The enigmatic Cleopatra broecki Putzeys, 1899 of the Congo River system in Africa - re-transfer from Potadomoides Leloup, 1953 (Caenogastropoda, Cerithioidea, Paludomidae)

Abstract

While the lacustrine gastropods from the great East African lakes, most notably of Lake Tanganyika, with their local endemisms and spectacular species flocks have found attention among both malacologists and more recently evolutionary biologists, our knowledge of gastropods of the central African rivers is still insufficient. In the course of a systematic revision of fluviatile paludomids of the genus Potadomoides Leloup, 1953, and in context with a study on the origin of the lacustrine gastropod radiation in Lake Tanganyika, type and other material of the constituent taxa from several museum collections was studied. Re-investigating the type material housed in the Muse Royal L'Afrique Centrale in Tervuren, Belgium (MRAC), and of additional material found in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of the Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. USA (MCZ), provided new geographical, conchological as well as anatomical evidence (with respect to the operculum and radula). Hitherto only known from the original description, these new findings allow here to re-transfer C. broecki Putzeys, 1899 from Potadomoides to Cleopatra Troschel, 1856.

Traditional exploitation of edible freshwater oyster <i>Etheria elliptica</i> (Lamarck, 1807) in Pendjari River (Benin-West Africa): assessment of income, human pressure and options for management

“…Thus, harvesters are mainly farmers in rainy season and exploitation occurred in dry season as reported in past studies in Ghana (West Africa) (Ampofo-Yeboah, 2000). In Africa, previous studies stated that exploitation was traditional women activity through many small fisheries while men were occupied by fish capture (Ampofo-Yeboah, 2000;Glaubrecht, 2010). In our study area, men were involved in fish capture, hunting activities; Non timber forests Products collection.…”

Towards Solving Darwin's “mystery”: Speciation and Radiation in Lacustrine and Riverine Freshwater Gastropods*

“…For the recent re-transfer of C. broecki, see Glaubrecht (2010c). In contrast to the type species P. pelseeneri Leloup, 1953 which is endemic to the Malagarasi delta, the three other congeneric species are restricted to the upper reaches of the Congo River in eastern Zaire.…”

“…Starting with Williamson until recently these were confused as both being thiarids with the same biological properties, such as e.g., reproductive mode. However, the widely distributed paludomids in Africa are oviparous and gonochoristic (with exceptions discussed in Glaubrecht 2008a, 2010c, Glaubrecht and Strong 2007, while all thiarids are viviparous with a sub-hemocoelic brood pouch and, additionally, with Melanoides also being parthenogenetic . In addition, to control for stratigraphy, these differences in life history of the Turkana molluscs are crucial for the interpretation in context with the claim of speciation in general and of evolutionary modes involved in particular.…”