Abstract
A new species of the eutroglobiont gastropod taxon Zospeum Bourguignat, 1856 is described. Zospeum tholussum sp. n. is characterized based on a population from the Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system (Velebit Mts., Croatia). A single living specimen occurred at 980 m depth. The species is morphologically related to Zospeum amoenum (Frauenfeld, 1856), but can be readily distinguished from the latter by the presence of a weak columellar fold and its dome-like structured 2nd whorl. DNA barcoding is capable to clearly delineate Zospeum tholussum from other Zospeum spp. as well.
Keywords: DNA barcoding, cryptic species, biospeleology, eutroglobiont gastropod, cave-dwelling species, microgastropoda
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| The Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system. Overview of the geographical position and 3D cave cross-section. In the latter, the region of collected shells (1) and the collection site of the living specimen of Zospeum tholussum (2) are indicated.
The 3D cross-section was provided by D. Bakšić et al. (2010), Croatian Speleological Server, http://www.speleologija.hr/lukinajama. Photos were taken by J. Bedek.
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Weigand AM. 2013. New Zospeum species (Gastropoda, Ellobioidea, Carychiidae) from 980 m depth in the Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system (Velebit Mts., Croatia). Subterranean Biology. 11: 45–53. doi: dx.doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.11.5966
