Simpulopsis
Steadily but not so slowly
15-10-2010 11:44
Alex Popovkin sent me a
link to a video he made of the Simpulopsis
specimen
earlier
reported on.
Creeping steadily, but not so slowly... If all snails behave like this I should emend the motto of my site. But I need further evidence to believe it.
Creeping steadily, but not so slowly... If all snails behave like this I should emend the motto of my site. But I need further evidence to believe it.
Photo of the day (108): Simpulopsis
11-10-2010 20:14
Nearly as green as
green can be... This picture is one of a
series that Alex Popovkin made in the
Atlantic Forest near Bahia. It is
Simpulopsis
rufovirens (S. Moricand, 1846).
A perfect example of mimicry, where snails nearly completely dissolve in the background for the untrained eye. Not for Alex, whose blog on the flora and fauna of the region may be found here.
A perfect example of mimicry, where snails nearly completely dissolve in the background for the untrained eye. Not for Alex, whose blog on the flora and fauna of the region may be found here.
Photo of the day (88): Simpulopsis
02-04-2010 13:44
The same species that
is shown in the previous
post in
this series, Simpulopsis
citrinovitrea (Moricand, 1836) is here
depictured from two other localities.
The first one is from Ecuador, Pichincha, Mindo.
The second series was taken in Colombia, Riseralda, region of Otun-Quimbaya.
All pictures were sent to me by Francisco Borrero.
The first one is from Ecuador, Pichincha, Mindo.
The second series was taken in Colombia, Riseralda, region of Otun-Quimbaya.
All pictures were sent to me by Francisco Borrero.
Photo of the day (87): Simpulopsis
31-03-2010 22:03
These pictures are Simpulopsis cf. citrinovitrea (Moricand, 1836) and were taken by Adrián Gonzalez in western Ecuador, area of Junín.
New species (4): Brazilian Simpulopsis
05-11-2008 21:53
Speaking about lagging behind... When dealing with
the new species described from the Neotropics I have
to catch up from the past. So I intend to cover all
species since I started this blog in December 2006
and all Orthalicidae (sensu lato) since
my work in the
’70s.
The first taxa to be covered are some Simpulopsis species described from Brazil by Silva & Thomé in 2006. The two new species have both been found in Rio Grande do Sul, São Francisco de Paula, Biological station Pro-Mata.
Simpulopsis promentensis Silva & Thomé, 2006; holotype MCP 8674.
Simpulopsis gomesae Silva & Thomé, 2006; holotype MCP 8701.
Given the fact that Thomé’s group has been discontinued, it is unclear to me what happened with the collection. I assume that it is still being kept at the Pontifícia Universidade de Rio Grande do Sul.
Reference:
Silva, L.F. da & Thomé, J.W., 2006. Duas novas espécies de Simpulopsis (Gastropoda, Bulimulidae) para o Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. - Iheringia, Zool. 96: 185-196.
The first taxa to be covered are some Simpulopsis species described from Brazil by Silva & Thomé in 2006. The two new species have both been found in Rio Grande do Sul, São Francisco de Paula, Biological station Pro-Mata.
Simpulopsis promentensis Silva & Thomé, 2006; holotype MCP 8674.
Simpulopsis gomesae Silva & Thomé, 2006; holotype MCP 8701.
Given the fact that Thomé’s group has been discontinued, it is unclear to me what happened with the collection. I assume that it is still being kept at the Pontifícia Universidade de Rio Grande do Sul.
Reference:
Silva, L.F. da & Thomé, J.W., 2006. Duas novas espécies de Simpulopsis (Gastropoda, Bulimulidae) para o Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. - Iheringia, Zool. 96: 185-196.
Bromeliads, beetles and snails
21-07-2008 10:52
Bromeliads belong to a diverse group of flowering
plants, which in part are epiphytic. There are around
3000 species known from the Neotropics. Growth forms
vary with environmental conditions, but typically
there are a collection of wide, linear, straplike
leaves with inflated bases that overlap to construct
a tight rosette. These rosettes often form watertight
tanks that can hold rainwater for many days.
