Search

This paper presents important faunistic records conducted in the Czech and Slovak Republics during 2021. In the Šumava Mts, South Bohemia, a hydrobiid snail of the genus Alzoniella was found. Monacha cantiana s. lato was genetically confirmed for the first time in the city of Bratislava, Slovakia. New sites of Cornu aspersum (Prague) and Tandonia kusceri (southern and central Slovakia) were confirmed. A new colony of the slug Limacus maculatus was found in SE Moravia. New records of several endangered species, e.g. Vertigo angustior, V. moulinsiana, Anisus septemgyratus, Gyraulus acronicus, G. rossmaessleri, Planorbis carinatus, Pisidium amnicum, P. globulare, P. moitessierianum, P. pseudosphaerium and P. tenuilineatum, are also presented. Location data are published with all details in a supplementary table.

Horsák M., Čejka T., Juřičková L., Beran L., Horáčková J., Hlaváč J. Č., Dvořák L., Hájek O., Divíšek J., Maňas M. & Ložek V., 2023: Check-list and distribution maps of the molluscs of the Czech and Slovak Republics. – Online at http://mollusca.sav.sk/malacology/checklist.htm, {"references":["Bank R. A., 2011: Authorships and Publication Dates in Malacology: some notes on the 2011 French Checklist of Welter-Schultes & al. – Mitteilungen der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft, 86: 13–24.","Benke M., Brändle M., Albrecht C. & Wilke T., 2009: Pleistocene phylogeography and phylogenetic concordance in cold‐adapted spring snails (Bythinella spp.). – Molecular Ecology, 18: 890–903. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2008.04073.x","Beran L., Horsák M. & Hofman S., 2019: First records of Viviparus acerosus (Bourguignat, 1862) (Gastropoda: Viviparidae) from the Czech Republic outside its native range. – Folia Malacologica, 27(3): 223–229. https://doi.org/10.12657/folmal.027.021","Bichain J. M., Gaubert P., Samadi S. & Boisselier-Dubayle M. C., 2007: A gleam in the dark: Phylogenetic species delimitation in the confusing spring-snail genus Bythinella Moquin-Tandon, 1856 (Gastropoda: Rissooidea: Amnicolidae). – Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 45(3): 927–941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.018","Čejka T., 2015: Three new mollusc species for Slovakia - result of one visit of the garden centre. – Malacological Bulletin, August 7, 2015, http://malbull.blogspot.com/2015/08/four-new-mollusc-species-for-slovakia.html","Čejka T., 2015: Brown garden snail - Cornu aspersum (O. F. Müller, 1774) in Slovakia. – Malacological Bulletin, August 4, 2015, http://malbull.blogspot.sk/2015/08/first-record-of-cornu-aspersum-o-f.html","Čejka T., 2018: First outdoor records of the slug Deroceras invadens from the Slovak Republic. – Malacological Bulletin, February 22, 2018, https://malbull.blogspot.cz/2018/02/first-outdoor-records-of-slug-deroceras.html","Čejka T., Beran L., Coufal R., Dvořák L., Hlaváč J. Č., Horáčková J., Horsáková V., Juřičková L., Kosová T., Čačaný J., Szabóová D., Říhová D., Tej B. & Horsák M., 2021: Malacological news from the Czech and Slovak Republics in 2020. – Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, 20: 56–74. https://doi.org/10.5817/MaB2021-20-56","Čejka T., Beran L., Korábek O., Hlaváč J. Č., Horáčková J., Coufal R., Drvotová M., Maňas M., Horsáková V. & Horsák M., 2020: Malacological news from the Czech and Slovak Republics in 2015–2019. – Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, 19: 71–106.","Christensen C. C., 2016: Change of status and name for a Hawaiian freshwater limpet: Ancylus sharpi Sykes, 1900 is the invasive North American Ferrissia californica (Rowell, 1863), formerly known as Ferrissia fragilis (Tryon, 1863) (Gastropoda: Planorbidae: Ancylinae). – Bishop Museum Occasional Papers, 118: 5–8.","Grego J. & Glöer P., 2019: A new Bythinella (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Rissooidea) in the Slovak Republic. – Ecologica Montenegrina, 21: 80–85. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2019.21.9","Haase M., Grego J., Erőss Z. P., Farkas R. & Fehér Z., 2021: On the origin and diversification of the stygobiotic freshwater snail genus Hauffenia (Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae) with special focus on the northern species and the description of two new species. – European Journal of Taxonomy, 775: 143–184. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.775.1555","Hlaváč J. Č. & Peltanová A., 2010: First occurrence of the Kentish Snail Monacha cantiana (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) in the Czech Republic. – Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, 9: 11–15.","Horsák M., Juřičková L. & Picka J., 2013: Měkkýši České a Slovenské republiky. Molluscs of the Czech and Slovak Republics. – Kabourek, Zlín, 264 pp. ISBN 978-80-86447-15-5 (in Czech and English)","Horsáková V., Nekola J. C. & Horsák M., 2020: Integrative taxonomic consideration of the Holarctic Euconulus fulvus group of land snails (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora). – Systematics and Biodiversity, 18(2): 142–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2020.1725172","Hutchinson J. M. C. & Reise H., 2009: Mating behaviour clarifies the taxonomy of slug species defined by genital anatomy: the Deroceras rodnae complex in the Sächsische Schweiz and elsewhere. – Mollusca, 27: 183–200.","Hutchinson J. M. C., Reise H. & Robinson D. G., 2014: A biography of an invasive terrestrial slug: the spread, distribution and habitat of Deroceras invadens. – Neobiota, 23: 17–64. