Plectopylis linterae Mollendorff 1897
Creators: name: Páll-Gergely, Barna
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Stylommatophora
Plectopylidae
Plectopylis
Plectopylis linterae

description: Plectopylis linterae Möllendorff, 1897
Figs 35K, 43
Plectopylis linterae Möllendorff, 1897: 28–29 [“ Pegu ”].
Plectopylis linterae var. fusca Gude, 1898g: 170–171, fig. 89a–f. Syn. nov.
Plectopylis linterae – Gude 1898g: 170, fig. 88a–c.
Plectopylis (Plectopylis) linterae – Gude 1914b: 134–136, fig. 67a–c; 1899d: 148; 1899e: 175. Plectopylis (Plectopylis) linterae var. fusca – Gude 1914b: 136, fig. 68a–f; 1899d: 148; 1899e: 175.
Diagnosis
SHELL. Small, sinistral, thick with slightly elevated spire, strongly thickened peristome, and a main plica, which is weak, and sometimes free from the apertural fold.
Material examined
Types MYANMAR: 1 shell, probably holotype (labelled as lectotype) of P. linterae (D = 15.7 mm), Pegu, coll. Möllendorff (SMF 9280).
The type sample of P. linterae var. fusca Gude, 1898 could not be located in the NHM.
Additional material
MYANMAR: 2 shells, Pegu, coll. Bosch, ex Rolle (SMF 172062); 3 shells (labelled as “var. fusca ”), Pathung-Thoung, Attaram R. (NHMUK 1888.12.4.1541–1543); 1 shell, Burma (NHMUK 1916.3.16.5); 2 shells (labelled as “ pachystoma ”), Burmah, Theobald leg. (NHMUK 1903.07.01.736); 1 opened shell (labelled as “ karenorum ”), Moulmain(?), coll. Godwin-Austen (NHMUK 1903.07.01.735); 1 shell (labelled as “ pachystoma ”), Molmein (NHMUK 1906.01.01.741); 5 shells (photos of one shell examined, see Fig. 43A), India, coll. Linter (RAME 1720/1909/D7.48a-e).
Description
SHELL. Sinistral, strongly built, spire somewhat elevated, dorsal surface slightly conical, shell outline slightly oval; colour dark yellowish-greyish to brownish and reddish; protoconch consists of 2.5– 2.75 whorls, matt, very finely, irregularly wrinkled with extremely fine granular structure; whole shell dominated by irregular, fine wrinkles; dorsal side and area inside umbilicus finely reticulated; periumbilical area smooth, although rather roughly wrinkled near aperture; whorls 5.25–5.75 (n = 4), body whorl rounded; aperture rounded or oval; peristome strongly thickened and slightly reflected; parietal callus elevated, strong, S-shaped; apertural fold strong, free from the parietal callus or slightly connected to it; umbilicus funnel-shaped, relatively narrow, with a blunt periumbilical keel.
One opened shell was examined. Lambda-complex complete; both legs with slightly elongated ends anteriorly and posteriorly; upper branch as long as extension of left leg; main plica in contact with right leg, free from apertural fold or connected to it; main plica always much weaker than apertural fold. Palatal plicae typical to Plectopylis.
MEASUREMENTS (in mm). D = 15.7–16.2, H = 5.6–6.6 (lectotype and paralectotypes, n = 3); D = 16–16.9, H = 5.4–5.5 (“var. fusca ”, NHMUK 1888.12.4.1541–43, n = 3).
Differential diagnosis
In shell shape Plectopylis linterae is most similar to P. crassilabris sp. nov., which is larger, lacks the main plica and has a stronger spiral sculpture. Typical specimens of P. linterae are much smaller than P. bensoni, have a more elevated spire and a more rounded body whorl. Although in some (probably very old) specimens of P. linterae the apertural fold is connected to the main plica, the apertural fold is always much stronger (more elevated) than the main plica. The apertural fold and the main plica are always connected in P. bensoni, and their boundary is not visible.
Distribution
Plectopylis linterae is known from Pegu only. The exact geographic position of the other locality (Pathung-Thoung) is unknown.
Remarks
The species is sometimes named as “ Plectopylis pachystoma Theobald ” on museum labels, but this name has never been published. Although the types of Plectopylis linterae var. fusca could not be found in the NHM, I found non-type shells labelled “var. fusca ”. Those specimens differ from typical P. linterae in the uniformly brown dorsal surface, which is not sufficient for distinction on any taxonomic levels, meaning Plectopylis linterae var. fusca is a synonym of P. linterae.
description: Published as part of Páll-Gergely, Barna, 2018, Systematic revision of the Plectopylinae (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Plectopylidae), pp. 1-114 in European Journal of Taxonomy 455 on pages 95-97, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2018.455, http://zenodo.org/record/3817707