PUBLICATION UPDATE 2: DISCOVERY OF TWO NEW LAND SNAIL TAXA ONCE AGAIN UNDERSCORE HOW LITTLE WE KNOW ABOUT MALAYSIAN RAIN FORESTS

10 November 2016

In an age where human activities are the main drivers of environmental change and biodiversity loss globally and in Malaysia, it is always heartening to find new taxa lest they become extinct before we even know they exist! 

Four years ago, Rimba announced the discovery of an entirely new snail genus and species Kenyirus sodhii from Terengganu. Since then, lots more new land snail species have been discovered in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia. Today, I present another two new finds – a new species and a new subspecies, both of which tell us something about Malaysia’s dwindling forests.

First, I described the new subspecies Myxostoma petiverianum tenggolensis from Pulau Tenggol, Terengganu (paper here). Notably, this discovery represents the first record of the genus Myxostoma in Peninsular Malaysia, 500 km south of its previously known range in southern Vietnam and Cambodia. You might recall a similar case years ago – the discovery of Pearsonia tembatensis in Terengganu, which was also a first record of the genus Pearsonia in Peninsular Malaysia. These significant finds are not surprising because Terengganu was totally neglected by malacologists in the past. A new wave of research since the 2000s has increasingly shown Terengganu to be a place of fascinating taxonomic discoveries!

Holotype of Myxostoma petiverianum tenggolensis Foon, 2016. Photograph by Junn Kitt Foon.

Pulau Tenggol, Terengganu – The type locality of Myxostoma petiverianum tenggolensis Foon, 2016. Photograph by J.K. Foon.

Meanwhile on the other side of the peninsula, the verdant limestone hill temples of Ipoh have been receiving a steady stream of malacologists (and no doubt, tourists) since the 1880s. Thus, the limestone karst molluscs of Ipoh are probably the most researched in Malaysia, in stark contrast to Terengganu. Yet, the discovery of new species continues unabated. In 2009, Reuben and his colleagues discovered the headline-grabbing new species Opisthostoma vermiculum and Opisthostoma gittenbergeri. And now, my colleague, Mohammad Effendi bin Marzuki and me present yet another new species Arinia (Notharinia) micro from Gunung Rapat (paper here). This new species measures a mere 0.85 mm in height and 0.35 mm in width, making it among the tiniest snails in the world! 

Holotype of Arinia (Notharinia) micro Marzuki & Foon, 2016. Photograph by Junn Kitt Foon.

Kek Look Tong cave temple – Type locality of Arinia (Notharinia) micro Marzuki & Foon, 2016. Photograph by Junn Kitt Foon.

These two discoveries have once again shown that we should never underestimate the molluscan diversity of Malaysia’s forests even if there has been over 100 years of research. Discovering and describing these species are just first steps toward improving our understanding of Malaysia’s unique ecosystems and mitigating human impacts on them. Follow-up studies are required to find out if these species are threatened by habitat loss due to human activities. There’s a whole lot more to do in the jungles out there!

Featured publications:

JK Foon (2016) Myxostoma petiverianum tenggolensis (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Cyclophoridae), a new subspecies of land snail from Peninsular Malaysia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 64: 329-334. PDF

ME Marzuki, JK Foon (2016) A new land snail, Arinia (Notharinia) micro (Caenogastropoda: Cyclophoroidea: Diplommatinidae), from a limestone karst in Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 64: 313-318. PDF