Zoltán Péter Erőss

Six new subterranean freshwater gastropod species from northern Albania and some new records from Albania and Kosovo (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Moitessieriidae and Hydrobiidae)

During a field trip to the western part of the Balkan Peninsula in 2016, investigations of several caves and karstic springs revealed six new gastropod species living in subterranean waters and resulted in some note-worthy faunistic records. Five of the new species are assigned to the genus Paladilhiopsis Pavlović, 1913, namely P. prekalensis sp. n., P. lozeki sp. n., P. szekeresi sp. n., P. wohlberedti sp. n., P. falniowskii sp. n. and one to the genus Plagigeyeria Tomlin, 1930, namely P. steffeki sp. n. New Albania and Kosovo distribution records are given for Iglica illyrica Schütt, 1975, Plagigeyeria zetaprotogona Schütt, 1960, Vinodolia matjasici (Bole, 1961), and the first georeferenced record is given for Saxurinator schlickumi Schütt, 1960. The most important environmental factors influencing habitat selection of these subterranean freshwater gastropods are briefly discussed.

Revision of the subterranean genus Spelaeodiscus Brusina, 1886 (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Spelaeodiscidae)

Abstract The Balkan genus Spelaeodiscus Brusina, 1886 is revised based on museum collections and newly collected samples from Montenegro and Albania. The following species and subspecies are introduced as new to science: Spelaeodiscus albanicus edentatus Páll-Gergely & P. L. Reischütz, ssp. n. (southern Montenegro and northern Albania), Spelaeodiscus densecostatus Páll-Gergely & A. Reischütz, sp. n., Spelaeodiscus hunyadii Páll-Gergely & Deli, sp. n., Spelaeodiscus latecostatus Páll-Gergely & Erőss, sp. n. (all three from southern Montenegro), Spelaeodiscus unidentatus acutus Páll-Gergely & Fehér, ssp. n., and Spelaeodiscus virpazarioides Páll-Gergely & Fehér, sp. n. (both from northern Albania). For all species and subspecies diagnoses and suggestions for conservation status assessments according to IUCN criteria are provided. An overview is given regarding the habitat preference of Spelaeodiscus species, and the “scratch and flotate” method to collect subterranean gastropods.

Terrestrial snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of islands of Šolta, Drvenik veli and Drvenik mali (Croatia)

During the field work of our research into the terrestrial malacofauna of the eastern adriatic islands Šolta, Drvenik veli and Drvenik mali (Croatia) 36 snail species with shells were registered. That almost tripled the number of taxa recorded in the literature. We consider Lindholmiola corcyrensis (rossmässler, 1836) and Delima (Piceata) piceata (rossmässler, 1836), registered in the literature for Drvenik veli, non-existing for the researched area, as well as for Croatia. Of the recorded taxa we particularly refer to Odontocyclas kokeilii (rossmässler, 1837) with Šolta and Drvenik veli being its second i.e. third island localities in Croatia, and the endemic clausilid snail Delima (Semirugata) hiltrudis H. Nordsieck, 1969, also found on Šolta and so far known only from the island of Brač. The greatest number of species were found on the biggest island of Šolta, and the smallest island Drvenik mali had the lowest number of species, as expected. The values of the Whittaker index of biodiversity and of the maximum index of biodiversity increased according to size of island. The average number of taxa per site is the highest on the mid-sized island of Drvenik veli, which is a consequence of the diversity and good state of preservation of its habitats.