Sermyla kupaensis Lentge-MAAss & Neiber & Gimnich & Glaubrecht 2021, SP. NOV.
Creators: name: Lentge-MAAss, Nora
name: Neiber, Marco T.
name: Gimnich, France
name: Glaubrecht, Matthias
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Lepidoptera
Thiaridae
Sermyla
Sermyla kupaensis

description: SERMYLA KUPAENSIS SP. NOV.
(FIGS 1P–T, 4, 11A, B)
Zoobank registration: urn: lsid: zoobank. org:act: 14715EED-3C76-4F47-AD05-9DE6F6F8127D
Etymology: For the type locality, the township of Kupa in south-western Sulawesi.
Type material: Holotype, Indonesia, Sulawesi, Kupa, stream E of road Makassar-Parepare, 4°7.567´S 119°37.426´E (MZB Gst. 12.191 w); 16 paratypes from the type locality (ZMB 190982); 88 paratypes from the type locality (ZMB 191388 w); 80 paratypes from the type locality (MZB Gst. 12.192 w); five paratypes from the type locality (ZMH 94335 w).
Additional material examined: Indonesia: Sulawesi: Makassar, 5°8′ S 119°25′ E (ZMB 210079, 210082).
Diagnosis: Shell as in S. riquetii. Veliger larvae (> 1000) are released from the subhaemocoelic brood pouch of the female.
Description
Shell (Fig. 1P–T): The shell of S. kupaensis cannot be distinguished from that of S. riquetii.
Reproduction: Female S. kupaensis individuals were found to contain only veliger larvae (> 1000) in their brood pouches, i.e. the species has an ovoviviparous reproductive strategy.
Juvenile shell (Fig. 5B): Since we did not observe any shelled juveniles in the brood pouch, we display the image of a veliger larvae with an already clearly visible operculum. We are not able to make any further statements concerning the juvenile shell of S. kupaensis.
Radula (Fig. 11A, B): Typical, as in other Thiaridae (see: Glaubrecht et al., 2009). Rachidian with a subtriangular central denticle with broadly rounded tip and three smaller denticles on either side of central denticle, also triangular in shape with a rounded tip. Central denticles of lateralia broader and rounder than seen in other thiarids, flanked by two relatively large denticles forming a pronounced wing-shaped plate on the inner side projecting towards the central teeth. Marginal teeth with six to seven denticles.
Ecology: This species lives in water bodies above tidal influence, although empty shells may be washed downstream. Near Kupa it was found exclusively at elevations of several dozen metres above the sea level on an elevated plateau with muddy pools of stagnant water adjacent to the river course, but not in the running stream itself. The species seems to prefer these pools with stagnant water over running water, apparently due to the richer muddy substrate it lives in and feeds from.
Distribution: It is known only from the type locality. Shells found in Makassar further south on Sulawesi along the same coast line are probably also attributable to this species.
Remarks
Shells of S. kupaensis cannot be distinguished from S. riquetii but are, on average, slightly larger than samples from Thailand, Vietnam and Bali, for which an euviviparous reproductive strategy could be confirmed here. The different reproductive strategy, i.e. ovoviviparity, and the divergent mitochondrial haplotypes, suggest that the specimens from Sulawesi represent a distinct evolutionary lineage. Specimens of S. carbonata from Australia, which has a euviviparous reproductive strategy, usually have a higher spire than S. kupaensis. Moreover, some populations of S. carbonata can readily be distinguished by their weaker shell sculpture.
description: Published as part of Lentge-MAAss, Nora, Neiber, Marco T., Gimnich, France & Glaubrecht, Matthias, 2021, Evolutionary systematics of the viviparous gastropod Sermyla (Gastropoda: Cerithioidea: Thiaridae), with the description of a new species, pp. 736-762 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 192 (3) on pages 753-754, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa120, http://zenodo.org/record/7017352