From 153-year-old records to contemporary discoveries: land snail (Mollusca, Gastropoda) diversity in Penang Hill, Malaysia.

This study highlights the diversity of land snails in Penang Hill, a non-limestone hill in Peninsular Malaysia. A systematic survey of land snails in Penang Hill was conducted, inventoried, and compared with those specimens collected by Stoliczka (1872, 1873) in 1869. Based on the 33 sampling plots established in this study, the differences in species composition along the elevation gradient (75 m to 770 m a.

Exploring the predation of large land snails using preyed shell remains from rock anvil sites in a tropical limestone rainforest in Malaysia.

The study of prey-predator interactions between land snails and birds offers important insights into evolutionary and ecological relationships. Here, we report a case study of rock anvils presumably used by the birds and in a cave cavity of a limestone hill in Malaysia. We did not detect any other species in the plots and, therefore, based on our short study duration, we cannot rule out the possibility that other species, such as mammals, preyed on the snails.

Sexual dimorphism in shell size of the land snail (Caenogastropoda: Cyclophoridae).

Sexual dimorphism in the shell size and shape of land snails has been less explored compared to that of other marine and freshwater snail taxa. This study examined the differences in shell size and shape across both sexes of land snails. We collected 84 land snails of both sexes from two isolated populations on two islands off Borneo.

Distribution and abundance of the land snail (Gastropoda: Pupinidae) in limestone habitats in Perak, Malaysia.

This study aimed to reveal the habitat variables that determine the distribution and abundance of the land snail in limestone habitats in Perak, Malaysia. Seventeen plots were selected on a limestone hill to determine the effect of environmental variables on the abundance of this land snail. The environmental variables we considered included habitat (canopy cover and leaf litter thickness), topography (elevation, aspect, ruggedness, and slope), microclimate (soil temperature, air temperature, and humidity), and vegetation (abundance of respective vascular plant species).

Land snails and slugs of Bau limestone hills, Sarawak (Malaysia, Borneo), with the descriptions of 13 new species.

This study presents a list of land snails and slugs found on limestone hills in the District of Bau, the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. Systematic and random sampling for land snails was conducted at eight limestone outcrops, namely, Gunung Stulang, Padang Pan, Gunung Kapor, Gunung Lobang Angin, Gunung Doya, Gunung Batu, Bukit Sekunyit and Gunung Sebayat. A total of 122 land snail species was documented with photographs of each species.

A molecular phylogeny of and species (Gastropoda: Trochomorphidae) in Sabah, Malaysia reveals convergent evolution of shell morphology driven by environmental influences.

There are currently eleven and four species in Sabah. The primary diagnostic character that separates the two genera is the intensity of sculpture on the shell upper surface. All species have a coarse nodular sculpture while species has a non-nodular sculpture or smooth shell.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary history of the endemic land snail genus in northern Borneo.

Borneo has gone through dramatic changes in geology and topography from the early Eocene until the early Pliocene and experienced climatic cycling during the Pleistocene. However, how these changes have shaped the present-day patterns of high diversity and complex distribution are still poorly understood. In this study, we use integrative approaches by estimating phylogenetic relationships, divergence time, and current and past niche suitability for the Bornean endemic land snail genus to provide additional insight into the evolutionary history of this genus in northern Borneo in the light of the geological vicariance events and climatic fluctuations in the Pleistocene.

A comparative evaluation of thermal camera and visual counting methods for primate census in a riparian forest at the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS), Malaysian Borneo.

A number of primate census techniques have been developed over the past half-century, each of which have advantages and disadvantages in terms of resources required by researchers (e.g., time and costs), availability of technologies, and effectiveness in different habitat types.

Investigating leaf beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) on the west coast islands of Sabah via checklist-taking and DNA barcoding.

Sabah is a province of Malaysia located on the northern part of the island of Borneo. Most of the leaf beetle fauna studies from this region conducted over the past 15 years have focussed on the mainland habitats while the leaf beetle fauna from island habitats (. 500 islands) have largely been overlooked.

Land snail fauna in Gunung Kuang Limestone Hill, Perak, Malaysia and its conservation implications (Mollusca, Gastropoda).

This paper presents the first land snail species checklist for Gunung Kuang (Kuang Hill), a limestone hill located next to Gunung Kanthan that is recognised as one of the most important limestone hills for its diverse land snail fauna in Kinta Valley. Samplings were carried out at five plots in Gunung Kuang. This survey documented 47 land snail species, in which six species were identified as unique to Gunung Kuang.

Cryptic diversity: Two morphologically similar species of invasive apple snail in Peninsular Malaysia.

Invasive snails in the genus Pomacea have spread across Southeast Asia including Peninsular Malaysia. Their effects on natural and agricultural wetlands are appreciable, but species-specific effects are less clear because of morphological similarity among the species. Our objective was to establish diagnostic characteristics of Pomacea species in Malaysia using genetic and morphological criteria.

A review of the land snail genus (Gastropoda, Alycaeidae) in Peninsular Malaysia.

A total of 11 species and 1 subspecies of were recognised in Peninsular Malaysia prior to this study. However, these taxonomic descriptions of taxa were based on limited numbers of examined materials, where a whole spectrum of morphological variations were not accounted for and diagnoses were often provided without sufficient comparison between congeners from across the peninsula. We reviewed Peninsular Malaysian through the examination of 5137 specimens in 522 collection lots from all major museum collections and literature sources.

Land snails of Pfeiffer, 1847 in Sabah, Northern Borneo (Caenogastropoda: Cyclophoridae): an analysis of molecular phylogeny and geographical variations in shell form.

is a species rich genus with approximately 100 species documented. Species-level identification in this group has been based on shell morphology and colouration, as well as some anatomical features based on small sample sizes. However, the implications of the inter- and intra-species variations in shell form to the taxonomy of species and the congruency of its current shell based taxonomy with its molecular phylogeny are still unclear.

