Overlooked predatory snails from Papua New Guinea: nine new Torresiropa Solem, 1959 (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Rhytididae)

Abstract

New Guinea is a biodiversity hotspot that is not well sampled for many invertebrate groups including terrestrial snails. Surveys across Papua New Guinea, as well as searches of museum collections, uncovered 9 new species of predatory land snails in the genus Torresiropa Solem, 1959: T. aurilineata sp. nov., T. cresswellorum sp. nov., T. krausi sp. nov., T. muyuaensis sp. nov., T. nusaensis sp. nov., T. oreas sp. nov., T. paterivolans sp. nov., T. pinsina sp. nov., and T. worsfoldi sp. nov. We redescribe the type species T. spaldingi (Brazier, 1876), move Rhytida bednalli Ponsonby, 1907 to Torresiropa, and elevate T. acutecarinata mussauensis (Rensch, 1937) to species level. Most Torresiropa are uncommon and are found on single islands or mountain ranges. Papua New Guinea faces increasing anthropogenic changes to its tropical forests that are likely to negatively impact ecologically sensitive terrestrial snails. Sampling is necessary to document vulnerable snail species and their geographic ranges before habitat modifications result in the need for conservation actions.