Abstract
412 species-group names (including 11 replacement names), and 14 genus-group names of the Alycaeidae have been introduced to date. Type materials of 85% (336) of the known species and subspecies were examined, a further 5% (19) of the taxa were studied using available non-type material, and for another 6% (22) the original descriptions were sufficiently detailed to evaluate their taxonomic status. Only 3% of the taxa (12) could not be examined. Special attention was paid to the sculpture of the embryonic whorls and the sutural tube-microtunnel system in order to provide a novel classification for this group.In this study 363 taxa (320 species or 43 subspecies) are accepted within the family Alycaeidae. Of these, 22 have been described by the lead author and his coauthors in previous publications. In addition, there are 18 species that were formerly classified in Cycloryx and now belong to Pincerna due to its synonymy with Cycloryx. Among the remaining 323 species, 209 (65%) are transferred here to another genus, whilst 114 (35%) have remained in their original genus.Seven genera are accepted. While some questions (e.g., the distinction between Pincerna and Alycaeus) remained unanswered, this revision made three main achievements: (1) The Dicharax species were identified based on the absence of spiral striation on the entire shell; (2) the Metalycaeus species were identified based on the spiral striation of the protoconch; (3) and Stomacosmethis was separated from Alycaeus based on the extremely short sutural tube.Five nominal species are being synonymised with other species, and eight species are now treated as subspecies. The following replacement names are proposed: Dioryx urnula niosiensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus urnula var. daflaensis Godwin-Austen, 1914; Dioryx urnula rotundus Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus urnula var. globosus Godwin-Austen, 1914; Pincerna crenilabris juttingae Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus crenilabris laevis van Benthem Jutting, 1959; Pincerna crenilabris korintjiensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus crenilabris latecostatus van Benthem Jutting, 1959; Dicharax conicus jatingaensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus conicus var. nanus Godwin-Austen, 1914; Metalycaeus godwinausteni Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus neglectus Godwin-Austen, 1914; and finally Metalycaeus suhajdai Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus varius Godwin-Austen, 1914.
Highlights
The Alycaeidae are operculate land snails in the superfamily Cyclophoroidea
After examining specimens of virtually all alycaeid taxa and the relevant literature, here we propose a novel classification of 320 accepted species and 43 subspecies into seven genera
We found a common anatomical trait of the Alycaeidae besides the unique sutural tube-microtunnel system, which is probably a device for gas exchange
Summary
The Alycaeidae are operculate land snails in the superfamily Cyclophoroidea. Approximately 360 Asian species and subspecies have been described so far, and classified into 14 genera or subgenera. The alycaeid shell is characterised by a tube, which is closed at its outer end, and opens into the inside of the shell just behind the operculum. This tube is in contact with numerous, extremely narrow tunnels, which are formed by the outermost shell layer (Páll-Gergely et al 2016). Laotia Saurin, 1953, which includes two species, has been included either in the Diplommatinidae, because of its similarity with Helicomorpha, or in the Alycaeidae, because of its resemblance to the alycaeid Chamalycaeus (Saurin 1953; Páll-Gergely 2014). There are approximately 200 accepted Boucardicus species (Fischer-Piette et al 1993; Emberton and Pearce 1999; Emberton 2002; Emberton et al 2010; Balashov and Griffiths 2015)
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