Tag Archives: Yukon

A dark Novisuccinea

North Fork Pass, Yukon.

Most large succineid snails belonging to the genus Novisuccinea in the Yukon have a pinkish sole and relatively pale bodies, but along the Demster Highway, from the North Fork Pass (and apparently north), snails are very dark-bodied and a dark slate-grey-blackish sole. The change from pinkish to dark soles is surprizingly abrupt, apparently at this pass, as I stumbled upon one summer at the Yukon Bioblitz. The pass is the divide between the Yukon river drainage in the south, which flows north and west to the Bering Sea, and the Mackenzie river drainage, which flows north to the Arctic. It seems likely that these two colour forms represent separate species. But, this brings into question what names should apply to the pink and dark animals. My assumption was that the pink-soled Novisuccinea is N. strigata, but that may not be the case . . .

Pupilla hebes

Crestless Column

Pupilla hebes

Pupilla hebes. Vicinity of Isaac Lakes, Ruby Range, southern Yukon (Forsyth collection no. 11.007.3920); height of shell: 2.9 mm.

Across much of northern Canada, from the Yukon and northern British Columbia, east through the Northwest Territories to northern Ontario, there is a Pupilla sp. quite unlike Pupilla muscorum of southern Ontario, Quebec, and elsewhere. I’ve provisionally used the name P. hebes for these. Compare with a specimen of Pupilla muscorum in an earlier post.

Update. “Pupilla hebes” was used for this and similar materials that didn’t really match Pupilla muscorum. Recently, P. alaskensis was described from (where else) Alaska; the specimen photographed is this species.