Papers by John Slapcinsky
The Nautilus, 2023
A new species of microsnail in the genus Paravitrea was discovered while sampling leaf litter inv... more A new species of microsnail in the genus Paravitrea was discovered while sampling leaf litter invertebrates in western North Carolina. The new species is smaller and has fewer whorls than most Paravitrea species. It is also unique in having only a single nodular lamella in young juveniles, rather than one to several axial rows of nodular lamellae as in most other Paravitrea species. Its adult shell is similar only to that of Paravitrea blarina, from which it differs by the absence of nodular lamellae on the shell. To facilitate comparisons between these two species, the reproductive anatomy of P. blarina is presented for the first time, showing significant differences from the new species. The new species appears to be closely associated with the Broad River, which may play a role in its unusual distribution in the Piedmont Plateau.
The FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY is Florida's state museum of natural history, dedicated to ... more The FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY is Florida's state museum of natural history, dedicated to understanding, preserving, and interpreting biological diversity and cultural heritage. The BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY is an on-line, open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes results of original research in zoology, botany, paleontology, archaeology, and museum science. Multi-author issues of related papers have been published together, and inquiries about putting together such issues are welcomed. Address all inquiries to the Editor of the Bulletin. The electronic edition of this article conforms to the requirements of the amended International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, and hence the new names contained herein are available under that Code. This published work and the nomenclatural acts it contains have been registered in ZooBank, the online registration system for the ICZN. The ZooBank Publication number for this issue is 5C43C6CF-9B6F-4E48-8466-94F2551EA7C8.
Parasitology, Jul 30, 2020
Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been found in Florida, USA, from the panhandle in the north to Mi... more Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been found in Florida, USA, from the panhandle in the north to Miami and surrounding areas in the southern parts of the state, in both definitive and intermediate hosts in a limited studies completed in 2015. Additional studies have identified this parasite in a variety of intermediate hosts, both native and non-native gastropod species, with new host species recorded. Many areas in Florida with higher A. cantonensis prevalence were those with a high human population density, which suggests it is a matter of time before human infections occur in Florida. Case reports in the state currently involve non-human primates and include a gibbon and orangutan in Miami. Here, we report the current status of A. cantonensis in the state, as well as the infection in a capuchin monkey and presumptive infection in a red ruffed lemur in Gainesville, Florida.
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, Dec 1, 2022
Archaeological evidence for local environmental change is obscured by the tendency for humans to ... more Archaeological evidence for local environmental change is obscured by the tendency for humans to remove natural resources from places of procurement and deposit them elsewhere, sometimes at great distance. This is especially problematic for changes in relative sea level, which clearly affected the inhabitability of low-elevation coastal landforms but not necessarily the regional availability of resources of cultural or economic value. Needed are proxies for relative sea level from non-dietary taxa. One genus of terrestrial snails, Truncatella, offers good potential in this respect because of its specific niche at the interface between seawater and land. However, like food resources displaced by people, Truncatella shells are displaced by storms and redistributed landward of the coastline. Distinguishing between autochthonous and allochthonous deposits is essential to inferring relative sea level from the occurrence of this taxon alone. To this end, assemblages of Truncatella shell from stratified sites along the north Gulf Coast of Florida, USA are compared to associated archaeological snails of other taxa and to snail shells from the wrack of proximate foreshores to infer changes in relative sea level over the past four millennia. Variation in the morphology of shorelines and in the accumulation rates of archaeological midden mitigates any direct relationship between terrestrial snail frequencies and sea level, but the results of this study suggest that our approach can be applied to other nondietary taxa occupying marginally terrestrial niches to refine estimates for sea level derived from the sedimentary records of geological cores.
Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists, Jul 20, 2023
The Pacificellinae are a group of small, high-spired land snails distributed on islands across th... more The Pacificellinae are a group of small, high-spired land snails distributed on islands across the Pacific. Some species are endemic to particular island groups, but others have wide geographic distributions, several of which have been attributed to anthropogenic transport between islands before western contact. We used DNA sequence data (COI, 16S, ITS2, 28S) from recently collected and historical specimens to estimate a phylogeny of the Pacificellinae, with a focus on Hawaiian species. Phylogenetic analyses support recognizing Lamellidea and Pacificella as distinct genera and indicate that the genus group Tornatellinops should be regarded as a synonym of Lamellidea. The number of taxa defined by species delimitation analyses (ASAP, bPTP, mPTP) varies widely, with between 6 and 42 species estimated in the Hawaiian Islands. These candidate species hypotheses were evaluated in an integrative framework, including shell morphology, geography, and a multilocus phylogeny, to revise the taxonomy of Hawaiian pacificellines. Four Lamellidea species and two Pacificella species are recognized from the Hawaiian Islands, including two widespread species introduced to Hawaiʻi from the South Pacific. Lamellidea peponum in Hawaiʻi shows little genetic divergence from Polynesian specimens previously referred to L. oblonga, and the name L. oblonga is now regarded as a junior synonym. Lamellidea polygnampta is recognized here from across the Hawaiian Islands, L. cylindrica from the island of O'ahu, and the lowland species, L. extincta, from the main Hawaiian Islands and the Northwestern Islands. The only Pacificella specimens found in Hawai'i in modern surveys are more closely related to specimens of P. variabilis from Polynesia than to historical specimens of P. baldwini, indicating that the only Pacificella species now found in the main Hawaiian Islands appears to be introduced. Pacificellines have declined in abundance in Hawai'i over the last century and the two species L. extincta and P. baldwini, formerly present across the Hawaiian Islands, are now either critically endangered or extinct.
PLOS ONE
The superfamily Orthalicoidea comprises approximately 2,000 species of terrestrial gastropods, mo... more The superfamily Orthalicoidea comprises approximately 2,000 species of terrestrial gastropods, mostly concentrated in the Neotropics but also present in southern Africa and Oceania. We provide a multi-marker molecular phylogeny of this superfamily, reassessing its family- and genus-level classification. We exclude two families from the group, Odontostomidae and Vidaliellidae, transferring them to Rhytidoidea based on their phylogenetic relationships as recovered herein. Two new families are recognized herein as members of Orthalicoidea, Tomogeridae and Cyclodontinidae fam. nov. The family Megaspiridae and the subfamily Prestonellinae are paraphyletic but are retained herein for taxonomic stability. The subfamily Placostylinae is synonymized with Bothriembryontinae. The new genera Alterorhinus gen. nov. and Sanniostracus gen. nov. containing some Brazilian species are described here to better reflect the phylogeny. The fossil record and paleobiogeographic history of the group is expl...
Kuroda (1960) noted that his new species, Vertigo shimochii Kuroda & Amano, 1960, was distinct fr... more Kuroda (1960) noted that his new species, Vertigo shimochii Kuroda & Amano, 1960, was distinct from other members of the genus in Japan by possessing a “relatively large and long shell with deep suture and much inflated whorls ” (p. 77). While shell shape was noted to be similar to a Gastrocopta, they assigned the species to Vertigo based on its “shell color and lamella characteristics ” (p. 77). Vertigo shimochii has since been considered endemic to the southern parts of Japan
American Malacological Bulletin, 2020
Abstract: The diversity of Hawaiian land snails was once extraordinary, both in terms of the numb... more Abstract: The diversity of Hawaiian land snails was once extraordinary, both in terms of the number of species and the unparalleled levels of endemism. Habitat loss and the establishment of non-native species that prey on native snails have resulted in catastrophic declines in Hawaii's native land snails in the last century, and many are now critically endangered or extinct. Despite these losses, some species persist, and recent surveys have identified remnant populations of several species previously thought extinct. To effectively manage these remaining taxa and to understand what has been lost, the systematics of the land snail fauna of Hawaii needs revision; this will facilitate accurate identification of threatened species, discovery of undescribed species, and a fuller understanding of native land snail evolution and conservation. The development of type catalogs for all major museum collections holding type material of Hawaiian land snails is a necessary first step in this revisionary process. Here we describe the type material at the Paleontological Research Institute (PRI) in Ithaca, New York. Most of the type collection of Hawaiian land snails at PRI was acquired from Wesley Newcomb through the Cornell Museum. Newcomb described 126 species and varieties of endemic Hawaiian land snails, of which the PRI Hawaiian land snail collection contains type material for 74 nominal species-group taxa belonging to the Achatinellidae and Amastridae. Eighteen of these are recognized as primary type material (i.e., syntypes or lectotypes, there are no holotypes or neotypes).
