Revision of the carnivorous land snail family Streptaxidae (Stylommatophora, Achatinina) in Myanmar, with description of four new species

Abstract

The carnivorous terrestrial snail family Streptaxidae, recognized by having a regular to eccentric shell with complex apertural dentition, remains little-known and largely unexplored in Myanmar. This article presents historically recorded species and provides new data on this family. A total of eighteen species in five genera, namely Carinartemis, Discartemon, Haploptychius, Oophana, and Perrottetia from the southeastern and eastern parts of Myanmar, is examined herein. Among these, Haploptychius is the most diverse with eight species, while the remaining genera are comprised of fewer than five species each. Streptaxis birmanica and Streptaxis blanfordianus are herein synonymized with Haploptychius blanfordi, while Streptaxis hanleyanus is synonymized with Carinartemis sankeyi. Furthermore, the first genitalia and radula descriptions for three previously known species, D. tonywhitteni, C. exacutus, and C. sankeyi, are provided. Using comparative morphological and anatomical approaches, four new species are described: D. paurodeviatussp. nov., H. heliakosussp. nov., H. tenasserimicussp. nov., and H. karenorumsp. nov. This present study enhances the understanding of the land snail fauna in Myanmar, specifically the streptaxids, and highlights that limestone areas are important for biodiversity conservation.