with indistinct suture. Shell surface glossy, with fine transverse ridges that diminish below the periphery.”
“Teeth arranged in anteriorly V-shaped rows, each row containing 33–37 teeth with the formula (16-18)-1-(16-18); central tooth small, short, triangular with pointed cusp.”
“Live specimens exhibit yellowish to orange reticulated skin, and orange tentacular retractor muscles are visible through the semi-transparent body.”
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Thanit Siriboon et al. 2014. Revision of the carnivorous snail genus Indoartemon Forcart, 1946 and a new genus Carinartemis from Thailand (Pulmonata: Streptaxidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62: 161–174
