Two New Species of Amphidromus (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Camaenidae) from Indonesia and Vietnam

Two new species of the land snails in the genus Amphidromus Albers, 1850 from Indonesia, and Vietnam are described: Amphidromus gisellelieae n. sp. from Indonesia, Amphidromus phamvutuanhae n. sp. They are compared to the closest congeners in this genus.

Effect of replacing maize with plantain peels on the performance traits and haematological characteristics of African giant land snail

The study was carried out at the Niger Delta University, Faculty of Agriculture Teaching and Research Farm, Bayelsa State. A total of Ninety six (96) growing snails (Archachatina marginata). Using Plantain peel as an additive, four diets were formulated at the levels of 0%, 3%, 6%, and 9% to form the treatment diets. The experiment lasted for eight (8) weeks during which the weight gain, feed intake, shell width, shell length, shell thickness and hematological parameters were obtained. The weight gain, shell width, shell length and shell thickness are not significantly different (p<0.05) whereas, the feed intake differed significantly (p<0.05) for all the treatment diets in the experiment. From the results, it was concluded that concentrate with 0% inclusion of Plantain peel meal was suitable for snail diets as it gave the best performance. The hematological parameters measured in the African giant land snails are White blood cell, Neutrophile and Lymphocyte differed significantly (p<0.05). Plantain peel can serve as source of potassium for other animals, as the highest percentage of potassium was found in the hemolymph of snails fed with 9% inclusion of plantain peel. It is recommended that; there should be no inclusion of plantain peels in the diet of the African giant land snails in order to achieve higher weight gain and feed intake.

The world’s tiniest land snails from Laos and Vietnam (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Hypselostomatidae)

Two new, extremely small land snail species, Angustopila coprologos Páll-Gergely, Jochum & Hunyadi n. sp. and Angustopila psammion Páll-Gergely, Vermeulen & Anker n. sp. are described from northern Vietnam and northern Laos, respectively. The former is characterized by a rough surface sculpture and bears tiny mud granules arranged in a pattern of radial lines on its shell surface. The latter species is the new global record-holder of the tiniest land snail title, with a shell width of 0.6–0.68 mm and a shell height of 0.46–0.57 mm. These measurements surpass the former records of Angustopila pallgergelyi and Acmella nana.

Demographic and spatial structure at the stage of expansion in thepopulations of some alien land snails in Belgorod city (CentralRussian Upland)

Studying of the demographic characteristics of populations of alien species at the stage of expansion makes it possible to assess their invasive potential. Field studies of alien terrestrial gastropods Xeropicta derbentina (Gastropoda,Stylommatophora, Hygromiidae), Brephulopsis cylindrica (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Enidae) and Harmozica ravergiensis (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Hygromiidae) have been carried out in Belgorod city, the southern part of the Central Russian Upland (Russia). All studied species are native to the Black Sea region and the Caucasus; in the southern part of the Central Russian Upland, they have been registered over the past ten years. The population density, demographic structure, and spatial structure have been analyzed for three years of observations (2017, 2019, 2020). During this period, the changes in the population density have been noted for all studied species. The most pronounced changes have been observed in X. derbentina, whose population density has significantly decreased, and the spatial structure has changed from clustered type to random distribution. In addition, the age structure of X. derbentina population had a pronounced change at the beginning of the snail activity season of 2020. The expansion of the other two invaders, B. cylindrica and H. ravergiensis, is proved as more successful. At the same time, H. ravergiensis is distributed throughout the city. This species has stable population density and random type of spatial population structure on most sites. B. cylindrica has the highest population density: in 2020, it has reached 406 ind./m2 on average, with the maximum of 1215 ind./m2.Meantime, the species keeps the clustered spatial structure, which is explained by both high population density and adaptation to the arid conditions of its natural range.

A new subspecies of Ruthenica filograna(Pulmonata: Clausiliidae) from Croatia

A new subspecies of land snails of the clausiliid genus Ruthenica has been found on the territory of Republic of Croatia. Illustrated description is presented. New subspecies differs from others in shell shape, semi-apostrophic aperture and sculpture pattern.

LIST OF LAND SNAILS IN JAVA AND SEVERAL ADJACENT ISLANDS

The malacofauna of Java has been most studied among the Indonesian islands, but the list of land snails in the area remains outdated. This study presents an updated check list of land snails in Java and its adjacent islands. This list is a compilation data from field work in Java conducted in 2013-2016, records from various museums in Europe and Indonesia, collections from private collectors, data from citizen sciences, and literatures. In total, 263 land snail species were recorded in Java and its adjacent islands. The number comprises of 36 families i.e. Subclass Neritimorpha (2 families), Caenogastropoda (6 families), and Heterobranchia (28 families). About 40% are species endemic to Java and among them have restricted distribution to certain areas. In addition, 5% or 13 introduced species were recorded in Java.

Effect of captive rearing on meat and haemolymph nutritional characteristics of snail (Archachatina marginata swainson)

An experiment was conducted to investigate and compare the impact of treatment, which is the source of snail (wild and captive reared) on the proximate and mineral composition (Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe and Mn) of the meat and haemolymph of African land snails (Archachatina marginata). Ninety (90) adult snails (250.00 + 0.5g) were randomly distributed into two (2) treatments, each of three replicates, (15 snails per replicate), in a Complete Randomized Design. Samples of meat and haemolymph collected using standard procedures were subsequently analyzed for their nutritional qualities, using standard chemical analytical procedures. All data collected were statistically analyzed using ANOVA, while significant variation were separated with Duncan Multiple Range Test of the same package. The proximate composition of the meat revealed higher (P>0.05) DM (26.00%), Ether extract (2.17%) and NFE (3.57%) in SC, while there was a non-significant variation (P<0.05) in most proximate factors for haemolymph, except NFE (4.27%), which was higher (P>0.05) in SW. The mineral profiling of the meat revealed elevated (PP>0.05) levels of Fee (22.30mg/kg) and Mn (4.79mg/kg) of SC, the haemolymph recorded improved levels (P>0.05) for all mineral elements in SC. In conclusion, the captive rearing of snail had improved impact on thenutritional qualities of SC.