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.23.7745","Hutchinson J. M. C., Reise H. & Schlitt B., 2022: Will the real Limax nyctelius please step forward: Lehmannia, Ambigolimax, or Malacolimax? No, Letourneuxia! – Archiv für Molluskenkunde, 151(1): 19–41. https://doi.org/10.1127/arch.moll/151/019-041","Kirchner S., Harl J., Kruckenhauser L., Duda M., Sattmann H. & Haring E., 2016: Phylogeography and systematics of Pyramidula (Pulmonata: Pyramidulidae) in the eastern Alps: still a taxonomic challenge. – Journal of Molluscan Studies, 82: 110–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyv047","Korábek O., Čejka T. & Juřičková L., 2016: Tandonia kusceri (Pulmonata: Milacidae), a slug new for Slovakia. – Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, 15: 3–8.","Korábek O., Juřičková J. & Petrusek A., 2016: Splitting the Roman snail Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758 (Stylommatophora: Helicidae) into two: redescription of the forgotten Helix thessalica Boettger, 1886. – Journal of Molluscan Studies, 82(1): 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyv048","Komzák P., Beran L. & Horsák M., 2018: The first record of Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller, 1774) in Moravia (SE Czech Republic). – Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, 17: 28–30.","Krumpálová Z. & Holienková B., 2018: Land snails in the Slovak open-air garden centres. – Ekológia, Bratislava, 37(4): 369–379. https://doi.org/10.2478/eko-2018-0028","Lorencová E., Beran L., Nováková M., Horsáková V., Rowson B., Hlaváč J. Č., Nekola J. C. & Horsák M., 2021: Invasion at the population level: a story of the freshwater snails Gyraulus parvus and G. laevis. – Hydrobiologia, (2021) –. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04668-w","Neiber M. T., Sagorny C. & Hausdorf B., 2016: Increasing the number of molecular markers resolves the phylogenetic relationship of 'Cepaea' vindobonensis (Pfeiffer 1828) with Caucasotachea Boettger 1909 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Helicidae). – Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 54(1): 40–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12116","Nekola J. C., Chiba S., Coles B. F., Drost C. A., von Proschwitz T. & Horsák M., 2018: A phylogenetic overview of the genus Vertigo O. F. Müller, 1773 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Pupillidae: Vertigininae). – Malacologia, 62: 21–161. https://doi.org/10.4002/040.062.0104","Nekola J. C., Coles F. B. & Horsák M., 2015: Species assignment in Pupilla (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Pupillidae): integration of DNA-sequence data and conchology. – Journal of Molluscan Studies, 81(2): 196–216. https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyu083","Nitz B., 2013: Integrative systematics and biogeography of Limax (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora). – Dissertation Thesis, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, 133 pp.","Pieńkowska J. R. & Lesicki A., 2018: A note on the status of Galba occulta Jackiewicz, 1959 (Gastropoda: Hygrophila: Lymnaeidae). – Folia Malacologica, 26(4): 231–247. https://doi.org/10.12657/folmal.026.029","Pieńkowska J. R., Rybska E., Banasiak J., Wesołowska M. & Lesicki A., 2015: Taxonomic status of Stagnicola palustris (O. F. Müller, 1774) and S. turricula (Held, 1836) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Lymnaeidae) in view of new molecular and chorological data. – Folia Malacologica, 23(1): 3–18. https://doi.org/10.12657/folmal.023.003","Pieńkowska J. R, Manganelli G., Giusti F. & Lesicki A., 2015: Monacha claustralis (Rossmässler 1834) new to Polish and Czech malacofauna (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Hygromiidae). – Journal of Conchology, 42: 79–93.","Proćków M., Kuźnik-Kowalska E., Mackiewicz P. 2017: Phenotypic plasticity can explain evolution of sympatric polymorphism in the hairy snail Trochulus hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758). – Current Zoology, 63(4): 389–402. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zow082","Razkin O., Sonet G., Breugelmans K., Madeira M. J., Gómez-Moliner B. J. & Backeljau T., 2016: Species limits, interspecific hybridization and phylogeny in the cryptic land snail complex Pyramidula: the power of RADseq data. – Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 101: 267–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.002","Razkin O., Gómez‐Moliner B. J., Vardinoyannis K., Martínez‐Ortí A. & Madeira M. J., 2017: Species delimitation for cryptic species complexes: case study of Pyramidula (Gastropoda, Pulmonata). – Zoologica Scripta, 46(1): 55–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12192","Rowson B., Anderson R., Turner J. A. & Symondson W. O. C., 2014: The slugs of Britain and Ireland: undetected and undescribed species increase a well-studied, economically important fauna by more than 20%. – PLoS One. 9(3): e91907. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091907","Szekeres J., Beermann A., Neubauer T. A., Očadlik M., Paunović M., Raković M., Csányi B., Varga A., Weigand A., Wilke T. & Fehér Z., 2022: Rapid spread of a new alien and potentially invasive species, Clathrocaspia knipowitschii (Makarov, 1938) (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae), in the Danube River. – Archives of Biological Sciences, 6 pp. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS220211006S","Welter-Schultes F. W., 2012: European non-marine molluscs, a guide for species identification. – Planet Poster Editions, Göttingen, pp. A1-A3, 1-679, Q1-Q78. ISBN 978-3-933922-75-5."]}

