Species spotlight VIII

Oxychilus draparnaudi (Beck, 1837)

Buskett, Malta

Today's featured species is a small to medium-sized snail characterized by a brown, glossy and rather flat and fragile shell. It inhabits damp substrates such as compost or leaf litter in gardens or the compact soil beneath stone boulders. The animal is a distinctive blue-grey and is an active predator on other snails.

Oxychilus is a highly speciose genus distributed throughout Europe and the Near East.

Pembroke, Malta

Islands of the Maltese Archipelago - Part II

Selmunett (St. Paul's Islands)
Off the northeastern coast of Malta

An alien fish in Maltese waters

A research paper regarding the first recorded occurrence of the Pacific fish Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844) in Malta was recently published in the journal Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria.

Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
Valletta, Malta

photo by John Attard

More information may be found here, while the work in its entirety may be accessed here.

Stone spiral

Cypraea sp.
Chattian, Oligocene

Lower Globigerina Limestone, Birżebbuġa, Malta

Species spotlight VII

Eobania vermiculata (Müller, 1774)
Żurrieq, Malta

The steppe areas of Malta are frequently populated by large snails from the family Helicidae, amongst which this species, Eobania vermiculata, commonly prevails. The shape and pattern of the shell is highly variable. In Malta, this is not a species utilized for food, unlike in the rest of Europe.

Rabat, Malta

Shell identification:

• large thick shell
• white base colour
• frequently banded
• flared lip

From cyberspace

The unparalleled learning opportunities offered by the medium known as the internet never cease to amaze. Today, I read about the connection between flies and serial killers, watched the awesome vampire squid from hell and other deep-sea oddities, browsed Ernst Haeckel's artistic renditions of the natural world and Heiko Metzner's collection of salticid spiders and Igor Siwanowicz' insect macros, then sat back and virtually dissected a cockroach.

Have a great Saturday evening!

Ernst Haeckel (1898) - Lacertilia

A contribution to 'Sagħtar'

Sagħtar is a students' magazine in its 37th year of publication. This month's issue includes information on some snails found in the Majjistral Nature & History Park. This article was written by Annalise Falzon from Nature Trust Malta and features a couple of my photographs. (click on image to view in full size)

Species spotlight VI

Xerocrassa meda (Porro, 1840)
Santa Venera, Malta

One of the commonest snails in Maltese gardens is this medium-sized species that apparently does not mind living in human-influenced habitats, actually preferring cultivated patches to the Mediterranean garigue so beloved of its other relatives. It might have originally been a Maltese and South-Sicilian endemic, eventually spreading to other Mediterranean islands by human intervention.


X. meda is one of two species in the genus Xerocrassa in Malta, which is sometimes treated as a synonym of Trochoidea, but which actually presents anatomical differences from that genus and is herein treated separately following the AnimalBase entry.

Shell identification

• 6-8mm
• pale brown or cream colour with darker bracket-shaped stripes
• aperture with a slight pinkish colour
• umbilicus pin-point shaped

Species spotlight V

Deroceras panormitanum (Lessona & Pollonera, 1882)
Żejtun, Malta

This is another slug described by the same folks who named yesterday's featured species. It is a south-west Mediterranean species which has since spread to most of Europe, North America and elsewhere. It can be distinguished from other Maltese slugs by its chestnut-pink colour, smaller size (about 2-3cm) and a fingerprint-like pattern on its back. A very similar species, Deroceras golcheri Regteren Altena, 1962 is endemic to Malta but is much rarer, and in places where it occurs with D. panormitanum, differences in colour and size are constant and consistent. D. golcheri also has a black mark near its pneumostome (respiratory opening, visible in both pictures) which D. panormitanum lacks.

Deroceras also has an internal shell.


Pictures are of the same individual.

Identification

• small fast-moving slug
• pinkish or pale brown
• mucus transparent
• fingerprint pattern on back
• no black mark near respiratory opening

Species spotlight IV

Lehmannia melitensis (Lessona & Pollonera, 1882)

Mdina, Malta

Lehmannia melitensis (Lessona & Pollonera, 1882) is a slug and thus appears shell-less, though a thin shell called limacella is present inside the body of the animal. This slug seems to be prevalent in the areas from Ta' Qali up to Rabat and varies from very light grey to almost black. It is similar to another more common slug called Milax nigricans (Philippi, 1836), which, however, has an angled dorsal side.

Lehmannia melitensis (Lessona & Pollonera, 1882)
Buskett, Malta

L. melitensis is distributed throughout Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and other places. Maltese specimens are usually greyer than those from other places. More information on this species and its congener Lehmannia valentiana (Férussac, 1822) may be found here.

