316 THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST Vol. 114

The Land Snail Cryptomastix germana (: ) in the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia: A Range Extension North from Vancouver Island

ROBERT G. FORSYTH

2574 Graham Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8T 3Y7, Canada

Forsyth. Robert G. 2000. The land snail Cryptomastix germana (Gastropoda: Polygyridae) in the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia: a range extension north from Vancouver Island. Canadian Field-Naturalist 114(2): 316-317. The coastal land snail Cryptomastix germana, not previously known to occur north of Vancouver Island, is reported from the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Key Words: Cryptomastix germana, Polygyridae, terrestrial gastropods, range extension, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia

Cryptomastix germana (Gould in W. G. Binney, lished records from Bamfield, Menzies Bay, Elk 1851), the Pygmy Oregonian, is a small polygyrid Falls, Home Lake (all Cameron 1986), Cameron land snail inhabiting the coastal regions and lowland Lake (Pilsbry and Cooke 1922; Pilsbry 1940; valleys from Coos Bay, Oregon, to British Columbia Cameron 1986), Sproat Lake (Cameron 1986), (Pilsbry 1940; Vagvolgyi 1966) which has been vari- Cowichan River (Hanham 1914 ), Goldstream ously treated taxonomically. Pilsbry (1940) made Provincial Park (Branson 1980), south of Union distinctions between northern and southern popula- (Pilsbry 1940), and near Victoria (Pilsbry 1940). The tions of Triodopsis (Cryptomastix) germana (Webb most northern of these localities is Menzies Bay on [ 1954] later elevated Cryptomastix to full generic Vancouver Island (circa 50°07'N, l25°23'W). rank) and applied the subspecific name T. germana Cryptomastix germana is here reported from the vancouverinsulae (Pilsbry and Cooke, 1922) for Queen Charlotte Islands for the first time. Its pres- populations north of the Columbia River. The pre- ence there is based on a specimen collected on 8 sumed differences between T. germana vancouverin- May 1995 at Moresby Camp on Moresby Island sulae and the nominal subspecies were said to inter- (circa 53°03'N, 132°02'W). This record represents a grade (Vagvolgyi 1966; Branson 1977), contrary to significant range extension north from the previous the opinion of Pilsbry (1940), and Vagvolgyi treated northernmost locality on Vancouver Island, a dis- T. germana vancouverinsulae as a synonym. C. ger- tance of approximately 560 km (on a bearing of mana is the type and presently only known species 287°). It was collected with Vespericola columbi- in the genus-level taxon Micranepsia Pilsbry, 1940 anus (I. Lea, 1838), Northwest Hesperian; Haplo- (described as a "section" of Cryptomastix and trema vancouverense (I. Lea, 1839), Robust Lance- recently raised subgeneric status [Emberton 1995]). tooth; and Ancotrema sportella (Gou1d, 1846), Some dissections of British Columbia and Beaded Lancetooth, from under a fallen log in a Washington material done in the 1970s have within wooded area around Moresby Camp. This locality, them variation in the genitalia that has not been thor- an abandoned logging camp now used as a forest oughly investigated (F. W. Grimm, personal commu- service camp site and landing, has been extensively nication). disturbed by human activities and is dominated by On the southwest coast of British Columbia, C. deciduous trees and young conifers. Red Alder germana is a widespread species of moderate abun- (Alnus rubra) is abundant. dance in deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous The possibility that C. germana is introduced into woods where it lives under logs and in leaf litter. the Mores by Camp appears very unlikely, since C. During wet weather this snail has also been collected germana was sympatric with other native coastal high off the ground on fronds of the Sword Fern land snails, none of which show a propensity to be (Polystichum munitum). Cameron (1986) found that introduced. The presence of these species at C. germana showed a strong association with damp Mores by Camp suggests that they are capable of sur- conditions. viving in or recolonising sites substantially modified On the mainland of British Columbia, Crypto- by logging activities. mastix germana has previously been reported from The specimen, which is fully adult with a well- the valley of the Chilliwack River (Whiteaves 1902; developed apertural denticle and flared outer lip, Cameron 1986), Popkum (Cameron 1986), measures 4.4 mm in height by 6.8 mm in width University of British Columbia Endowment Lands (exclusive of the lip). There are approximately 4¾ (Cameron 1986), and Stanley Park, Vancouver whorls, counted by the method of Kerney and (Pi1sbry 1940). On Vancouver Island, there are pub- Cameron (1979). The periostracal hairs are largely 2000 NOTES 317 worn off, which has not been found to be the usual Cameron, R. A. D. 1986. Environment and diversities of condition in other British Columbia material studied. forest snail fauna from coastal British Columbia. The specimen is preserved as a dry shell only and is Malacologia 27: 341-355. deposited in the Royal British Columbia Museum Emberton, K. C. 1995. When shells do not tell: 145 mil- (Victoria) (999-00069-00 1). lion years of evolution in North America's polygyrid land snails, with a revision and conservation priorities. The Queen Charlotte Island record is significant Malacologia 37: 69-110. since it extends the known distribution of the species Hanham, A. W. 1914. Notes on mollusks from British north from Vancouver Island, thus adding a consid- Columbia. Nautilus 28: 87-88. erable distance to the north-south range of this Kerney, M. P., and R. A. D. Cameron. 1979. A field species. Moreover, the Queen Charlotte Island guide to the land snails of Britain and North-West record suggests that Cryptomastix germana probably Europe. Collins, London. 228 pages. occurs elsewhere along the northern coast of British Pilsbry, H. A. 1940. Land of North America Columbia, a region of difficult access that requires (north of Mexico). The Academy of Natural Sciences of further investigation. Philadephia, Monograph 3, 1(2): 575-994, i-ix. Pilsbry, H. A., and C. M. Cooke. 1922. Land shells of Vancouver Island. Nautilus 36: 37-38. Acknowledgments Vagvolgyi, J. 1968. Systematics and evolution of the Tammy Forsyth helped collect the specimen genus Triodopsis (Mollusca: : Polygryidae). reported upon here. Wayne Grimrn (Clayton, Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ontario) and an anonymous reviewer made valuable Bulletin 136: 145-254, 7 plates. comments on the manuscript. Webb, G. R. 1954. The life-history and sexual anatomy data on Ashmune/la with a revision of the triodopsin Literature Cited snails. Gastropodia 1: 13-18. Branson, B. A. 1977. Freshwater and terrestrial Mollusca Whiteaves, J. F. 1902. Notes on some fresh-water and of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Veliger 19 : land shells from Keewatin, Northern Ontario and British 310-330. Columbia. Ottawa Naturalist 16: 91-93. Branson, B. A. 1980. Collections of gastropods from the Cascade Mountains of Washington. Veliger 23 : Received 19 April 1999 171-176. Accepted 22 October 1999