Zoologische Mededelingen, 82 (January 2008)E. Gittenberger: Two sympatric G-type Albinaria species, one of which new to science (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Clausiliidae)

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Introduction

Despite the fact that Albinaria Vest, 1867 is the most speciose genus of Clausiliidae, hardly ever more than two and usually only a single species is found at a particular locality. Therefore I initially overlooked the possibility that there is a second Albinaria with a G-type clausilial apparatus, once considered diagnostic for Isabellaria Vest, 1867, occurring within the range of A. adriani (Gittenberger, 1987). When I visited the surroundings of Astros and Aghios Andreas in 1985, 1986 and 1987, only A. adriani was found (Gittenberger, 1987). On 5 April 1994 however, on low limestone rocks at Koutroufa, 17 specimens of an unknown species were collected together with 35 shells of A. adriani. It remains unclear whether the two species are not only sympatric but also syntopic, since the specimens were collected without knowing that more than a single species was involved. The large numbers of specimens and the constancy of their characters suggest that the shells represent two species indeed.

Not a single Albinaria species was known to Linnaeus. Since the genus is exemplary for the complexity of biological systematics and nomenclature however, an Albinaria is now named in honour of Carl von Linné, 250 years after the publication of the tenth edition of his founding Systema Naturae.