SPRING NEWSLETTER 2013 Green Hairy Snail CISFBR AGM Much rarer than we thought – but thanks to March 2 2013 taxonomy on this occasion! Chairman’s Report There is a very interesting paper in the latest Journal Although the Committee did not hold of Conchology (Nov as many meetings in 2012 as usual, it 2012), by none other than proved to be a productive year. David and Geri Holyoak, Colin French, besides progressing from their new home in ERICA, had been in contact with Portugal. David Holyoak and has now put David’s Bryophyte records on the Green Hairy Snail is a CISFBR website. There was the hope speciality of the Cornish that eventually it may be possible coast, living in the to print a paper version if funding maritime therophyte zone can be found. Colin also applied on on the high brows of sea behalf of CISFBR for funding from cliffs and in adjoining OPAL to buy a robust (ruggedized) maritime grassland, even tablet computer to take into the field extending onto humid (see page 12 for it in action). This will heath vegetation further Ponentina subvirescens Image Courtesy of Animalbase be available for use at field meetings inland in places. We have http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de and similar events. long regarded it as an Atlantic fringe species, ranging from Britain down to North Africa. Amendments to the Recorder’s Handbook were ongoing; it was But now it seems that more than one species is involved – luckily ours retain hoped to get authors to update their the scientific name Ponentina subvirescens as the species was described ‘new sections. In some cases an alternative to science’ from the county, from near Mevagissey in 1839. P. subvirescens is expert may be needed to take over now only known from Cornwall & The Isles of Scilly, Devon, Pembrokeshire a group if the former author was and one confirmed inland site in north-western France, so the Cornish unable to help. Ian (CISFBR secretary) population has gone from globally interesting to globally rare! & Sue Scott (ERCCIS) were working on this. GB now has the prime international responsibility for this species. It does Perhaps the most notable event of seem likely that it will prove to be more widespread in NW France, although the year was the publication, after P. revelata the new may be the more widespread of the two in the area. a long gestation, of the Fern Atlas Although the precise Type locality is not known, it does still occur in the for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Mevagissey area as I found it at Pabyer Point in 1995. in December. The sterling work by Ian Bennallick and the design skills Keith Alexander of Glynn Bennallick have produced a good-looking and excellent book which we hope will be well received. CISFBR SPRING NEWSLETTER 2013 page 1 It was suggested the theme for the next meeting with the AGM in 2013 could be concerned with recording, The Australian Flatworm validation, voucher specimen etc. My primary interest is in freshwater biology which makes me familiar with There had been discussion about freshwater flatworms; Platyhelminthes in the Class Turbellaria, primarily the recent fashion to run BioBlitz Polycelis felina and P. tenuis. events. Although it was felt these had My favourite magazine is British Wildlife so, when I was given some back merit and were ideal for involving numbers, I turned to an article on Land Flatworms with more than a little the community they often failed interest. The article described quite a number of distinctive species (Jones to produce useful information or 2003) which spurred me to investigate the potential of my garden by turning records. CISFBR could give advice on over stones and logs. making BioBlitz events more useful? Almost immediately I found three examples of Austroloplana sanguinea, the It could also be useful to liaise with Australian Flatworm. When he wrote the article, Hugh Jones was seeking other recording groups who may be specimens or good quality photographs from anywhere in the UK. I emailed unaware of the existence of CISFBR him with a photograph (reproduced here) to which he replied almost and have started their own schemes. immediately with the determination and confirmation of species. I have We were sorry that Malcolm Lee has since seen similar specimens almost as often as I turn over a particular log in had to stand down as editor of the my garden and have regularly seen up to three examples of various sizes all Newsletter. We would like to thank through this winter. him and say how much his work was Of course the sightings are reported and will no doubt feature on the NBN appreciated. maps in my kilometre square. A sanguinea grows up to 8cm in length, when extended, and