Identification

• grey or black
• dark stripes running along its upper body
• fingerprint pattern on back
• rounded back

Species spotlight III

Lampedusa imitatrix (Böttger, 1879)
Mtaħleb, Malta

The clausiliid genus Lampedusa is endemic to Malta and the island of Lampedusa. In Malta it consists of two species, both of which are restricted in occurrence and live solely in highly calcareous habitats. The long and thin shell is characteristic of the family to which these snails belong. The picture shows a group of Lampedusa imitatrix (Boettger, 1879) individuals aestivating in Mtaħleb together with one (distant) relative - Cantareus aspersus (Müller, 1774). The other Maltese congener Lampedusa melitensis (Caruana Gatto, 1892) will be encountered later; while the third and final species Lampedusa lopadusae (Calcara, 1846), endemic to another Mediterranean island, is the subject of this post.

Baħrija, Malta

Shell identification

• long and narrow shell
• shell top not broken
• ribbed
• more than two incomplete ribs on last whorl
• shell tapers down near opening

The rediscovery of Gibbula nivosa

The best known marine snail endemism in the Maltese Islands is certainly Gibbula nivosa Adams, 1851 - in vernacular, this is the Maltese Topshell. This mollusc was previously known in a 'live setting' only from St. Thomas' Bay in Marsaskala, with the ever-increasing scarcity of live individuals leading some authors to speculate on its extinction.

A paper published last November, however, sets the record straight - G. nivosa is alive and kicking (albeit in a critically endangered manner) in two localities around the Maltese Islands. You can read the original abstract here and a synopsis here.

Gibbula nivosa Adams, 1851
on a 1979 stamp

Lungo il Tevere

the river Tiber, by night

A walk around the Colosseum

The Amphitheatrum Flavium, better known as the Colosseum, is an iconic Roman era building in the centre of Rome. Ravaged by natural phenomena and looters throughout the centuries, it still stands towering above the city, and offers a wonderful opportunity to admire the architectural and engineering prowess of the ancient Romans.

In 1643, far before the advent of Linnaean taxonomy, a gent by the name of Domenico Panaroli decided to publish an inventory of the plants found inside the Colosseum after noticing several exotic (mainly North African) species inside and around it, resulting in the tome Plantarum Amphytheatralium Catalogus. Nowadays, the list of species from the Colosseum has grown to 684 species of plants (Caneva, 2003).

A humidity-loving moss, bearing sporangia (fruiting bodies) on stalks

Adiantum capillusveneris L., also found in Malta

Cymbalaria muralis G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb.

Of course, the ample vegetation offers much cover for my favourite invertebrates - snails. The most common ones present in soil were Eobania vermiculata (Müller, 1774) and a species of Cernuella (I have not yet decided which this is out of the confusing trio of C. virgata (Da Costa, 1778), C. cisalpina (Rossmässler, 1837) and C. neglecta (Draparnaud, 1805)). Later on, a few specimens of Papillifera bidens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Xerotricha apicina (Lamarck, 1822) were encountered amongst the ruins.

Cernuella sp.

Xerotricha apicina (Lamarck, 1822)

On a totally unrelated note, here's one of the modern day inhabitants of the Colosseum:

References:

Caneva, G., 2003. The Colosseum's use and state of abandonment as analysed through its flora. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 51: 211-219.
Panaroli, D., 1643. Jatrologismi sive medicae observationes quibus additus est in fine Plantarum Amphytheatralium Catalogus. Typis Dominici Marciani, Rome.

Memento mori

taken in Rome, 2011

When in Rome...

One thing that surprised me during a short stay in Rome is the sheer quantity of birds, nonchalantly living side by side with the people leading their hectic lives. While in Malta large birds tend to stay far away from any human settlements (and with good reason), Rome features interesting avifauna in addition to the 'usual' sparrows (Passer spp.) and rock pigeons (Columba livia Gmelin, 1789).

Pigeons (Columba livia) in Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore

The largest amongst these birds is the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis michahellis Naumann, 1840). Several of these can be seen flying, seemingly fearlessly, over piazzas and public places, descending to gobble anything edible in sight. This particular specimen below was unperturbed by my steady approach towards it, only flying away once it had had its fill of the fresh fountain water.

Larus michahellis michahellis bathing in front of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica

The same bird, taking risks

Also notable is the less common hooded crow (Corvus cornix cornix Linnaeus, 1758), of which a couple were observed rummaging around for food beneath cars in one of the very busy roads. The calls of these crows are quite peculiar and could be heard intermittently from trees and stonework, even though their owners were not so commonly seen.

Corvus cornix cornix Linnaeus, 1758