Punctum lozeki N. Sp. — A New Minute Land-Snail Species (Gastropoda: Punctidae) from Siberia and Alaska

Abstract

ABSTRACT Punctum lozeki, new species, is described from damp forests and meadows of southern Siberia, Central Siberian plateau, southern Far East (Russia) and Alaska. The species is characterized by a very narrow deep funnel-shaped umbilicus and tumid whorls that expand rapidly in diameter. It was recorded at 21 sites, and it seems to be a rare species, particularly in Asia, being found at only approximately 5% of all explored and potentially suitable sites. It was limited to wet and mesic taiga, mostly inhabiting brook alluviums, wet calcium-rich woodlands, and treeless sedge marshes. It is only the third Punctum species, along with P. pygmaeum and P. ussuriense, currently recognized in extratropical Eurasia. It also seems to represent another example of a species with a Beringian distribution stretching from Alaska in North America to the Altai Mountains in Central Asia.