is distinctively Bernard Hocking organised a field orange in colour. It is an introduced species which is gradually colonising the day on his farm, which was greatly South West, and for some reason, Southport! enjoyed despite the poor weather. Rosemary Parslow (CISFBR Chair) Alan Rowland Reference - Jones H.D. 2003. Identification: British land flatworms. British Wildlife 16: 189-194 Austroloplana sanguinea Photo: Alan Rowland CISFBR SPRING NEWSLETTER 2013 page 2 ALIEN FUNGAL SPECIES FOUND ON THE ENYS ESTATE I had a sense this year that the forays of our small recording group here in Cornwall were never in the right place on the right day. I frequently heard ‘you should have been at such and such place last week, it was bursting with fungi’, there was a definite lack of the larger species at our foray sites. However in lean years hunting carefully for even the tiniest Favolaschia calocera ‘Orange Pore fungus’, Photo: Yvonne Barlow of fungi can have its compensations, as we discovered! In a valley above the lakes as we DNA analysis of this species found One particular foray certainly looked in the leaf litter for Mycena near the port of Genoa in Italy demonstrated this point, this took capillaris on fallen beech leaves I revealed it was identical to the place in November on the ancient came across a small section of rotting species in New Zealand and is estate near Falmouth called Enys, beech branch scattered with tiny, thought to have arrived on imported the family name of the owners since bright orangey yellow caps with small wood, it has now spread to the 1272. eccentric stipes. Closer examination surrounding area. We can only showed a hymenial surface of very speculate as to how Favolaschia The estate consists of several large pores, decreasing in size from calocera has arrived in Cornwall hundred acres of farmland and the stipe base to the edge of the but Enys is not far from the port of woodland, with an extensive cap, in the same bright colour. Cap Falmouth and the garden contains ornamental garden surrounding the width was generally 2-5mm. None a large number of plants from New house. The garden was particularly of us had any idea what it could be. Zealand. developed in the nineteenth century Closer examination at home showed We left the branch with the by Francis Enys. His two brothers a ‘crystalline’ hymenial surface. The remaining caps where it was found were living in New Zealand at the cheilocystidia were clavate with a and have since found a few similar time and sent home many plants very narrowed stalk like base, the top pieces in close proximity. We shall and seeds from the islands, leading being covered in fine diverticulae. No survey the surrounding woodland to the planting of a ‘New Zealand’ spores were seen. garden. The garden and house fell to see if it is spreading in future into disrepair during the last century. After two days of trying to identify seasons. this distinctive little fungus both Paul Happily the most recent family I would like to thank the owners Mrs Gainey and myself drew a blank. members to inherit have created Fowler and Mr Rogers and Dannielle Paul sent a sample to Dr Martyn a trust to save and maintain these Dixon (head gardener) for allowing Ainsworth at Kew who was able to beautiful gardens; they are now open us to record at Enys and Dr Martyn identify it as Favolaschia calocera to the public from May to September. Ainsworth for his assistance with the ‘Orange Pore fungus’, remarkably identification. The garden lawns provided a nice in the same family as Mycena and display of Waxcaps and Spindles. Panellus. This species is native to Reference Around the lake several clumps of Madagascar and south eastern Asia Ramaria stricta were found beneath Vizzini A, Zotti M., & Mello A. 2007. from where it has spread across the Alien fungal species distribution: the one of the limes. Pacific to Australia and New Zealand. case study of Favolaschia calocera. It is saprotrophic and polyphagic, A decaying conifer stump produced Biol. Invasions (2009) 11:417-429 one small, orangey brown cap in New Zealand it is considered a of Gymnopilus bellulus a new ‘fungal weed’, spreading rapidly and species for the county, thanks go to displacing the indigenous fungal Pauline Penna Michael Jordan for confirming that species. There are also a cluster of (Cornwall Fungus Recording Group) identification. records from Italy. CISFBR SPRING NEWSLETTER 2013 page 3 Calma gobioophaga Calado & Urgorri, 2002 - a new UK record Thursday 14th March started out as any other day, but a visit by a local naturalist and a need to go shopping meant that my partner and I missed the low tide in Penzance and we had to change our plans at the last minute.