Many of these tank bromeliads live in montane (cloud) forest where they can usually be found in the canopy. Out of reach of the "normal" biologist, as you need to climb high if you want to make observations. Yet they are known habitats for insects, frogs, epigeic earthworms, ostracods and also are a foraging site for birds.
Snails have also been associated with bromeliads. Basically there are two groups: one on Tillandsia sp. and one on (probably) other tank bromeliad genera. The first groups concerns Bostryx species from Peru, e.g. B. bromeliarum (Pilsbry, 1930) and the B. spiculatus-group.
The second group comprises Simpulopsis species, and although most have been described without mentioning of their habitat, given their locations and the association with bromeliads of some of them, I have a strong suspicion that several species might be associated with tank bromeliads. We know at least that S. simulus (Morelet, 1851) and S. magnus Thompson, 1957 have been found in bromeliads. The same might be true for S. corrugatus Guppy, 1866 from Trinidad and several species reported from the east coast of Brazil (Atlantic Forest, or what is left of it).
Enough of this rambling on bromeliads and snails... What about the beetles?
Merely by chance I stumbled upon the recent paper by Balke et al.* on the association between aquatic beetles and tank bromeliads. They studied a group of beetles that occurs in small water bodies in tropical forests, but a small subset of them is specialized to the water reservoirs of tank bromeliads. Extensive phylogenetic work revealed that the origin of one of the lineages was estimated to be comparable to that of the tank bromeliads. The other two lineages that are associated with these plants are thought to be more recent expansions into the tank water habitat.
The evolution of these canopy communities is far from being understood and leaves several areas open for further research. Snails being but one of them.
Reference:
Balke, M., Gómez-Zurita, J., Ribera, I., Vilora, A., Zillikens, A., Steiner, J., García, M, Hendrich, L. & Vogler, A.P. (2008). Ancient associations of aquatic beeles and tank bromeliads in the Neotropical forest canopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105, 6356-6361.
Many of these tank bromeliads live in montane (cloud) forest where they can usually be found in the canopy. Out of reach of the "normal" biologist, as you need to climb high if you want to make observations. Yet they are known habitats for insects, frogs, epigeic earthworms, ostracods and also are a foraging site for birds.
Snails have also been associated with bromeliads. Basically there are two groups: one on Tillandsia sp. and one on (probably) other tank bromeliad genera. The first groups concerns Bostryx species from Peru, e.g. B. bromeliarum (Pilsbry, 1930) and the B. spiculatus-group.
The second group comprises Simpulopsis species, and although most have been described without mentioning of their habitat, given their locations and the association with bromeliads of some of them, I have a strong suspicion that several species might be associated with tank bromeliads. We know at least that S. simulus (Morelet, 1851) and S. magnus Thompson, 1957 have been found in bromeliads. The same might be true for S. corrugatus Guppy, 1866 from Trinidad and several species reported from the east coast of Brazil (Atlantic Forest, or what is left of it).
Enough of this rambling on bromeliads and snails... What about the beetles?
Merely by chance I stumbled upon the recent paper by Balke et al.* on the association between aquatic beetles and tank bromeliads. They studied a group of beetles that occurs in small water bodies in tropical forests, but a small subset of them is specialized to the water reservoirs of tank bromeliads. Extensive phylogenetic work revealed that the origin of one of the lineages was estimated to be comparable to that of the tank bromeliads. The other two lineages that are associated with these plants are thought to be more recent expansions into the tank water habitat.
The evolution of these canopy communities is far from being understood and leaves several areas open for further research. Snails being but one of them.
Reference:
Balke, M., Gómez-Zurita, J., Ribera, I., Vilora, A., Zillikens, A., Steiner, J., García, M, Hendrich, L. & Vogler, A.P. (2008). Ancient associations of aquatic beeles and tank bromeliads in the Neotropical forest canopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105, 6356-6361.
Photo of the day (13): Simpulopsis
19-06-2008 15:23
Here is another picture that Francisco Borrero took
while in Ecuador. It depicts Simpulopsis (Eudiotus)
citrinovitreas (Moricand, 1836) near Mindo, Prov.
Pichincha.
