Varadia, a new helicarionoidean semi-slug genus from India’s Western Ghats (Stylommatophora: Helicarionoidea)

Abstract

We here describe a new Indian helicarionoidean genus, Varadia Bhosale & Raheem gen. nov., containing the single species Varadia amboliensis Bhosale, Thackeray, Muley & Raheem gen. et sp. nov. This new semi-slug is endemic to the northern and central Western Ghats and is primarily a forest-living species. We describe and figure the shell, reproductive system, radula, spermatophore and external morphology of this new species, and detail its known distribution. We explore its relationships to other helicarionoideans using phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data for part of the ribosomal RNA gene cluster and discuss the morphology of the new genus in relation to other, primarily South Indian, helicarionoidean taxa. Based on characters of the reproductive system, particularly the male genitalia and the gametolytic sac, we provisionally place Varadia gen. nov. in the Macrochlamydinae (Ariophantidae). This is consistent with the results of our molecular phylogenetic analyses. The combination of large size, broad, densely tuberculated shell lobes and a shell with ca 4 whorls and a disproportionately large body whorl makes V. amboliensis gen. et sp. nov. unique among the helicarionoidean taxa of the Western Ghats. The new semi-slug is also highly distinctive in the morphology of its male genitalia.

Three new records of odonates (Insecta: Odonata) from Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra, India

“…The Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra is well-known for numerous new discoveries of faunal species as a result of extensive surveys carried out by researchers across the country (Biju & Bossuyt 2009;Mirza et al 2014;Padhye 2014;Gower et al 2016;Pati et al 2016;Sayyed et al 2016;Joshi & Sawant 2019Praveenraj & Thackeray 2020;Sulakhe et al 2020;Sayyed & Sulakhe 2020;Bhosale et al 2021;Joshi et al 2022). The district harbours mixed types of vegetation including moist deciduous, dry deciduous, and semi-evergreen forests (Kulkarni 1988;Sawant et al 2023).…”