Megavitrina libanica Germain 1911
Creators: name: Ruud, A. Bank
name: Menkhorst, Henk P. M. G
name: Neubert, Eike
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Stylommatophora
Vitrinidae
Megavitrina
Megavitrina libanica

description: <i>Megavitrina libanica</i> (Germain, 1911) (Figs 22-23) <i>Vitrina libanica</i> Germain, 1911: 31 -32. Type locality: "Je dois à M. P. Pallary la connaissance de cette espèce recueillie par le Frère Louis, dans la chaîne du Liban. L’indication précise de la localité ne m’a pas été fournie". <i>Vitrina libanica</i> var. <i>hidachariyensis</i> Germain, 1911: 32. Type locality: "Marette à Hidachariyé, près de Damas, entre 650 et 700 mètres d’altitude [H. Gadeau de Kerville]". <i>Vitrina libanica –</i> Germain, 1912: 441. <i>Vitrina libanica</i> – Germain, 1921: 13, 34, 82-83 ("découverte par le Frère Louis en divers points de la chaîne du Liban où elle paraît rare...... Aramoun, Fareit, Hakel et Fédar-Foha". <i>Vitrina libanica</i> – Germain, 1922: 176, pl. 5 figs 7-9 ("Aramoun"). <i>Vitrina libanica</i> – Tohmé &amp; Tohmé, 1988: 70-71 ("sous les oliviers de Haqel à 800 m d‘altitude"; "Assez commune dans la région de Jbeïl, au Kesrouane et au Chouf surtout dans les oliveraies“). Remarks. – Tohmé &amp; Tohmé (1988) claimed that this species is common in several localities in the central part of Lebanon. One of the authors (Neubert) visited the country in 2008 and 2011, aiming to collect <i>M.</i> <i>libanica</i> in order to clarify its taxonomic position. These attempts failed as no specimens were found, although all localites mentioned by Thomé &amp; Thomé were visited. This failure is not simply an artifact caused by visits during summer time (we assume the animals to be active during the humid winter season). In none of the many localities visited all over the country, not even a trace of a shell could be found! This signalizes that we are dealing with a massive decline of the populations of this enigmatic species during the last 30 years, at least. The species has also been reported from Syria by Germain (1911: 32) under the variety name <i>hi-</i> <i>dachariyensis</i>. Remarkably, neither the variety name nor the locality was mentioned by Germain (1921: 82- 83). We have not found its type locality “Hidachariyé” on any studied map.
description: Published as part of <i>Ruud, A. Bank, Henk P. M. G Menkhorst &amp; Eike Neubert, 2016, Descriptions of new and little-known land snail taxa from Turkey, and establishment of a new genus (Gastropoda, Pulmonata: Lauriidae, Enidae and Vitrinidae), pp. 5-30 in Basteria 80 (1)</i> on pages 26-28, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.439745
description: {"references": ["GERMAIN, L., 1911. Note preliminaire sur les mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles recueillis par M. H. Gadeau de Kerville pendant son voyage en Syrie. - Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle 17 (1): 27 - 32.", "GERMAIN, L., 1912. Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de l'Asie anterieure. 5 e note. Catalogue des gasteropodes de la Syrie et de la Palestine. - Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle 18 (7): 440 - 452.", "GERMAIN, L., 1921. Voyage zoologique d'Henri Gadeau de Kerville en Syrie (Avril-Juin 1908). Tome deuxieme. Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de Syrie. Tome premier. Introduction et gasteropodes: 1 - 523. J. - B. Bailliere, Paris.", "GERMAIN, L., 1922. Voyage zoologique d'Henri Gadeau de Kerville en Syrie (Avril-Juin 1908). Tome troisieme. Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de Syrie. Tome second. Pelecypodes, index et 23 planches: 1 - 243, pl. 1 - 23. J. - B. Bailliere, Paris.", "TOHME, G. &amp; THOME, H., 1988. Les coquillages terrestres du Liban. - Publications de l'Universite Libanaise, Section des Sciences Naturelles, 20: 113 pp."]}