28 



spermatheca (S) (Fig. 17) frequently is apically attenuated 

 because thin fibers firmly attach it 4-5 mm below the 

 AVD/FO junction. That junction, in turn, is held tightly 

 together on the right internal body wall by fibres from the 

 transverse myoseptum. Any contraction or extension thus 

 provides maximum pull in this part of the body. As a result, 

 under certain conditions, the S apex and SD may become 

 inordinately elongate or nearly disappear into a huge saccu- 

 late S. Severe contraction of the viscera may even produce 

 the artifact of a tandem bilobed S. The only important 

 character of the S is its consistent position below the 

 AVD/FO junction. The FO, though shorter than the AVD, is 

 conspicuously long, nearly uniformly wide, and approxi- 

 mately twice as wide as the AVD. Although there are thin 

 facia binding together V, SD, S, FO and AVD, there is no 

 formation of a vaginal rententor per se. 



Two specimens were gravid. One from Chinyama, Malawi 

 (HM) was collected in February 1983 (mid-rainy season) and 

 had 56 light yellow, moderately large eggs averaging 

 6.3 x 5.2 mm. The other, from Lake Rukwa, Tanzania 

 (BMNH), was collected in 1938 (month not indicated) and 

 had 51 similar eggs measuring 7 x 5.5-6.5 mm. The eggs, 

 without discernible embryos, were closely embraced by uter- 

 ine tissue folds as depicted by Mead (1950, fig. 48) for 

 Achatina fulica Bowdich, 1822. 



All specimens dissected showed a remarkably gross devel- 

 opment of a trimerous hermaphroditic duct system (Fig. 19). 

 Basally, there is a 10 mm characteristically deeply convoluted 

 portion just distal to the talon. Next, there is a 3 x 2 mm 

 discreet, compacted saccular portion that appears to be 

 glandular. And finally, there is a 6 mm slender, weakly 

 convoluted portion that quickly forms a series of five larger, 

 tightly convoluted ductules leading to the five gonadal acini 

 buried in the right lobe of the digestive gland. The talon is 

 elongate, capitate and diminutive (1.5 x 0.5 mm). The sper- 

 moviduct is characteristic of the family. 



The following anatomical characters distinguish this species 

 from B. graueri: basal genital fascia diaphanous; AVD about 

 twice the width of BVD and half the width of FO; P slender, 

 much longer than wide, normally projecting slightly above 

 PS; BVD slender, much longer than wide. 



Type material. For over a century, Bourguignat's (1889) 

 Serpaea pintoi has been an engima to conchologists. The 

 principal contributing factor has been the artist's rendering an 

 excessively bold, wide, broadly truncated columella. A sec- 

 ond factor is that the exceedingly thin, fragile shell of the only 

 know specimen unfortunately had become broken sometime 

 since it was drawn. The several pieces, including a figure '4' 

 label, had been placed in a separate vial. This specimen (Figs. 

 41, 42; Table 8) is in Paris (MNHN) and is here considered to 

 be the holotype by monotypy (Code Art. 73(a)(ii); 74(b). Its 

 conchological features and the type locality in eastern Tanza- 

 nia support the conviction that this is conspecific with Smith's 

 junior subjective synonym Achatina fragilis (1899). Pilsbry 

 (1904:1, 21, 63) placed Serpaea in the synonymy of Achatina, 

 indicated (1909:113) that Smith's name was a primary hom- 

 onym of Deshayes' fossil species (1864), proposed the 

 replacement name Achatina nyikaensis, reproduced Smith's 

 figures [fig. 26 is way too intensely coloured], and perspica- 

 ciously placed Bourguignat's species and Smith's species 

 seriatim under Achatina in his Manual. 



Smith's syntype lot of seven specimens from Nyika Plateau, 

 Malawi, unfortunately contains a single specimen of Achatina 



A.R. MEAD 

 Table 8 B. pintoi - Representative shells measurements. 







Greates 



t Apert 



are 



Last 



/o 







Whorls 



Length 



Width 



Length Width whorl LW/L 



. % 



W/L 



6V2 



74.6 



42.8 



47.6 



26.1 



62.5 



84 



57 



Nyika 

 Plateau 

 (BMNH) 

 Lect A. 

 fragilis* 



6>A 



74.4 



42.0 



46.3 



24.6 



61.4 



82 



56 



Macequese 

 (SAM) 



6 



66.8 



40.6 



46.9 



24.0 



58.0 



87 



61 



Nyam- 

 badwe 



(Nor 



6V4 



62.2 



32.7 



38.3 



19.5 



50.6 



81 



52 



Utengule 

 (ZMB) 

 Holo C. 

 thielei * 



6 



56.2 



37.8 



38.0 



21.3 



47.9 



85 



67 



Bulawayo 

 (RMS) 



6 



56.0 



33.0 



35.5 



19.6 



46.5 



83 



59 



Utengule 

 (BMNH)* 

 Mac 

 Andrew 



(1563) 



6 



53.3 



27.2 



33.0 



16.7 



43.5 



82 



51 



Chirinda 



(BMNH)* 



1907.7. 



25.3 



6 



50.1 



32.6 



33.0 



19.8 



42.4 



85 



65 



Mamboya 

 (BMNH)* 

 1885.5. 



25.47 



6 



49.7 



33.6 



31.8 



19.5 



43.2 



87 



68 



Ngrengre 

 (MNHN) 

 Holo S. 

 pintoi* 



6'/4 



49.3 



27.2 



28.3 



15.0 



38.5 



78 



55 



Tanzania 



(NHMW)' 



5% 



49.3 



33.7 



34.9 



19.3 



42.7 



87 



68 



Pemba 

 (SAM) 



5% 



43.7 



29.0 



29.0 



17.8 



37.2 



85 



66 



Usagara 

 (BMNH) 



Total specimens examined: 92. Sources: BMNH. FMNH, HM. 1RSN. LNK. 

 MCZ, MNHN. MRAC, NG. NHMW. NM, NMW. RMNH. SAM. SMF. 

 UMMZ, ZMB. 



craveni Smith, 1881. Since Smith, as its author, was thor- 

 oughly familiar with this latter species, since he did not 

 designate the number of syntypes, and since he separately 

 discussed (p. 35) and figured (figs. 1-4) specimens of both 

 this species (BMNH no.97. 12.31. 1-7) and A fragilis (BMNH 

 no. 97. 12.31.8-14) in his 1899 paper, it is here safely assumed 

 that the division between the two adjacent accessioned speci- 

 men lots was an inadvertent curatorial error, with no nomen- 

 clatural implications for the misplaced specimen. The 

 unicolorous, largest and finest specimen (BMNH 

 no. 97. 12. 31. 9) of the six syntypes (Smith's fig. 3, Pilsbry's fig. 

 25), here shown in Figs. 43, 44 bears a handwritten note, 

 'Lectotype "3" A.C. van Bruggen, May 1974'. This selection 

 is here endorsed. Other known and examined paralectotypes 

 are single specimens in Berlin (ZMB no. 101934) and Vienna 

 (NHMW/R). 



Ancey (1902) described and illustrated a specimen which 

 he labelled "Achatina . . . sp. nov. ' from Ugogo (5° 4' S, 34° 

 4' E). Ancey's collection was distributed widely by Geret and 

 this specimen so far has not been located. However, the very 



