New insights from museum specimens: a case of Viviparidae (Caenogastropoda: Mollusca) in Iwakawa’s collection preserved in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo
2020
Saito, Takumi | Kagawa, Osamu
In this study, we clarify the classification of museum specimens of the family Viviparidae, which is composed of six species/subspecies in Japan, including three endangered species. We examined Viviparussclateri specimens from the Tomotaro Iwakawa collection (1855-1933) in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. The Iwakawa's collection was catalogued in 1919 and Viviparussclateri, labelled with Naga-tanishi, the current Japanese name for H.longispira, which was, at the time, equivalent to Viviparussclateri, was listed in this catalogue. The catalogue noted localities of Viviparussclateri (Naga-tanishi) from outside Lake Biwa, including occurrences in Lake Kasumigaura and Lake Suwa. However, Heterogenlongispira (Naga-tanishi) is currently considered to be endemic to Lake Biwa drainage. The actual status of Viviparussclateri in Iwakawa (1919) has not been clarified until now. Our examination revealed that Viviparussclateri from Iwakawa’s catalogue included H.japonica, H.longispira and Sinotaiaquadratahistrica, based on current taxonomy. Specimens assigned to H.longispira occurred only in Lake Biwa drainage. Heterogenjaponica was confirmed to be present in all lots and some H.japonica from Lake Suwa had a distinctive morphology. Sinotaiaquadratahistrica was only confirmed to occur in Lake Suwa. Furthermore, some specimens from southern Lake Biwa and the Seta River had intermediate characteristics between H.japonica and H.longispira and their populations are currently almost extinct.
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