Abstract
A new species of the Plectopylidae, Gudeodiscus longiplica is described from northern Guangxi Province, southern China. The shell, anatomical and radular characters are figured and described. This new species is characterized by long plicae on its parietal shell wall, which have not been observed in any other Gudeodiscus species. In contrast, the long parietal plicae are characteristic for the genera Plectopylis and Chersaecia, which mainly inhabit Thailand and Myanmar. These two genera are, however, only distantly related to the new species, as other characters (anatomy, protoconch sculpture, parietal plicae) suggest. The male portion of the genital structure of the new species is characterized by two separate penial caeca with different lengths, but similar in outer and inner structure. The relevance of this anatomical character is discussed. Gudeodiscus longiplica sp. n. occurs sympatrically with Gudeodiscus soosi Páll-Gergely, 2013. The anatomy and radula characters of the latter species are also described and figured.
Highlights
The Plectopylidae are composed of flat-shelled terrestrial snail species which are characterized by a complex, internal armature structure
Gudeodiscus soosi and Gudeodiscus longiplica sp. n. share an anatomical character that differentiate them from all other anatomically-known species of the Plectopylidae, including Gudeodiscus
In all other members of Plectopylidae the bursa copulatrix and the diverticulum originate very near each other with both attaching at the proximal end of the vagina
Summary
The Plectopylidae are composed of flat-shelled terrestrial snail species which are characterized by a complex, internal armature structure. The armature is composed of plicae (horizontal structures) and lamellae (vertical structures) on both the palatal and parietal sides of the body whorl. The palatal plicae can be seen through the semi-transparent shell wall, whereas small holes must be made in the shell at appropriate sites to examine the parietal plication. The morphology of these plicae and lamellae serve as primary diagnostic characters for species recognition and identification. More than half of the recorded 24 species of Gudeodiscus are known from only empty shells at this time (Páll-Gergely and Hunyadi 2013, PállGergely and Asami 2014, Páll-Gergely et al 2015a), including Gudeodiscus soosi PállGergely, 2013 reported from three nearby localities in northern Guangxi. Examination revealed that two specimens were Gudeodiscus soosi, but the other two were an undescribed species, which is described
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
