A new species of Nassarius (Gastropoda, Nassariidae) from Canopus Bank, off Northeast Brazil

Nassarius levis sp. nov. is described from Canopus Bank, off Ceará, Northeast Brazil, based on shell morphology. It differs from other Brazilian species of the genus in having a more elongate shell, with a weakly developed parietal shield and a notably smooth surface. This last trait has not yet been described among the Western Atlantic Nassarius, but it is common to other congeners from the Eastern Atlantic, such as Nassarius elatus (Gould, 1845) and the Indo-Pacific, such as Nassarius excellens (Kuroda & Habe, 1961).Nassarius levis sp. nov. é descrita para o banco de Canopus, estado do Ceará, Brasil com base na morfologia da concha. Difere das outras espécies locais por apresentar uma concha mais alongada, com um escudo parietal pouco desenvolvido e uma superfície notavelmente lisa. Essa última característica ainda não foi descrita entre as espécies de Nassarius do Atlântico oeste, mas é comum a outros congêneres do Atlântico leste, como Nassarius elatus (Gould, 1845) e Indo-Pacífico, como Nassarius excellens (Kuroda & Habe, 1961)

iNaturalist as a tool in the study of tropical molluscs

Although terrestrial gastropods are remarkably diverse, our knowledge of them is still lacking, especially for species from the Global South. As such, new tools to help researchers collect data on these organisms are very welcome. With this in mind, we investigated Brazilian observations on iNaturalist to assess the feasibility of the data available on the platform as a basis for studies on the tropical terrestrial gastropod fauna. The observations on iNaturalist were filtered by country, Brazil, and higher taxa, namely Eupulmonata, Cyclophoroidea and Helicinoidea, yielding a sample of 4,983 observations. These observations were then reviewed in search of records of rare or little-known species, species found outside their previously known range, and interesting ecological interactions. Exotic species made up 35% to 39% of the sampled iNaturalist records. The most commonly observed species were Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822), Bradybaena similaris (Fe´russac, 1822), Drymaeus papyraceus (Mawe, 1823), Drymaeus interpunctus (E. von Martens, 1887), Limacus flavus (Linnaeus, 1758), Meghimatium pictum (Stoliczka, 1873), Cornu aspersum (O. F. Mu¨ller, 1774), Vaginulus taunaisii (Fe´russac, 1821), Ovachlamys fulgens (Gude, 1900), and Bulimulus tenuissimus (Fe´russac, 1832). In total, 166 observations were deemed of interest to our purposes (e.g., rare species, range extensions, ecological interactions), totalling 46 identified species and 16 observations identified at genus level. Among the selected observations, we found pictures of live specimens of species that were previously known only from their shells, such as Megalobulimus pergranulatus (Pilsbry, 1901), bringing to light their appearances in life. Two potentially new species belonging to the genera Plekocheilus Guilding, 1827 and Megalobulimus K. Miller, 1878 were revealed. Additionally, we found records of living individuals of two species that were previously presumed to be possibly extinct, Leiostracus carnavalescus Simone & Salvador, 2016, and Gonyostomus egregius (Pfeiffer, 1845). We take the opportunity to discuss individual records of interest, evaluate the quality of the data and possible improvements, as well the potential and implications of the use of the iNaturalist platform for research in Brazil and other tropical countries. While iNaturalist has its limitations, it holds great potential to help document biodiversity in the tropics

A new species of Arene (Vetigastropoda, Areneidae) from Canopus Bank, off NE Brazil

Arene lychee sp. nov. is described from Canopus Bank, a seamount located ~190 km off Fortaleza, Ceará, NE Brazil (02°14’25”S, 38°22’50”W), based on shell morphology. The species is characterized by a large, trochiform shell; color ranging from intense reddish to white (darker on spiral cords, lighter at base) with a yellow apex; sculpture of 3‑8 wide spiral cords with large scale-like spines; cords separated by deep interspaces with similar width, and interspaces sculptured by closely-packed, thin axial growth lines.Arene lychee sp. nov. is described from Canopus Bank, a seamount located ~190 km off Fortaleza, Ceará, NE Brazil (02°14’25”S, 38°22’50”W), based on shell morphology. The species is characterized by a large, trochiform shell; color ranging from intense reddish to white (darker on spiral cords, lighter at base) with a yellow apex; sculpture of 3‑8 wide spiral cords with large scale-like spines; cords separated by deep interspaces with similar width, and interspaces sculptured by closely-packed, thin axial growth lines

Cerithiidae, Litiopidae, Modulidae and Planaxidae (Gastropoda, Cerithioidea) collected by the Marion Dufresne MD55 expedition in southeastern Brazil

Several deep-water mollusks collected during the Marion Dufresne MD55 expedition off SE Brazil have been studied in recent papers. The present work focuses on eight species belonging to the cerithioidean families Cerithiidae, Litiopidae, Modulidae and Planaxidae. Three species have their geographic distributions greatly expanded: Bayericerithium bayeri Petuch, 2001 from Pernambuco to Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará states (north) and to Bahia and Espírito Santo states (south), Brazilian coast; Ittibittium oryza (Mörch, 1876), from the Caribbean to the SW Atlantic; and Angiola lineata (Costa, 1778), from Trindade Island, Brazil to the Abrolhos Slope, nearly 870 km westward. Four species reported herein had their bathymetric ranges greatly expanded: Alaba incerta (d’Orbigny, 1841) from 0-40 m to 300 m; B. bayeri from 0-2 m to 120 m (live specimens); Litiopa melanostoma Rang, 1829 from 0-805 m to 1,550 m; Fossarus orbignyi Fischer, 1864 from 0-40 to 830 m (shells only)