Inferring microevolution from museum collections and resampling: lessons learned from .

Natural history collections are an important and largely untapped source of long-term data on evolutionary changes in wild populations. Here, we utilize three large geo-referenced sets of samples of the common European land-snail stored in the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands. Resampling of these populations allowed us to gain insight into changes occurring over 95, 69, and 50 years.

Diversity and biogeography of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the limestone hills of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia.

Limestone hills are now gaining global conservation attention as hotspots for short-range endemic species. Levels of land snail endemism can be high at limestone hills, especially at hill clusters that are geographically isolated. In the State of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia, limestone hills have been opportunistically surveyed for land snails in the past, but the majority have yet to be surveyed.

A preliminary checklist of the freshwater snails of Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) deposited in the BORNEENSIS collection, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Sabah, a Malaysian state at the north-eastern tip of Borneo, is situated in one of the Earth's biodiversity hotspots yet its freshwater gastropod diversity remains poorly known. An annotated checklist of the freshwater gastropods is presented, based on specimens deposited in the collection of the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia. A KMZ file is also provided, which acts as a repository of digital images and complete collection data of all examined material, so that it can be shared and adapted to facilitate future research.

A checklist of land snails from the west coast islands of Sabah, Borneo (Mollusca, Gastropoda).

Sabah, situated in one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, has the largest number of islands in Malaysia with more than 500 of various sizes and degrees of isolation. However, information on the islands' biodiversity is limited. This study provides an up-to-date checklist of land snail species found on 24 west coast islands in Sabah.

A Method for Quantifying, Visualising, and Analysing Gastropod Shell Form.

Quantitative analysis of organismal form is an important component for almost every branch of biology. Although generally considered an easily-measurable structure, the quantification of gastropod shell form is still a challenge because many shells lack homologous structures and have a spiral form that is difficult to capture with linear measurements. In view of this, we adopt the idea of theoretical modelling of shell form, in which the shell form is the product of aperture ontogeny profiles in terms of aperture growth trajectory that is quantified as curvature and torsion, and of aperture form that is represented by size and shape.

Additions to the knowledge of the land snails of Sabah (Malaysia, Borneo), including 48 new species.

We present reviews of the Sabah (Malaysia, on the island of Borneo) species of the following problematical genera of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda): Acmella and Anaglyphula (Caenogastropoda: Assimineidae); Ditropopsis (Caenogastropoda: Cyclophoridae); Microcystina (Pulmonata: Ariophantidae); Philalanka and Thysanota (Pulmonata: Endodontidae); Kaliella, Rahula, (Pulmonata: Euconulidae); Trochomorpha and Geotrochus (Pulmonata: Trochomorphidae). Next to this, we describe new species in previously revised genera, such as Diplommatina (Diplommatinidae); Georissa (Hydrocenidae); as well as some new species of genera not revised previously, such as Japonia (Cyclophoridae); Durgella and Dyakia (Ariophantidae); Amphidromus, and Trachia (Camaenidae); Paralaoma (Punctidae); Curvella (Subulinidae). All descriptions are based on the morphology of the shells.

On growth and form of irregular coiled-shell of a terrestrial snail: Plectostoma concinnum (Fulton, 1901) (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Diplommatinidae).

The molluscan shell can be viewed as a petrified representation of the organism's ontogeny and thus can be used as a record of changes in form during growth. However, little empirical data is available on the actual growth and form of shells, as these are hard to quantify and examine simultaneously. To address these issues, we studied the growth and form of a land snail that has an irregularly coiled and heavily ornamented shell-Plectostoma concinnum.

Association between shell morphology of micro-land snails (genus Plectostoma) and their predator's predatory behaviour.

Predator-prey interactions are among the main ecological interactions that shape the diversity of biological form. In many cases, the evolution of the mollusc shell form is presumably driven by predation. However, the adaptive significance of several uncommon, yet striking, shell traits of land snails are still poorly known.

A cybertaxonomic revision of the micro-landsnail genus Plectostoma Adam (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda, Diplommatinidae), from Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Indochina.

Plectostoma is a micro land snail restricted to limestone outcrops in Southeast Asia. Plectostoma was previously classified as a subgenus of Opisthostoma because of the deviation from regular coiling in many species in both taxa. This paper is the first of a two-part revision of the genus Plectostoma, and includes all non-Borneo species.

A syringe-like love dart injects male accessory gland products in a tropical hermaphrodite.

Sexual conflict shapes the evolution of many behaviours and processes involved in reproduction. Nearly all evidence supporting this comes from species where the sexes are separated. However, a substantial proportion of animals and most plants are hermaphroditic, and theoretical work predicts that sexual conflict plays an important role even when the sexes are joined within one individual.

Further twists in gastropod shell evolution.

The manner in which a gastropod shell coils has long intrigued laypersons and scientists alike. In evolutionary biology, gastropod shells are among the best-studied palaeontological and neontological objects. A gastropod shell generally exhibits logarithmic spiral growth, right-handedness and coils tightly around a single axis.

Microgeographic evolution of snail shell shape and predator behavior.

Genetic divergence in geographically isolated populations is a prerequisite for allopatric speciation, one of the most common modes of speciation. In ecologically equivalent populations existing within a small, environmentally homogeneous area, an important role for environmentally neutral divergence is often found or inferred. We studied a species complex of conspicuously shaped Opisthostoma land snails on scattered limestone outcrops within a small area of lowland rainforest in Borneo.