World Congress of Malacology Antwerp ... - Unitas Malacologica

coastal lagoons, estuaries, coral reefs and rocky shores with algae. As in the majority of
cephalaspidean gastropods, systematic work has been based mostly on shells, which in Haminoea are
all exceedingly similar between species: small (average length 10 mm), bubble-shaped, brownish,
fragile, translucent and smooth. This led to a confused taxonomy and an unknown number of valid
species. Forty-six species names are available in the entire Atlantic and eastern Pacific (eastern
Atlantic: 20; western Atlantic: 15; eastern Pacific: 11), but modern accounts of molluscan diversity
for these regions typically recognize no more than 13 valid native species. An example of the
taxonomic problems surrounding the genus is the widespread use of the name H. elegans to refer to
specimens from the tropical Caribbean. The assignment of this name to one of the Caribbean species
is a common practice among authors, although this name was introduced by Gray in 1825 to
designate specimens from the southern British Isles and is likely a synonym of H. navicula da Costa,
1778, a species restricted to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Several authors have shown
that characters of the radula, gizzard plates and male genital system are useful to differentiate species;
shell shape and microsculpture can also be helpful to distinguish between groups of species, but for
example the complex female reproductive glands have hardly been investigated. Here, we present a
preliminary account of the genus across three biogeographical regions: the eastern and western
Atlantic and eastern Pacific, and will discuss distributions, diversity and the value of systematic
characters.
Life cycles of the Polish clausiliids – knowns and unknowns
Maltz, Tomasz K. 1 ; Sulikowska-Drozd, Anna 2
1. Museum of Natural History, Wrocław University, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland,
Email: tomaltz@biol.uni.wroc.pl
2. Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-
237 Łódź, Poland,
Email: sulik@biol.uni.lodz.pl
Out of 177 terrestrial gastropods recorded from Poland, life cycles are completely known in 13 (7%)
cases; only some life cycle parameters are known in 32 (18%) cases, most often based on field
observations. Out of the 24 clausiliid species, literature data, often fragmentary, pertain to 13 species
(54%): Ruthenica filograna, Macrogastra plicatula, M. ventricosa, Clausilia bidentata, C. dubia and
Laciniaria plicata (fragmentary data from laboratory observations), Balea perversa, Cochlodina
laminata, Charpentieria ornata, Alinda biplicata, Vestia gulo and Bulgarica cana (life cycles partly
known based on field and laboratory observations) and Vestia elata (complete data from field
observations). Reproductive biology is not known in detail in any representative of the family
occurring in Poland. Out of 13 endangered (Red List) and five legally protected clausiliids, four have
been studied partly or fragmentarily: Vestia elata, Balea perversa, Vestia gulo and Charpentieria
ornata.
Cell and tissue-level biomarkers in slugs (Arion ater) are reliable tools for health assessment in
soil ecosystems
Marigómez, Ionan; Castilla, Ane M.; Zaldibar, Beñat; Angulo, Eduardo; Soto, Manu
Cell Biol in Env Toxicol Res Grp, Cell Biol & Histol LaB, Zool & Cell Biol Dept, School of Sci &
Technol, Univ of the Basque Country, POBOX 644, E-48080, Bilbo, Basque Country,
Email: ionan.marigomez@ehu.es
Slugs are useful sentinels (“Slug-watch) in soil health assessment. At present, diverse (exposure and
biological effect) biomarkers measured at molecular, cellular and tissue levels provide useful
information to diagnose environmental distress due to chemical pollution. Laboratory experiments
have demonstrated that slugs respond to chemical insult in a measurable manner (biomarkers) after
exposure to model metals and organic chemical compounds but also after exposure to complex
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