Historia naturalis bulgarica, 9, 1998: 19-26 Species composition of the terrestrial snails (MoUusca: Gastropoda) from coniferous and alpine areas of the northern Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria Ivailo DEDOV, Plamen MITOV ThefaunaofterrestrialgastropodsinBulgariaisrelativelywellstudied;intotal, 235 specieshavebeenrecordedsofar(Damjanov& Likharev, 1975;Deltshevet al., 1993). However, only 16 species ofterrestrial gastropods havebeen recordedin the northern part ofthe Pirin Mts. This protectedhighland region is ofgreat faunistic interest because ofboth the significant portion ofendemics and active speciation (Deltshev et al., 1993; Gueorguievet al., 1993; Hubenovet al., 1993). The aim ofthe present publication is to add some new information about the species composition and the distribution of the terrestrial gastropods in the northern part ofthe Pirin Mts. Material and methods The materialwas collectedbythe seniorauthorduringApril - November 1991- 1996 in the following localities: , 1) the BunderitsaValley, 1700 m, coniferous forests dominatedby Pinus Grsb., rendzinas, X 1993, VIII 1994, 21.IV.1995, VIII 1995; , 2) the vicinities ofBunderitsa Hut, 1770 m, forests ofP. rendzinas, VIII 1993, X 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VII 1995, VIII 1995; 3) the vicinities ofthe Baykushevata Mura, 1800 m, forests ofP. brown forest soil, open grass terrain, VIII 1993, X 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VI 1995, VII 1995; 4) a landslide terrain north to Bunderitsa Hut, 1900 m, a scarce coniferous forest, VIII 1993, X 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VII 1995, VIII 1995; 5) glades between Bunderitsa Hut and Vihren Hut, 1900 m, grass and bushes, rendzinas, VIII 1993, X 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VII 1995; 19 6) a high-mountain meadow between Vihren Hut and Mount Vihren, 2300 m, mountainous meadow soil, VIII 1993, X 1993, XI 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VI X 1995, 1995; 7) MountVihren, 2914m; scarce alpinevegetation, marbles,VIII 1993,XI 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VI 1995; 8) Kazanite Circus, 2100-2500 m, alpinevegetation, marbles, VIII 1993, X 1993, XI 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VI 1995, VII 1995; 9) a community ofPinus mugo, between Kazanite Circus andBunderitsa Hut, 1900-2000 m, brown forest soil, X 1993, VIII 1994; 10) a slope ofMount Sinanitsa, 2000-2200 m, alpine vegetation, marbles, VIII 1993, X 1993, XI 1993, VIII 1994, IV 1995, VI 1995, VII 1995. Each locality was visited several times. Most of the snails were collected directlybyhand; however, some ofthemwereobtainedby siftingofsoil. 430 sneiil specimenswere collected altogether. Almost halfofthemwere placedin water to relax and then preservedin 70% ethanol; the restwere collectedonly as shells. In laboratory conditions, they were studied under stereomicroscope; when neces- sary, dissections ofspecimens were carried out. The works ofDamjanov & Likharev (1975) and Urbanski (1978) were used for the species identification. For the purposes ofthe zoogeographical analysis, the terrestrial snail species were grouped into four faunistic complexes on the basis of their recent geo- graphical ranges: Holarctic, Western-Palaearctic, Mediterranean and Endemic (JOSIFOV, 1988). Results As awhole 23 speciesbelongingto 19 generaand 12 familieswere foundin the studiedareasin thenorthernpartofthePirinMts. Theirspecies compositionand distribution are presented in Table 1. Five species are new for the fauna ofPirin Mts. Two more species, previously known from otherparts ofPirin Mts. (Damjanov & Likharev, 1975), were record- ed for the first time in the studied region (Table 1). The most diverse family is Helicidae (4 species). The families Enidae, Clausiliidae, Vitrinidae and Zonitidae are presented by 3 species. The remaining families are presented only