Many molecular phylogenetic studies conclude by reporting discoveries of new “cryptic” species. However, these putative biological entities are typically left unverified outside of the dna evidence or subjected to only superficial post-hoc analyses. Minute land snails of the Western Palearctic Pyramidula represent one of such examples being considered a cryptic species complex based on previously conducted molecular phylogeny. Several species appear indistinguishable due to noticeable shell tendency towards either high-spired (Pyramidula rupestris and P. jaenensis) or low-spired (P. saxatilis and P. pusilla) morphotype. Here, we challenge this conclusion by using mt DNA, n DNA, morphometric analyses and qualitative shell features, and seek for a potential evolutionary mechanism behind the conchological similarities. Through an empirical integration of multiple data types we document that the studied taxa can be visually distinguished. Unlike isolated shell measurements, cva s based on traditional morphometrics and geometric morphometrics have power to separate all species from each other, except for P. saxatilis and P. pusilla. However, only a use of previously overlooked shell surface microsculpture makes it possible to identify individuals of all species. Considering tight associations between shell measurements and climate, we propose an evolutionary explanation based on optimization of thermal flux under different climatic selection pressures. Our study brings the awareness towards microscopic shell features, and outlines a general protocol to identify robust visual identification criteria in taxonomic groups containing cryptic (and non-cryptic) members. It also exemplifies an integration of various data types for macroscale species identification, which we believe should follow any discovery of putatively cryptic species.

This study deals with the molluscan fauna of the Hostýnské vrchy Hills (Central Moravia, Czech Republic). The main goal was to make a systematic inventory of the molluscan fauna in this area. Snails were collected in September 2010 by hand picking and litter sampling at selected sites. Final database was pooled with earlier published and unpublished data. In total, 85 terrestrial and 20 freshwater mollusc species were recorded at 56 study sites across the area during 2000–2010. Terrestrial snails Monachoides incarnatus, Punctum pygmaeum, Vitrina pellucida, and freshwater molluscs Pisidium casertanum, and Radix labiata were the most frequently recorded species. The land snails Daudebardia brevipes, Eucobresia nivalis, Vitrea transsylvanica, and Chondrula tridens are notable species from the local viewpoint. The clausilid Vestia ranojevici moravica, an endemic subspecies that colonized some regions of Moravia during the Holocene climatic optimum, is an iconic mollusc species in the area, deserving high conservation priority.

In this thesis, I explored the relationships among morphological characteristics of European land snail's' shells, their environment and life strategies. I assembled a database of morphological traits, characteristics of the environment and life strategies of land snails from literary sources. This file was merged with unique dataset from field sampling along a latitudinal gradient through Europe and the morphological characteristics of each species were averaged on real populations from particular sites. This package was analyzed by multivariate linear regression (GLM). In this work I demonstrate that the color pattern is affected by latitude and occurs mainly in gastropods with wider shell. Wide shell also appears mainly in snails with a smooth shell surface and shallower suture. Snails at lower altitudes mostly have calcified shell lips. A snail species with teeth in the mouth of shell, with ribs on the shell surface, and larger relative height of the shell, live in areas with higher calcium content in the leaf litter. Deep sutures on the shell are more frequent in shells from sites with higher rainfall seasonality. Especially in areas with higher rainfall seasonality we can find less gastropods with periostracal structures on the shell, however, their occurrence increase in areas with canopy...

Molluscan succession was studied in 18 abandoned limestone quarries of different age in Bohemian Karst. The number of species in studied quarries increases in the time. The less species were found in the oldest quarries. This trend was probably caused by habitat diversity decline although it is not conclusive. The best predictors of mollusk species composition are type of surrounding vegetation, light and the cover of tree layer. It is important to take into account correlations of the other environmental variables with light and the cover of tree layer. Compositions of mollusk assemblages of north and south-facing slopes differ, but these differences diminish with ongoing succession. Quarries represent suitable model sites for the study of succession.