Abstract
We report here the first record of Mediterranea depressa (Sterki, 1880) in the north-eastern quarter of France, in the Vosges and Jura massifs. After the fortuitous discovery of some shells attributed to M. depressa in the southern Vosges Mts., an extensive sampling campaign was carried out both in the Vosges and in the Jura Mts. In total, about 20 shells and seven live specimens were found at eight localities, which, according to the present state of our knowledge, represent its north-western range limit. The species was found exclusively under stones of rocky slope screes on siliceous and calcareous substrates. Some of these habitats could be described as Mesovoid Shallow Substratum. It is not clear whether the rarity of the species is an effect of under-sampling or of its small size and unusual habitat or/and to intrinsic rarity due to isolated populations at the distribution limits of the species. The extreme north-eastern quarter of France constitutes an oceanic-continental transition zone where about thirty gastropod species from Central and Eastern Europe are currently documented at the western limit of their ranges.
Highlights
The Flat Gloss snail, Mediterranea depressa (Sterki, 1880), is a Carpathian-Alpine species with a wide distribution in Eastern and Central Europe that extends from the eastern border of France to the Romanian Carpathians (Fig. 1)
Systematics: There is no clear consensus on the taxonomic contours of genera within the Oxychilidae (Riedel 1980, 1998), in particular for the former subgenera traditionally included in Oxychilus Fitzinger, 1833 and ranked as full genera by Falkner et al (2001, 2002) and currently adopted in MolluscaBase
Habitats: In the Jura Mts (Fig. 2), M. depressa was sampled at Jougne in a cold mountain cirque with a north-east exposure at the foot of Mont d’Or, the highest point of the Doubs département
Summary
The Flat Gloss snail, Mediterranea depressa (Sterki, 1880), is a Carpathian-Alpine species with a wide distribution in Eastern and Central Europe that extends from the eastern border of France to the Romanian Carpathians (Fig. 1). According to Welter-Schultes (2012), this species is mainly found in moderately humid and rocky forests, and in various other habitat types such as open grassy mountain slopes above the tree line or in habitats with scattered shrubs or trees. It inhabits rocks rich in crevices and colonises retaining walls of dry stones (Rüetschi et al 2012) or ruins of mediaeval castles (Juřičková & Kučera 2004). It occurs mainly on calcareous substrates and tolerates siliceous substrates and reaches elevations of up to 2,600 m in Switzerland and 2,000 m in Italy
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