by single species. The terrestrial gastropods that were found belong to the following faunistic complexes (Table 1): the Holarctic Complex - 1 species; the Western-Palaearctic Complex - 8 species (among them, 5 species belong- ing to the European Subcomplex); the Mediterranean Complex - 3 species; 20 Table 1 Species composition and distribution of terrestrial snails in the northern part ofthe Pirin Mts. The numbers of the locaHties correspond to those presented in 'Materials and methods'. Abbreviations used for the faunistic complexes (and subcomplexes in parentheses): H - Holarctic, WP -Western-Palaearctic, M - Mediterranean, En - Endemic (Eu - European sub- complexwithinWestern-PalaearcticComplex;P-subcomplexofspeciesendemicforthePirin Mts., - subcomplex of species endemic for Balkan ffighlands; BE - Balkan Peninsula endemics). * - the firstrecordforthe studied region, ** - the firstrecord forthe PirinMts. Taxa Speci- Localities Altitude Faunistic mens (m) complex Plenrodiscidae Pyramidula rupes^ns(Draparnaud, 1801) 3 Orculidae Orcula dolium(Bruguiere, 1792) Vertiginidae Truncatellina lindrica(Ferxissac, 1821) Enidae Eninae ** Ena obscura(Muiler, 1774) Zebrina detrita inflata(Kobelt, 1877) ChondruUnae Chondrula tridens(Muiler, 1774) Cochlicopidae **Cochlicopa lubricella(Porro, 1838) Clausiliidae Macedonica marginata(Rossmassler, 1835) Macedonica marthaeSajo, 1968 Idyla castalia boschiNordsieck, 1973 Vitrinidae Vitrinapellucida(Muiler, 1774) Eucobresiadiaphana(Draparnaud, 1805) * Phenacolimaxannularis(Studer, 1820) Zonitidae * Vitrea bulgaricaDamjanov et Pinter, 1969 ** Vitrea sturanyi{A. Wagner, 1907) ** Oxychilus depressus{Ster]d, 1880) Bradybaenidae ** Bradybaenafruticum(Muiler, 1774) Helicodontidae Lindholmiolacorcyrensispirinensis Jaeckel, 1954 Hygromiidae Helicella macedonicaHesse, 1828 Helicidae Ariantinae trizona haberhaueri(Sturany, 1897) 7 Table 1 (continuation) Taxa Speci- Localities Altitude Faunistic mens (m) complex Helicigonapolinskii(A. Wagner, 1927) 95 6,7,8 2200-2914 En(P) Helicigonasztolcmanii{A. Wagner, 1927) 9 2100-2500 En(P) Helicinae HelixpomatiaLinnaeus, 1758 1900 WP(Eu) the Endemic Complex - 11 species (4 endemics for the Pirin Mts, 4 Balkan Highland endemics and 3 Balkan Peninsula endemics). The species complex ofthe coniferous forests situated along the valley of the river Bunderitsa (localities No. 1 and 2) includes 6 species: Zebrina detrita injla- ta, Cochlicopa lubricella, Vitrina pellucida, Bradybaena fruticum, Helicella macedonicaand Helicigona trizona haberhaueri. Three ofthem are endemics (2 Balkan Highland endemics and 1 Balkan Peninsula endemic), 1 belongs to the Holarctic Faunistic Complex and 2 are Western-Palaearctic species. The species complex ofthe coniferous forests situated on slopes (localities No. 3) and 4) contains 11 species: Orcula dolium, Truncatellina cylindrica, Ena obscura, Zebrina detrita injlata, Chondrula tridens, Idyla castalia boschi, Vitrina pellucida, Vitrea sturanyi, Oxychilus depressus, Helicella macedonica and Helicigonapolinskii. Three ofthem are Western-Palaearctic species (among them, 1 European species), 5 are endemics (2 Balkan Peninsula endemics, 1 Balkan Highland endemic and 2 Pirin Mts. endemic), 2 Mediterranean and 1 Holarctic species. Eleven species were recorded in the glades situated in the belt of coniferous forests (locality No. 5): Pyramidula rupestris, Orcula dolium, Zebrina detrita injlata, Chondrula tridens, Macedonicamarginata, Idyla castalia boschi, Vitrina pellucida, Vitrea bulgarica, Lindholmiola corcyrensispirinensis, Helicella mace- donica and Helix pomatia. Six of them are endemics (3 Balkan Highland endemics, 2 BalkanPeninsulaendemics and 1 Pirin Mts. endemic), 3 areWestern- Palaearctic (among them, 1 are European species), 1 is Mediterranean and 1 is a Holarctic species. In the subalpine formations o[Pinus mw^o(locality No. 9), only 1 species has been recorded, Idyla