Megalobulimus dryades, a new species from the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil, and redescription of Megalobulimus gummatus (Gastropoda: Strophocheilidae)

Megalobulimus dryades sp. nov. is described from the Atlantic Forest in the Vale do Ribeira region, in the states of Paraná and São Paulo, S-SE Brazil, based on morphology. Representatives of the new species with white peristome and glossy periostracum have been misidentified as Megalobulimus gummatus (Hidalgo, 1870) since the 19th Century. The true M. gummatus is revised and redescribed, and its distribution is here restricted to Rio de Janeiro state. Externally, the new species differs from M. gummatus in having distinct protoconch color and sculpture, teleoconch sculpture marked by strong anastomosing rugosities and malleations, and lighter colored white-greyish head-foot. Internally, it presents distinct jaw and radular features, a talon, and a long convoluted penis bearing two flagella. Additional comparisons with other Brazilian congeneric species are also provided

Publication practice in Taxonomy: Global inequalities and potential bias against negative results

There is broad recognition by practicing taxonomists that the field is going through a crisis, which has been dubbed the “taxonomic impediment”. There are many aspects involved in said crisis, but publication practices in taxonomy are often neglected or relegated to the backseat. We provide an initial foray into this topic via a worldwide survey with taxonomists, spanning all botanical and zoological groups, and career stages. Demographically, most of the respondents identified themselves as males (70%), working in Europe or North America (68%), in universities (50%) or museums (27%). Over half of the respondents are established/late-career researchers (only about 25% of full professors were female), with a low number of early-career researchers and graduate students (i.e., taxonomists in training). Nearly 61% of the men acquired their highest title at least eleven years ago, while only 41% of the women did so. Nearly 92% of the respondents have published new species descriptions, while around 60% and 26% have synonymized, respectively, species-level or subspecies-level taxa. In general, respondents perceive the act of describing new species to be easier than synonymizing species (p = 0.05). Established/late-career researchers and male researchers, particularly in Oceania and North America, found it easier to publish nomenclatural acts such as new species descriptions, while early-career researchers had their acts contested more often. Our results reaffirm the low academic recognition of the field, the lack of funding for research and publishing charges especially in the Global South, and the difficulty in finding specialized outlets (and the low impact factor of those journals) as persistent issues in taxonomy. Other significant problems raised by respondents include ethical issues in the peer-review process, a bias against newcomers in the field coming either from established researchers or committees, and taxonomic vandalism

New records of Helicina schereri (Gastropoda: Helicinidae) from the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

New records for Helicina schereri Baker, 1913, are reported. It was a species previously restricted to the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Alagoas and Tocantins in Northeastern Brazil, and State of Santa Catarina, much further south. The new occurrences reported herein fill distribution gaps and also significantly expand the range of the species ca. 970 km westwards. The new records are from the following locations: Bahia State (Ituaçu and Itaquara municipalities) in Northeast Brazil; Mato Grosso do Sul State (Bonito Municipality) in the Midwest; and Minas Gerais (Lagoa Santa municipality) in the Southeast

New records of Helicina schereri (Gastropoda: Helicinidae) from the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

New records for Helicina schereri Baker, 1913, are reported. It was a species previously restricted to the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Alagoas and Tocantins in Northeastern Brazil, and State of Santa Catarina, much further south. The new occurrences reported herein fill distribution gaps and also significantly expand the range of the species ca. 970 km westwards. The new records are from the following locations: Bahia State (Ituaçu and Itaquara municipalities) in Northeast Brazil; Mato Grosso do Sul State (Bonito Municipality) in the Midwest; and Minas Gerais (Lagoa Santa municipality) in the Southeast

The Rapid Expansion of the Jumping Snail Ovachlamys fulgens in Brazil

The exotic Japanese jumping snail, Ovachlamys fulgens, was first recorded in Santa Catarina state, Brazil, in 2013. Based on data gathered from the literature, natural history collections, field samplings, and the iNaturalist platform, we assess its current distribution in the country. Our data show that the jumping snail has had a dramatic range expansion since its introduction, reaching six other states from the southern region of the country toward the Midwest. The affected locations are mostly urban but also include three biological reserves and protected areas, and possibly more. We discuss the consequences of this rapid invasion, its means of introduction, its local ecology, and prospects for monitoring and control

Cave-dwelling gastropods (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Brazil: state of the art and conservation

An up-to-date list of exclusively cave-dwelling gastropod species recorded in Brazil is presented including updated taxonomy, detailed geographic information, and illustration of types. The list includes 18 cave-exclusive (troglobitic) gastropods encompassing 15 land and three freshwater species, with the status of further species pending additional studies. Their unusual morphology and diversity are discussed, as well as their conservation status and prospects in the current Brazilian environmental and political scenario