Abstract
Author(s): Talenti, Enrico; Cianfanelli, Simone; Bodon, Marco | Abstract: The genus Plagyrona Gittenberger, 1977, includes only two small species of terrestrial snail: Plagyrona angusta Holyoak and Holyoak, 2012, and Plagyrona placida (Shuttleworth, 1852). While P. angusta is known only from Portugal, P. placida has a vast but fragmented distribution: it is known from some of the Macaronesian islands (Madeira and the Canary Archipelago) and some European countries: Portugal, France (in Corsica only), Italy (including Sardinia and the Tuscan Archipelago), Albania, Greece (in the Ionian Islands only) and North Africa (Algeria). New research has led to redefine the distribution range of P. angusta, identifying new populations in Spain (Balearic Islands), continental France (Var department), southern Italy (Campania), Sardinia and Greece (Kerkyra Island) and to discover new sites of P. placida on Pantelleria island and of Plagyrona spp. in Zannone island and southern Italy. The specific determination of these and others populations by examination of recent literature from Sardinia, Campania and Calabria, was carried out on a morphometric basis, but, for some populations, the variability of the diagnostic characters and the limited number of available specimens, do not allow a precise assignment. On the other hand, the existence of two distinct species is not evident at all, at least in the Mediterranean countries.
Highlights
The genus Plagyrona Gittenberger, 1977, is one of the six European genera of small terrestrial molluscs belonging to the circumglobal family of the Valloniidae Morse, 1864, which includes about 65 species (Schileyko 1998)
In Cianfanelli et al (2013) a synthesis of the knowledge on the distribution of P. placida was carried on, reporting the species collected for the first time in several Italian localities (Sardinia, Campania and Calabria); subsequently Manganelli et al (2015, 2017) discovered populations of Plagyrona in the Tuscan Archipelago (Capraia, Elba, Montecristo, Giglio islands) and from Monte Argentario in Tuscany, always identifying them as P. placida
The species can be confused with other small terrestrial gastropods, such as those of the genera Pyramidula Fitzinger, 1833, Paralaoma Iredale, 1913, or Acanthinula Beck, 1847; for this reason only recently the genus Plagyrona has been reported in Italy and in other Mediterranean European countries
Summary
The genus Plagyrona Gittenberger, 1977, is one of the six European genera of small terrestrial molluscs belonging to the circumglobal family of the Valloniidae Morse, 1864, which includes about 65 species (Schileyko 1998). The genus Plagyrona includes two species only: P. placida (Shuttleworth, 1852) and P. angusta Holyoak and Holyoak, 2012. In Cianfanelli et al (2013) a synthesis of the knowledge on the distribution of P. placida was carried on, reporting the species collected for the first time in several Italian localities (Sardinia, Campania and Calabria); subsequently Manganelli et al (2015, 2017) discovered populations of Plagyrona in the Tuscan Archipelago (Capraia, Elba, Montecristo, Giglio islands) and from Monte Argentario in Tuscany, always identifying them as P. placida. The characters that distinguish the two species are not constant and a morphometric study has been carried out for the specific attribution, in order to verify the diagnostic characters and update the geographical distribution of these taxa
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