The American Malacological Bulletin (AMB) supports the American Malacological Society by providing a welcoming venue for articles that advance the field of malacology and by generating > $US20,000 in annual revenue through BioOne's revenue sharing program. Unfortunately, the number of annual submissions and published manuscripts in AMB has declined over the past decade. In this article, I argue that senior malacologists should prioritize publishing in AMB and other malacological journals to support organizations and journals they deem important.
Solenogastres (Mollusca, Aplacophora) are benthic marine mollusks characterized by a vermiform body shape, a reduced foot, and a distinctive scleritome composed of calcium carbonate scales and spicules. Despite over 320 formally described species, solenogaster diversity remains vastly underdescribed. The family Phyllomeniidae Salvini-Plawen, 1978 (Order Sterrofustia) includes five genera but, prior to this study, no species from this family had been described from the Northern Hemisphere. Here, we describe Plicaherpia dreki sp. nov. and Plicaherpia pilula sp. nov., the first species of Plicaherpia Garcia-& Aacute;lvarez, Zamarro and Urgorri, 2010 recorded from the North Atlantic, marking a significant expansion in the known geographic range of Phyllomeniidae. We conducted morphological analyses using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and histology. DNA barcoding was performed to sequence the mitochondrial genes COI and 16S, and phylogenetic analyses were performed using maximum likelihood to assess the placement of newly collected specimens. Plicaherpia dreki sp. nov. and Plicaherpia pilula sp. nov. differ from the only Plicaherpia species previously described, Plicaherpia papillata Garcia-& Aacute;lvarez, Zamarro and Urgorri, 2010 from the Southern Ocean, by the absence of hook-shaped sclerites, the presence of dorsoterminal sensory organs, and the anatomy of the digestive and reproductive systems. Interestingly, our phylogenetic analysis suggests that Phyllomeniidae is polyphyletic, consistent with previous studies that have questioned the validity of Sterrofustia. These findings reveal that Plicaherpia is far more geographically widespread than previously known, deepening the taxonomic uncertainty surrounding Sterrofustia. We also question the presence of hookshaped sclerites in the type species, highlighting the difficulties of working with limited material from rare taxa.
Informed conservation efforts for Hawaiian land snails are urgently needed. A critical step in this is identifying which native plants support arboreal snail populations. The objectives of this study were to (1) revisit a long-term study site at Mt. Ka‘ala Natural Area Reserve, O‘ahu to confirm that snail plant preferences persist over time, and (2) expand our sampling to eight additional (nine total) sites on O‘ahu to better inform conservation efforts across the island. Despite a decade between studies, snail preferences for plants at Mt. Ka‘ala remained consistent with Hydrangea arguta and Ilex anomala emerging as important species preferred by many arboreal snails. Across the nine sites on O‘ahu, 34 (25%) of the 135 plant species in our surveys were preferred by at least one snail species at one site, but only 16 plants (12%) were preferred (used more often than expected by chance) more often than they were avoided (used less often than expected by chance) — notably, Antidesma platyphyllum, I. anomala, and H. arguta. These results highlight that native plant species vary significantly in their value to Hawaiian arboreal snails and that our targeted, person-hour intensive field experiments yield critical ecological insights needed for effective conservation action. Snail conservation has historically been hindered by a lack of key ecological data, but the identification of host plants provides actionable guidance for habitat restoration and conservation planning aimed at reversing the decline of Hawai‘i’s critically endangered snail fauna and the habitats on which they depend.
Cases of convergent evolution can provide insight into how selection and constraint together shape adaptation. However, homoplasy also creates challenges for systematic studies, especially in soft-bodied taxa like heterobranch sea slugs. Most sacoglossan sea slugs in family Plakobranchidae have parapodial extensions on either side of the dorsum that cover a species-specific pattern of dorsal vessels radiating from the renopericardial complex. The basal taxon Bosellia has a flattened body lacking parapodia that adheres to its host alga Halimeda. The amphi-Atlantic Bosellia mimetica Trinchese, 1891 is the most common of four traditionally recognized Bosellia species in the North Atlantic resembling Halimeda segments. Prior work indicated the West Atlantic Elysia marcusi (Ev. Marcus, 1972) was misclassified as a Bosellia because it lacked parapodia, but also lacked visible dorsal vessels. Secondary fusion of parapodia over the dorsum was hypothesized to result in a Bosellia-like appearance as a convergent adaptation to living on Halimeda. Here, using material from the type localities, we report that two other nominal Bosellia species from the Atlantic are also derived species of Elysia. Specimens conforming to "Bosellia corinneae" Ev. Marcus, 1973 from near Miami, Florida were cryptic on their hosts, Halimeda tuna or Halimeda discoidea, on which they make distinctive meandering feeding scars. Externally similar specimens were collected in Lanzarote, Canary Islands near the type locality of "Bosellia levis" Fernad & egrave;z-Ovies & Ortea, 1986. Each group of specimens was distinct from all Bosellia and Elysia species by molecular species delimitation. Phylogenetic analyses of a 4-gene dataset for 154 species in Plakobranchidae recovered a monophyletic Elysia, within which Elysia corinneae and Elysia levis were sister species that formed a clade of "mimetica-mimics" together with Elysia marcusi, all lacking parapodia and dorsal vessels. In both E. corinneae and E. levis, the parapodia appear fused over the dorsum leaving a straight medial furrow, versus an asymmetric furrow terminating in a vaginal pore as in E. marcusi. Most specimens of E. corinneae had just four to six distinctly scoop-shaped teeth per radular limb, with lateral denticles and a massive ascus; teeth are similarly shaped but smooth in E. levis. Both species lay planktotrophic eggs with regularly spaced blobs of yellow extra-capsular yolk, a distinctive combination of reproductive features. Convergent reduction in parapodia is also seen in some Indo-Pacific Halimeda-eaters, and may be adaptive for slugs living on flat algal surfaces. Such homoplasy has driven taxonomic confusion but molecular and morphological traits can reliably differentiate species even when external appearance converges on superficial similarity.