The quest goes on and the dilemma of the collector
31-07-2007 11:09
Last week I have also
continued the puzzling with "Simpulopsis"
dominicensis.
Another suggestion from Jozef Grego was that it could
be Orthosagda,
but after having checked the data in Schieleyko I'm
convinced that this is also a wrong track. So the
queeste goes on, till we have found the 'home'
of dominicensis.....
When I look at the anatomy and compare it to e.g. the just published work (in Arch. Moll.) of Laetitia da Silva and José Thomé on Simpulopsis decussatus from Brazil, I see more similarities than differences. But on the other hand I do see some differences that make me hesitant to be conclusive. Unfortunately the quality of the tissues is rather poor. My guess is that the animal after being collected was drawn too long in water before transferred to alcohol. That is most probably the same reason why DNA sequencing didn't yield results, given the strict conditions that are being put on the material. Quite a dilemma for the field collector when you are lucky enough to find one specimen: do I want to have a fully strechted animal, allowing for an easy dissection or do I put it directly in alcohol 96%, safeguarding DNA but probably jeopardizing anatomical research.
I put all pictures here (photos by courtesy of Jozef Grego) and if anybody has a good suggestion, it is always welcome.
When I look at the anatomy and compare it to e.g. the just published work (in Arch. Moll.) of Laetitia da Silva and José Thomé on Simpulopsis decussatus from Brazil, I see more similarities than differences. But on the other hand I do see some differences that make me hesitant to be conclusive. Unfortunately the quality of the tissues is rather poor. My guess is that the animal after being collected was drawn too long in water before transferred to alcohol. That is most probably the same reason why DNA sequencing didn't yield results, given the strict conditions that are being put on the material. Quite a dilemma for the field collector when you are lucky enough to find one specimen: do I want to have a fully strechted animal, allowing for an easy dissection or do I put it directly in alcohol 96%, safeguarding DNA but probably jeopardizing anatomical research.
I put all pictures here (photos by courtesy of Jozef Grego) and if anybody has a good suggestion, it is always welcome.
A quick update
10-02-2007 17:37
More than a month
passed since my last posting, as my "normal" work
nearly prevented me from doing anything at all on
snails. First priorities first... Still, some
malacological work could be done.
First of all I dissected the material of Simpulopsis dominicensis. It's annoying to experience how difficult dissecting a snail can be, especially if it is rather small like this one. (Relatively speaking.... my friend Edi Gittenberger would consider this a rather big one, but as it is his "normal" work he is much more experienced in it). When I had carefully laid out the genitalia I became very doubtful about the identification. Frankly, I don't know yet, but probably this taxon belongs to the family Sagdidae.
The DNA-story slowly continues... Let's say, at snail pace :-) New material has been sent to Hamburg and some discussions over previous results. If further results corroborate the analyses, the family is probably paraphyletic.
New material has been promised by several collegues and contacts abroad. Maybe some interesting times are ahead...
First of all I dissected the material of Simpulopsis dominicensis. It's annoying to experience how difficult dissecting a snail can be, especially if it is rather small like this one. (Relatively speaking.... my friend Edi Gittenberger would consider this a rather big one, but as it is his "normal" work he is much more experienced in it). When I had carefully laid out the genitalia I became very doubtful about the identification. Frankly, I don't know yet, but probably this taxon belongs to the family Sagdidae.
The DNA-story slowly continues... Let's say, at snail pace :-) New material has been sent to Hamburg and some discussions over previous results. If further results corroborate the analyses, the family is probably paraphyletic.
New material has been promised by several collegues and contacts abroad. Maybe some interesting times are ahead...
Galápagos bulimulids
04-01-2007 22:03
Yesterday I was at
Naturalis and had a very busy and interesting day.
First of all I dissected the myterious Simpulopsis from Hispaniola. Although I'm not 100% sure yet, it most probably isn't a Simpulopsis at all. To be continued...
I briefly met the new scientific director, Menno Schilthuizen, who was Secretary of the NMV in the 1980s when I was President. He returned from Malaysia last year after having successfully worked in Kota Kinabalu and set up a molecular genetics laboratory. I'm sure we will have a more lengthy discussion soon.
