Redescription of Helicina weyrauchi Haas, 1948 (Helicinidae) from the Marañón Dry Forest of Northern Peru

Abstract

ABSTRACT The original description of Helicina weyrauchi Haas, 1948, was based on shell material, as is the case for several helicinids in South America. We redescribe the species based on freshly collected material and provide the first anatomical description of a member of Helicinidae from northern Peru. The shell is characteristically white, with the first three whorls dark yellow; mantle with irregular dark spots on the dorsal surface, two pairs of odontophore cartilages and a narrow middle one. The male reproductive system consists of a prostate with glandular and collector regions, while the female reproductive system has a small and ovoid seminal receptacle, elongated provaginal sac with irregular projections with its stalk joining mesially, and oviduct aperture in the cloaca, near the mantle border. Records of H. weyrauchi are limited to the seasonally dry tropical forest of the Marañón River, which might indicate that this species is endemic to this ecosystem.