Annotated checklist of the terrestrial molluscs from Laos (Mollusca, Gastropoda)

Abstract

The land area of Laos is composed of a large variety of undisturbed habitats, such as high mountainous areas, huge limestone karsts and the lower Mekong Basin. Therefore, Laos is expected to have a high species diversity, especially for the land snails. However, with respect to research on malacology, Laos is probably the least well-researched area for land snail diversity in Indochina (including Laos) over the past few centuries. The handful of species lists have never been systematically revised from the colonial period to the present, so these classifications are outdated. Herein we present the first comprehensive annotated checklist with an up-to-date systematic framework of the land snail fauna in Laos based on both field investigations and literature surveys. This annotated checklist is collectively composed of 231 nominal species (62 ‘prosobranch’ and 169 heterobranches), of which 221 nominal species are illustrated. The type specimens of 143 species from several museum collections and/or 144 species of newly collected specimens are illustrated. There are 58 species recorded as new to the malacofauna of the country, and two new replacement names are proposed as Hemiplectalanxangnica Inkhavilay and Panha, nomen novum (Ariophantidae) and Chloritiskhammouanensis Inkhavilay and Panha, nomen novum (Camaenidae). Four recently described species of the genus Amphidromus from Laos, “thakhekensis”, “richgoldbergi”, “attapeuensis” and “phuonglinhae” are synonymized with previously described species. In addition, thirteen nominal species are listed as uncertain records that may or may not occur in Laos. This annotated checklist may inspire malacologists to carry on systematic research in this region.

Integrative taxonomic revision of the land snail genus Sarika Godwin-Austen, 1907 in Thailand, with descriptions of nine new species (Eupulmonata, Ariophantidae)

“… Abu-Bakar et al 2014 . Inkhavilay et al 2019 : 82, figs 39a, 57a. Pholyotha et al 2020c : 14, 15, figs 9a, b.…”

“… Sarika resplendens occurs throughout Thailand (Fig. 5 ) and mainland Southeast Asia ( Schileyko 2011 ; Inkhavilay et al 2019 ). This species can be found throughout the entire year in various humid areas in both natural and highly disturbed habitats.…”

“… Sarika is a land snail genus in the family Ariophantidae Godwin-Austen 1883 and is widely distributed in mainland Southeast Asia, especially throughout Thailand ( Blanford and Godwin-Austen 1908 ; Zilch 1959 ; Solem 1966 ; Schileyko 2002 ; Inkhavilay et al 2019 ; Pholyotha et al 2020a , 2020c ). Systematic studies of Sarika date back from the mid-19 th to the early 20 th centuries ( Pfeiffer 1860 ; Möllendorff 1894 , 1902 ; Godwin-Austen 1907 ; Blanford and Godwin-Austen 1908 ; Tomlin 1929 ; Laidlaw 1933 ; Solem 1966 ).…”

“…Subsequentially, many species have been placed in the genus Sarika ( Laidlaw 1933 ; Solem 1966 ; Panha 1996 ; Hemmen and Hemmen 2001 ; Pholyotha et al 2018 , 2020a , 2020c ; Inkhavilay et al 2019 ). Yet, most previous studies were either species descriptions or checklist, and in Thailand and Malaysia, only a few studies so far have dealt with the genital anatomy ( Godwin-Austen 1907 ; Laidlaw 1933 ; Solem 1966 ; Maneevong 2000 ; Sutcharit and Panha 2008 ).…”

“…Yet, most previous studies were either species descriptions or checklist, and in Thailand and Malaysia, only a few studies so far have dealt with the genital anatomy ( Godwin-Austen 1907 ; Laidlaw 1933 ; Solem 1966 ; Maneevong 2000 ; Sutcharit and Panha 2008 ). In Laos, Inkhavilay et al (2019) published a checklist of the land snails, including several species of Sarika . A year later, the genus Sarika from Myanmar and Cambodia were taxonomically revised, and two new species from Myanmar and three new species from Cambodia were discovered based on genitalia characters ( Pholyotha et al 2020a , 2020c ; Sutcharit et al 2020 ).…”