Landcare Research - Manaaki Whenua

Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua

FNZ 38 - Barker, G. M. 1999 Naturalised terrestrial Stylommatophora (Mollusca: Gastropoda) - Methods and Conventions

Barker, GM 1999. Naturalised terrestrial Stylommatophora (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Fauna of New Zealand 38, 253 pages.
( ISSN 0111-5383 (print), ; no. 38. ISBN 0-478-09322-5 (print), ). Published 25 Jan 1999
ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/References/1EDCB01F-3A59-4C15-AAF8-8A160A29A2B9

Methods and conventions

A considerable part of this contribution is based on material gathered from the field throughout New Zealand. Many people contributed specimens, as acknowledged under Material Examined for each species. Specimen localities without a collector's name are those collected by the author. Detailed specimen collection records and distribution maps are presented for each species so as to be of value to later students of New Zealand's naturalised fauna.

For specimens collected in New Zealand, the two-letter codes at the beginning of each locality record or group of similar records alludes to the areas designated by Crosby et al. (1976, 1998), mapped on p. 248.

AMNZ  Auckland Museum, Auckland, N.Z.
AMSA  Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia
ANSP  Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, U.S.A.
BMNH  The Natural History Museum, London, U.K.
BPBM  Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
CMNZ  Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, N.Z.
MONZ  Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, N.Z.
NHMW  Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
OMNZ  Otago Museum, Dunedin, N.Z.

Initial specific determinations were made by reference to the literature. Identifications were confirmed by European and North American malacologists (see Acknowledgments) and, for many species, by examination of material from the species' native range collected by the author or gifted by colleagues. The family and generic diagnoses were initially developed from the literature, but incorporate much previously unpublished anatomical observation. The species descriptions and illustrations presented are based entirely on conchological and anatomical observations of the author, and for many species include new or corrected information.

Names of genera and species quoted in synonymy refer to world material, and include New Zealand synonyms (some new), as discussed in the text. These synonyms have been taken from the literature, without critical evaluation, unless otherwise noted.

The literature pertaining to most species is very extensive, but for the greater part is not readily available in New Zealand. It has not been possible owing to space limitations to provide a comprehensive list of references for each species, but a synopsis with key references is provided under Remarks. Furthermore, listings of junior synonyms for genera and species are supported by bibliographic references, to facilitate navigation through the often complex nomenclatural history of these taxa.

The category 'of authors' is included in these lists to indicate the generic placements (often) extensively used in the older literature, but which were subsequently shown to be inconsistent with generic limits as defined by type species. For example, Helix Linnaeus, 1778 was once applied as the generic name for the majority of terrestrial snails, but following the designation by de Montfort (1810) of Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758 as type species, Helix was subsequently applied in a more restricted sense.

Public awareness of gastropods is facilitated by the use of common names. For each species recognised in the naturalised fauna, a common name is recommended. In general, if there was a name well established overseas (e.g., Godan 1983, Gittenberger et al. 1984) or in New Zealand (e.g., Ferro et al. 1977, Foord 1990) it was given priority. Where new common names were required, or where a choice was required between two or more common names in use, preference was given to names:

  1. based on a translation of the specific epithet,
  2. descriptive of the animal or its habitat, and/or
  3. informative about its origin or nomenclatural history.

Chromosome numbers were taken from the literature, namely Perrot (1938), Beeson (1960), Burch & Heard (1962), Laws (1965, 1966), Rainer (1967), Patterson (1968), Butot & Kiauta (1969), Kiauta & Butot (1969), Vitturi et al. (1982), and Ramos & Aparicio (1985). The haploid numbers given in the family and generic diagnoses may be subject to change as further representives of taxa are studied cytologically.

Because of the considerable uncertainty about the phylogenetic robustness of higher taxonomic categories and their respective relationships (see Phylogeny & Systematics), the systematic descriptions in this contribution are arranged in alphabetical order of families.

Purchase this publication