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 2019
Abstract: Parelaphostrongylus andersoni, the muscleworm, commonly infects white-tailed deer (Odoc... more Abstract: Parelaphostrongylus andersoni, the muscleworm, commonly infects white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and also infects caribou (Rangifer tarandus [R.t.] groenlanicus, R.t. grantii, R.t. tarandus, and R.t. caribou). Heavy infection with P. andersoni leads to weakness in the hindquarters, abnormal gait, and pulmonary lesions. The geographical range and full host spectrum of this parasite are not fully known. This study aims to understand host specificity better, especially in nonnative cervids and bovids. This study involved the collection of 140 fecal samples from native and nonnative cervid and bovid species, and 34 snail specimens. With the use of real-time PCR, we found 4/47 (8.5%) O. virginianus fecal samples were positive for P. andersoni. No previously undocumented species of cervids or bovids were found to be infected. Further research is warranted to understand P. andersoni range, host distribution, and potential impact on host health.
The Paleontological Society Special Publications, 2014
ZooKeys, 2016
We describe a new stylommatophoran land snail of the family Partulidae from Palau. The new specie... more We describe a new stylommatophoran land snail of the family Partulidae from Palau. The new species has a combination of morphological and ecological characters that do not allow its placement in any existing partulid genus, so we describe a new genus for it. The new genus is characterized by a large (18-23 mm) obese-pupoid shell; smooth protoconch; teleoconch with weak and inconsistent, progressively stronger, striae; last half of body whorl not extending beyond the penultimate whorl; widely expanded and reflexed peristome; relatively long penis, with longitudinal pilasters that fuse apically into a fleshy ridge that divides the main chamber from a small apical chamber; and vas deferens entering and penial-retractor muscle attaching at the apex of the penis. Unlike all other partulids, the new species is strictly associated with rocks in contact with the ground. Comparing the other three Palauan species-currently assigned to Partula-to our new genus and to other partulids makes it clear that they require their own genus because their morphology is quite different from that of true Partula and from that of all other genera. Hence, we resurrect the name Palaopartula Pilsbry for these snails.
Recent surveys (February–March, 2005) of the terrestrial snail fauna of the Nakanai Mountains, ce... more Recent surveys (February–March, 2005) of the terrestrial snail fauna of the Nakanai Mountains, central New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago have uncovered several undescribed species, including three new species of Paryphantopsis, a diverse genus of charopid snails, previously believed to be endemic to mainland New Guinea and adjacent islands of the Louisiade Archipelago. The three species are described using shell, genital, and radular morphology. Although the land snail fauna of New Britain is arguably the best sampled in Papua New Guinea, there has been little sampling in the interior mountains of the Nakanai, Whiteman, Baining, and Willaumez ranges, which harbor previously undetected species of terrestrial snails.
Pilsbryna is revised based on new material collected during recent surveys of wet leaf-litter mic... more Pilsbryna is revised based on new material collected during recent surveys of wet leaf-litter microhabitats in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Five species are recognized including Pilsbryna aurea Baker, 1929, P castanea Baker, 1931, P. no-dopalma new species and P. quadrilamellata new species. All species are redescribed or described. Pilsbryna vanattai (Walker and Pilsbry, 1902) is transferred to Pilsbryna from Glyphyalinia (Glyphyalus) based on genital and juvenile shell anatomy. Pilsbryna tridens Morrison, 1935, is reexamined based on newly available material; its placement in the genus Helicodiscus sensu lato is supported by new radular evidence. Pilsbryna species share unique genital and shell characteristics that are included in a redescription of the genus. The new generic definition combined with habitat information for all Pilsbryna species allows a better understanding of the geographic and microhabitat distribution of the genus.
Southeastern Naturalist, 2005
Iguana iguana is a well-established introduced species in southern Florida, including a large pop... more Iguana iguana is a well-established introduced species in southern Florida, including a large population on Key Biscayne. In its native range, I. iguana is known to be almost strictly herbivorous. Juveniles are often reported to be somewhat omnivorous, but prey items are rarely identified. The tree snail Drymaeus multilineatus is common in southern Florida, where it is found on stems and leaves and in edificarian habitats. The examination of I. iguana stomachs from Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, resulted in the discovery of D. multilineatus in two lizards, including 12 snails in one juvenile I. iguana. The large and rapidly growing I. iguana populations in southern Florida may have the potential to devastate some highly localized native species of tree snails.
American Malacological Bulletin, 2014
ABSTRACT
Archiv für Molluskenkunde International Journal of Malacology, 2010
ABSTRACT
Uploads
Papers by John Slapcinsky