castalia boschi(a Pirin Mts. endemic). Thehigh-mountain meadows above the upperborder offorests (locality No. 6) exhibit a complex of 3 species: Eucobresia diaphana, Phenacolimax annularis and Helicigona polinskii. These are 1 Western-Palaearctic (European) species, 1 Mediterranean and 1 endemic for the Pirin Mts. The highest alpine zone with scarce vegetation (localities No. 7, 8 and 10) is characterized by a complex of 5 species: Zebrina detrita injlata, Macedonica marthae, Idyla castalia boschi, Helicigona polinskii and H. sztolcmanii. All of them are endemics (4 Pirin Mts endemics and 1 Balkan Peninsula endemic). 22 . m polinskiiis very abundant between 2400 and 2914 at Vihren Mt.; its abun- dance increases gradually with the altitude. Macedonica marthaeoccurs mainly around Sinanitsa Mt. but with moderate abundance. In localities No. 3 and 5, the typical concentrations of Helicella macedonica and Zebrina detrita inflata{see Hudec & Vasatko, 1971) were observed. Discussion The present study revealed a rather diverse species complex in the northern part of Pirin Mts. As was already mentioned, previous studies have reported 16 species (Urbanski, 1964; Hudec & Vasatko, 1971; 1973; Damjanov and Likharev, 1975; Deltshev et al., 1993). Twelve of them were also found in the course ofthe present study. The following taxa were not found in the present material: Limax carbonarius0. Boettger, 1885 (reportedbyWagner, 1934), Deroceras agreste tran- scaucasicumHudec etVasatko, 1971 (reportedbyHudec andVasatko, 1971), Idyla castalia pirostoma (Boettger, 1880) (reported by Jaeckel, 1954; cited after Dam- janov and Likharev, 1975). Eight species were found in the course of the present study in addition to the previously reported species. Therefore 26 species-group taxa altogether are known to occur in the studied region. Two subspecies ofHelicigona polinskii, H. p. polinskii (A. Wagner, 1927) and H. p. pirinensis (A. Wagner, 1927), have been reported for the Pirin Mts (Dam- janov & Likharev, 1975). Urbanski (1964) observed that the specimens collected near the Vihren Mount exhibited the characteristics of the two subspecies. He alsobelieved thatHelicigonapolinskiiis averyvariable species. This opinion has been also confirmedbythe present study. Specimens exhibitingcharacters ofthe former or the latter subspecies were recorded always together in the same local- ities. In addition, specimens with intermediate characters were also found. The examination of the genital system of specimens belonging to the two forms did not reveal any differences. Therefore, the differentiating characters used to dis- tinguish the two subspecies demonstrate more or less individual variants within the same population. On this basis, we recognise H. p. polinskii and H. p. piri- nensisas synonyms. Compared with the previous data (Damjanov & Likharev, 1975), some taxa m were recorded at higher altitude. These are: Orcula dolium(found at 1900 ver- m sus 1200 m), Truncatellina cylindrica(at 1850 versus 1000 m), Chondrula tri- m m dens (1900 versus 1200 m), Cochlicopa lubricella (1750 versus 1300 m), m m Bradybaenafruticum(1770 versus 1200 m) and Helixpomatia(1900 versus 1300 m). Thecomparisonofthe speciescompositionofterrestrialgastropods in thevar- ious plant commimities exhibits considerable variations in their diversity. The coniferous forests studied possess greater species richness; however, these are 23 mainly species with wider distribution (Holarctic, Western-Palaearctic and Mediterranean). The part of the Pirin Mts. endemic taxa in these forests is very small; amongthem, a two species are endemicsfor the Pirin Mts. In contrast, the part ofendemics in the alpine zone is very high, although it is characterizedby 5 species only; among them, 4 endemic taxa for this mountain. The comparison ofthe species composition in the various plant communities also confirm JosiFOV (1982) view, according to