Abstract
This paper presents the first land snail species checklist for Gunung Kuang (Kuang Hill), a limestone hill located next to Gunung Kanthan that is recognised as one of the most important limestone hills for its diverse land snail fauna in Kinta Valley. Samplings were carried out at five plots in Gunung Kuang. This survey documented 47 land snail species, in which six species were identified as unique to Gunung Kuang. Approximately half of the land snails from Gunung Kanthan were found in Gunung Kuang. In addition, one of six unique species from Gunung Kanthan was also found in Gunung Kuang. These rich land snail species in Gunung Kuang are similar to other hills in Kinta Valley, but it is relatively lesser than the adjacent Gunung Kanthan. In view of Gunung Kuang’s unique land snail species, and its location closest to disturbed Gunung Kanthan, Gunung Kuang should be considered in the conservation management plan for Gunung Kanthan.
Highlights
Limestone hills are known for their rich biodiversity and endemism (Clements et al 2006; Schilthuizen 2004)
The richness of the land snail species in Gunung Kuang is much lesser than the adjacent Gunung Kanthan (47 vs 63 species)
Gunung Kuang is the closest hill to Gunung Kanthan, and these two hills are more than five kilometres away from other hills in this region
Summary
Limestone hills are known for their rich biodiversity and endemism (Clements et al 2006; Schilthuizen 2004). The state of Perak is one of the areas with a large number of limestone hills and a long history of land snail studies in Malaysia. This area has the highest recorded number of land snail species in Malaysia at present; ironically, it has the largest number of operating quarries (Foon et al 2017, Liew et al 2016). Documenting the land snails in Gunung Kuang is necessary to determine whether their species, especially the unique ones, can be found in Gunung Kanthan. This information is important for planning and managing conservation efforts, such as making Gunung Kuang a possible alternative site for the conservation and rehabilitation of land snail species in Gunung Kanthan, if both hills share significant proportion of species diversity and composition
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