Speaking about molecular genetics... Just before Christmas I got notice from Bernhard Hausdorf that he sequenced a number of bulimulids that I had sent to him. Only specimens of two recently collected species produced good results. Most unfortunate for the specimens that I collected during the 1970s and apparently have been preserved too long in alcohol70 to be of any use in this respect. Aargghh, quite frustrating...
However I quickly scanned the collection for other recently collected material and found some species that I prepared for DNA research. Let's hope that they will produce good results. I also have asked several contacts if they possibly can provide me with some freshly collected specimens. It already turns out that - unlike 30 years ago - there are quite some administrative and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome.
But now about Galápagos bulimulids...
In the library I searched for literature referenced by Yesson & Culham. During my habitual check of the latest journals I found a very recent paper by Christine Parent*) on Galápagos bulimulids. She has a very conservative viewpoint regarding the taxonomy as she speaks of Bulimulus (Naesiotus). But content-wise her paper is most interesting, proving that the Galápagos bulimulids are monophyletic and discussion their diversification as they colonized the islands of the archipelago.
Her research will be of interest during the study of Plekocheilus on the Guayana Highlands, which has an islandlike distribution.
*) Parent, C.E. & B.J. Crespi (2006). Evolution 60: 2311-2328.
First of all I dissected the myterious Simpulopsis from Hispaniola. Although I'm not 100% sure yet, it most probably isn't a Simpulopsis at all. To be continued...
I briefly met the new scientific director, Menno Schilthuizen, who was Secretary of the NMV in the 1980s when I was President. He returned from Malaysia last year after having successfully worked in Kota Kinabalu and set up a molecular genetics laboratory. I'm sure we will have a more lengthy discussion soon.
Speaking about molecular genetics... Just before Christmas I got notice from Bernhard Hausdorf that he sequenced a number of bulimulids that I had sent to him. Only specimens of two recently collected species produced good results. Most unfortunate for the specimens that I collected during the 1970s and apparently have been preserved too long in alcohol70 to be of any use in this respect. Aargghh, quite frustrating...
However I quickly scanned the collection for other recently collected material and found some species that I prepared for DNA research. Let's hope that they will produce good results. I also have asked several contacts if they possibly can provide me with some freshly collected specimens. It already turns out that - unlike 30 years ago - there are quite some administrative and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome.
But now about Galápagos bulimulids...
In the library I searched for literature referenced by Yesson & Culham. During my habitual check of the latest journals I found a very recent paper by Christine Parent*) on Galápagos bulimulids. She has a very conservative viewpoint regarding the taxonomy as she speaks of Bulimulus (Naesiotus). But content-wise her paper is most interesting, proving that the Galápagos bulimulids are monophyletic and discussion their diversification as they colonized the islands of the archipelago.
Her research will be of interest during the study of Plekocheilus on the Guayana Highlands, which has an islandlike distribution.
*) Parent, C.E. & B.J. Crespi (2006). Evolution 60: 2311-2328.
A mystery to be solved
27-12-2006 12:05
The genus
Simpulopsis
Beck 1837 is disjunctly
distributed in the Neotropics, ranging from southern
Brazil to southern Mexico and Guatemala in the north.
It is also reported from northern Argentine,
Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela,
Trinidad and St. Vincent. The species seem to be
restricted to tropical and subtropical rain and cloud
forests, where they generally live in low density.
There is, however, one more locality reported:
Simpulopsis
dominicensis from Hispaniola. A hardly known
species which is doubtfully referred to the
Bulimulidae.
Recently Jozef Grego and Jozef Steffek made a trip to that island, hunting for a Clausiliid, Nenisca franzi, reported from Haiti. They were kind enough to send me the Bulimulids they found during this trip. One specimen was the mysterious Simpulopsis ....
Recently Jozef Grego and Jozef Steffek made a trip to that island, hunting for a Clausiliid, Nenisca franzi, reported from Haiti. They were kind enough to send me the Bulimulids they found during this trip. One specimen was the mysterious Simpulopsis ....