which the coniferous belt acts a specific filter that does not permit the penetration ofMediterranean species into the high-mountain areas. There is a single exception: Phenacolimax annularis has been recorded in the high-mountain meadows (locality No. 6). However, this species, although recognized as an element of the Mediterranean Faunistic Complex, has arestricteddistributionin thehighmountains only(PyreneanMts, Alps, Balkan Highlands, Crimea, Asia Minor, Caucasus and Central Asia) after Damjanov and Likharev (1975). Acknowledgements We are grateful to Prof. M. Josifov, Institute ofZoology, Sofia, for his help in the zoogeographical analysis, and to Dr B. Georgiev, Central Laboratory of General Ecology, for his help in the preparation ofthe manuscript. References DamjanovS., I. Likharev. 1975. Fauna Bulgarica, Vol. 4, Gastropodaterrestria. Sofia, Bulg. Acad. Sci. 425 p. (In Bulgarian). DeltshevH., S. Andreev, G. Blagoev, V. Golemanski, D. Dobrev, G. Mihailova, V. Peneva, M. TODOROV, Z. HuBENOV. 1993. Invertebrates (excl. Insecta) in Bulgaria (Protozoa, Nematode, Oligochaeta, Mollusca, Crustacea, Myriapoda, Aranaea, Acari). - In: Sakalian M., Maine (eds.). National Strategy for Biodiversity Protection, Vol. 1, Main Reports, 149-244. (In Bulgarian). GuEORGUiEVv., V. Beshovski, M. Josifov, K. Kumanski, B. Rusev, V. Sakauan. 1993. Insecta (Part I): Odonata, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Homoptera (Auchenorhyncha), Heteroptera, Coleoptera. - In: Sakalian ., Meine (eds.). National Strategy forBiodiversity Protection, Vol. 1, Main Reports, 245-322. (In Bulgarian). HuBENOvZ.,S. Beshkov,V. Beshovski, E. Vasileva,J.Kolarov,K. Kumanski,A. Popov. 1993. Insecta (Part II): Blattodea, Mantodea, Isoptera, Orthoptera, Dermaptera, Embioptera, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, Neuroptera, Mecoptera, Hymenoptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera. - In: Sakalian M., C. Meine (eds.). National Strategy for Biodiversity Protection, Vol. 1, Main Reports, 323- 404. (In Bulgarian). HUDECv., J. Vasatko. 1971. Beitragzur MoUuskenfauna Bulgariens. - Acta Sc. Nat., Brno, (2): 1-38. 24 HuDECv., J. Vasatko. 1973. Zur Kermtnis der Molluskenfauna Bulgariens. - Acta Sc. Nat., Brno, 7 (9): 1-33. JosiFOV M. 1982. Terrestrial faunistic complexes. - In: Galabov Z. H. (ed.). Geography of Bulgaria, Vol. 1,PhysicalGeography. Sofia,Publ. HouseBulg. Acad. Sci. 461-466. (In Bulgarian). JosiFOV M. 1988. iJber den zoogeographischen Charakter der siideuropaischen Insektenfauna unter besonderer Beriicksichtigung der Heteropteren. - Ber. Nat.-Med. Verein Innsbruck, 75: 177-184. Urbanski J. 1964. Beitrage zur Kenntnis balkanischer Stylommatophoren (Systematische, zoogeographische und okologische Studien iiber die Mollusken der Balkan- Halbinsel. VII). - Bui. Soc. Amis Sci. Lettr., Poznan, Serie D, 8: 19-56. Urbanski J. 1978. Bemerkungen uber balkanischen Helicigonen (Gastrop. Pulm.) (Systematische, zoogeographische und okologische Studien fiber die Mollusken der Balkan-Halbinsel, 16). -BuH. Sci. Lettr., Poznan, Serie D, 18: 139-149. Wagner J. 1934. Uber einige von Herrn Dr. B. Rensch in den bulgarischen Gebirgen gesammelte Nacktschnecken. - Mitt. Konigl. Naturwiss. Inst. Sofia, 7: 88-90. Receivedon 1.11.1997 Authors' addresses: Ivailo Dedov Central LaboratoryofGeneral Ecology 2, Gagarin Street 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria E-mail: [email protected] Plamen Mitov Chair ofZoology and Anthropology Faculty ofBiology , St. Kliment OkhridskyUniversityofSofia 8, Dragan TsankovBlvd 1421 Sofia, Bulgaria 25 1 BugoB (MoUusca: Gastropoda) u , () . . : , 1991-1996 -430 6 - u 23 , 19 u 12 obscura, Cochlicopa , )lubricel,la, Vitrea sturanyi, Oxychilas depressus u Bradybaenafruiicum. ( ,, - 1 ). - 8 5, . , - 3 - 11 (4 4 u 3 ,). . (40% u 100% Helicigona polinskiipolinskii (A. Wagner, 1927) u H. polinskii pirinensis (A. Wagner, 1927) u 26