Usage of Cylindrus FITZINGER, 1833 conserved by the ICZN

A longlasting controversy about the generic affiliation of the Austrian endemic Cylindrus obtusus recently came to an end.

According to some authors, the generic name Cylindrus Fitzinger, 1833 should be considered as invalid as it is pre-occupied by Cylindrus Batsch, 1789 und Cylindrus Deshayes, 1824. A counterargument was put forward that these names are unused and were partly incorrectly applied. Cylindrus Fitzinger, 1833 is a younger synonyme of Cochlopupa Jan, 1830. Nevertheless, the latter name has also never been used in traditional nomenclature. The subsequent controversies amongst zoologists led to an application at the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) in 2015 http://iczn.org/node/40566.

In January 2019 the ICZN decided to conserve the name Cylindrus Fitzinger, 1833 and suppress all other names mentioned before (https://biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/44173). Therefore, no generic changes are done for this well-known, monotypic genus which is a model for Alpine endemism in gastropods.

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Arianta 6 now available online!

Arianta 6, 2018

We are happy to announce that Arianta 6 is now available online.

Besides the report and abstracts of the 2017 Workshop “Alpine Land Snails” in Johnsbach it contains three articles:

Arianta 7 is in progress. Any articles are welcome!

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19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach

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19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach

Our workshop “Alpine Land Snails” took place again this year in Johnsbach in Gesäuse (Styria). The mix of field trips, outdoor work and scientific program, cultural contributions and discussions and project planning can, as always, be outlined as “intense and creative”. This year’s scientific lectures again focused on land snails and in addition there were also presentations on marine and freshwater snails as well as contributions to other animal groups, including ABOL projects (Austrian Barcode of Life). The lectures and poster presentations were of the highest quality, the mood was excellent, and overall, the contributions provided ample material for discussion throughout the workshop. The broad professional orientation of the participants – in terms of both groups of organisms and fields of research – as well as the participation of family members was enriching and contributed to the lively professional exchange and the good mood. In addition to the field trips and the scientific program, a field study on rock snails in Johnsbach was another focus. The results are eagerly awaited.

And we had anniversaries to celebrate: 30 years of snail research in Johnsbach, 20 workshops in Johnsbach, 15 years existence of the working group “Alpine Landschnecken”! In this context, the premiere of the premiere of the play “Hans Wundersam” took place, a piece that sketches the memorable early days and the history of the working group and profoundly tackled fundamental malacological questions. We hope everyone enjoyed the workshop and look forward to seeing you again soon.

All Images: Michaela Sonnleitner


19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19th-24th August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach
19.-24. August 2018 – Workshop Alpine Land Snails in Johnsbach

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2018 Workshop of the Alpine Land Snails working group

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Michaela Sonnleitner

Since 30 years the Alpine Land Snails working group has been organizing excursion workshops dedicated to recent projects in malacology, frequently with emphasis on Alpine land snails. Colleagues from Austria and many other countries have met to present results, exchange experiences and perform joint filed trips. The 2018 Workshop will take place from Sunday August 19th to Thursday 23rd in Johnsbach, Gesäuse (Styria). The program includes excursions, presentations on mollusc research and a small field study. Furthermore we will, as always, have intense discussions and a lot of “snail fun”.

If you are interested to participate, please contact us (Helmut Sattmann, +43-1-52177-329; team@molluskenforschung.at).

We will send out the final program as soon as possible.

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2018 Workshop of the Alpine Land Snails working group
2018 Workshop of the Alpine Land Snails working group
2018 Workshop of the Alpine Land Snails working group

All images: Michaela Sonnleitner

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Field trip to Belshi karst lakes Albania

In July 2018 representatives of the Natural History Museum Vienna (Elisabeth Haring and Helmut Sattmann) together with Sajmir Beqiraj and Xhoia Mujali (University of Tirana), went for an excursion to the karst lakes of the Belshi region south of Elbasan, Albania. A project submitted to the WTZ aims to assess the freshwater mollusc fauna of this area. On the one hand, the species composition of the different lakes will be related to different ecological, geological and physical parameters, on the other hand the species shall be characterized by DNA barcoding and compared to the same or closely related species in other regions of Europe. This is intended to provide information on intraspecific variation and phylogeographic patterns, especially for widely distributed species. In addition, this project should be an impetus for DNA barcoding initiatives in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula, which (still) show considerable biodiversity, which must be recognized and protected before it is lost forever.

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All images: Helmut Sattmann

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Save the date – Alpine Land Snails Workshop Johnsbach 2018

This year we celebrate a special anniversary of the “Alpine Landsnails workshop” in Johnsbach!

It will take place Sunday August 19th to Thursday 23rd. (The arrival might be changed to Monday, thus the official programme will start on Monday 20th ). Some of us consider the option for a subsequent extension/ excursion to Saturday 25th.

We will send out an update as soon as possible with the final days planned for the meeting and a preliminary programme. If you want participate please save this date!

Please tell us as soon as possible whether you plan to come.

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Annual Meeting of the DMG 2018

This year the Annual Meeting of the German Malacological Society takes place in Cismar (Germany) from the 18.05.2018 to the 21.05.2018.
They celebrate a big anniversary! – 150 years German Malacological Society
Invitation and preliminary programme can be found on the DMG homepage.
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Animal of the month – Helicodonta obvoluta

On the homepage of the Biologiezentrum Linz you can find a section called “plant, animal, lichen, fossil, mineral or collector of the month”. In July they happily chose a snail: the cheese snail which is mainly characterised by its hairy shell. More interesting information about this snail is found in the article (in german) by Agnes Bisenberger, here all other “plant, animal, lichen, fossil, mineral or collector of the month”.

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Foundation of the society “Mollusc Research Austria (MoFA)”

Unio crassus, Foto: A. MrkvickaA. Mrkvicka

We are pleased to announce the foundation of the society „Mollusc Research Austria (MoFA)“, which was authorised by public authority in August 2016. MoFA is a society based in Austria aiming to promote activities of Austrian malacologists and encourage the communication with national and international professional working groups and initiatives.

Another task of the society is the enhancement of information exchange and coordination of scientific projects and studies.

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