''Pseudofusulus varians'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of air-breathing

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have gastropod shell, shel ...

, a

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates is an informal group (previously an order, and before that, a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group inclu ...

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

in the family

Clausiliidae Clausiliidae, also known by the common name door snails, is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of small, very elongate, mostly Gastropod shell#Chirality in gastropods, left-handed, air-breathing land snails, sinistral terre ...

. Genus ''Pseudofusulus'' is

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

(contains one species only) with ''Pseudofusulus varians'' as its

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. It is a relict species from

Atlantic period The Atlantic in palaeoclimatology was the warmest and moistest Blytt–Sernander period, pollen zone and chronozone of Holocene northern Europe. The climate was generally warmer than today. It was preceded by the Boreal, with a climate similar ...

of the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

, inhabiting exclusively nature

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

and

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

forests in Europe.

Distribution

The distribution of this species is Eastern Alpine and Western Carpathian. The type locality is the

High Alps The High Alps are the parts of the Alps unsuitable for habitation or seasonal transhumance. This includes all regions higher than 3,000 m above sea level, as well as most regions between 2,500 m and 3,000 m ( Juf at 2,126 m is the highest permanen ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

, Austria. The key area of its range is in the

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alps, Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzer ...

(from the south-western part of the Alps to Croatia, and also to the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

in the southern

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

). *

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

– 7 confirmed sites in Ore Mountains in Bohemia, locally extinct in Moravia. Already

Vojen Ložek Vojen was the third of the seven Bohemian mythical princes between the (also mythical) founder of the Přemyslid dynasty Přemysl the Ploughman and the first historical prince Bořivoj. The names of the princes were first recorded in Cosmas chro ...

has been calling for the effective conservation of this species in the 1980s. Ložek V. (1985). "Z červené knihy našich měkkýšů – je ohrožen vřetenec horský?". '' Živa'' 33: 221. It is one of the most endangered species in the Czech Republic, restricted to hidden and undisturbed natural deciduous forests. Originally it was known from 16 sites in the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

(Krušné Hory Mts.), in the northwestern Bohemia, Czech Republic and one site on the slope of Smrk Mount in the

Moravian-Silesian Beskids The Moravian-Silesian Beskids (Czech: , ) is a mountain range in the Czech Republic with a small part reaching to Slovakia. It lies on the historical division between Moravia and Silesia, hence the name. It is part of the Western Beskids within ...

(Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts.), East Moravia, Czech Republic. ** extinct in Moravia: The forest at the only (but well populated) locality in the Moravia has been seriously damaged by

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

from factories (such as

Třinec Iron and Steel Works Třinec Iron and Steel Works (TŽ) (, ) is a producer of long rolled steel products in Třinec, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. TŽ produces over a third of all steel produced in the Czech Republic (roughly 2.5 million tons annually). ...

and others) jointly with the 20 °C dropping of temperatures in inversion on 31 December 1978. The nearly all pollution-damaged stand died out at the southwestern slope on the Smrk Mount. ** in Bohemia: The occurrence of the snail was recently confirmed only at seven sites in the Krušné Hory Mts. Remaining sites were destroyed due to human impacts, mainly

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists b ...

s and insensitive

forest management Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, forest protection, and forest regulation. This includes man ...

mainly due to removal of dead wood and

clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with Shelterwood cutting, shelterwood and Seed tree, seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters t ...

. Therefore, its populations survived only in forest patches hidden in hardly accessible places. *

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

– in the eastern part of

Low Tatras The Low Tatras or Low Tatra (; ) is a mountain range of the Inner Western Carpathians in central Slovakia. It is located south of the Tatras proper, from which it is separated by the valleys of the Váh and Poprad rivers (the Liptov-Spiš ...

, in the peak level of

Poľana Poľana is a small mountain range in central Slovakia. It lies in the north-eastern part of the Slovak Central Mountains within the Western Carpathians Mountains. The highest hill is Poľana - an inactive stratovolcano A stratovolcano, a ...

, Klenovský Vepor Mount in the Vepor Mountains,

Muránska planina Muránska planina (translated as Muráň Plateau or Muráň Plain) is a plateau-like region in central Slovakia, between Brezno, Červená Skala (part of Šumiac), Muráň and Tisovec. It lies in the Spiš-Gemer Karst The Spiš-Gemer Karst ...

and the Ondrejsko in

Slovak Paradise Slovak Paradise () is a mountain range in eastern Slovakia. It is a part of the Spiš-Gemer Karst, which in turn is a part of the Slovak Ore Mountains, a major subdivision of the Western Carpathians. It is located between the towns of Spišská ...

is the easternmost. All of these records in the Slovakia are coming from 1960s–1970s and there has been no verification since. *

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

* and others Pseudofusulus varians shell

Description

The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

is horny or greenish brown and finely ribbed. The shell has 9–10

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagram ...

. The apertural margin is detached. Columellaris is deep inside and forked, hardly visible in a perpendicular view. Palatal wall is white and prominent. There is no lunula. Subcolumellaris is very close to basal furrow, visible in an oblique view.

Clausilium The clausilium is a calcareous anatomical structure which is found in one group of air-breathing land snails: terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails. The clausilium is one part of the clausilial appar ...

is not very concave. The width of the shell is 2.2–3 mm. The height of the shell is 9–12 mm.

Habitat

''Pseudofusulus varians'' is very exacting on the quality of its environment and its populations are small and quite scattered in the whole of its

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

. It lives in virgin-like

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s Lacina A. & Horsák M. (2009)
"Jak se vede vřetenatci horskému – z červené knihy našich měkkýšů"
Is the land Snail ''Pseudofusulus varinas'' Doing Well? From the Czech Republic's Red Book of Molluscs" ''Živa'', Praha LVII(2): 73–74
English abstract
and

old-growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

with fallen dead wood (

coarse woody debris Coarse woody debris (CWD) or coarse woody habitat (CWH) refers to fallen dead trees and the remains of large branches on the ground in forests and in rivers or wetlands.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). C ...

) in

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

and

submontane Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograph ...

. It is found in humid and shady habitats in woods, under ground litter and stones, in mountains. In the Czech Republic it is strictly associated with trees, restricted to undisturbed and hardly accessible natural

forests. ''Pseudofusulus varians'' is strictly dendrophilous species, so the main threat is dead wood removing and

. As it is endangered in the whole Europe, it is very important to protect its modern sites.

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference"Species summary for ''Pseudofusulus varians''"

AnimalBase AnimalBase is a project brought to life in 2004 and is maintained by the University of Göttingen, Germany. The goal of the AnimalBase project is to digitize early zoological literature, provide copyright-free open access to zoological works, and p ...

, last modified 23 March 2011, accessed 27 April 2011. and CC-BY-3.0 text from the reference Lacina A. (2011). "Poznámky k ekologii, rozšíření a ochraně vřetence horského (''Pseudofusulus varians'') v České republice.

otes to the ecology, distribution and protection of Pseudofusulus varians in the Czech Republic High Laver ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest (district), Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. The parish is noted for its association with the philosopher John Locke. History High Laver is historically a ...

. ''

Malacologica Bohemoslovaca ''Malacologica Bohemoslovaca'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all aspects of malacology. It was published by the Slovak Academy of Sciences since 2005. It is published by the Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of ...

'' 10: 18–23
PDF

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from2=Q7254795, from1=Q21229962 Clausiliidae Gastropods described in 1828 Monotypic gastropod genera