semi-slug; semi-limace; vitrinobrachium; breve; Eucobresia diaphana; vitrinobrachium breve; halo effect; museum collection; biogeography; Dautzenberg; Paul Dupuis; Léon Fredericq; SSHF; Malmedy; Nouvelle Belgique; Vitrinidae; Vitrinids; William Adam; Engelen; Belgium; Wallonie
Abstract :
[en] Recently, the first sightings of the semi-slug Vitrinobrachium breve have been reported in Belgium. However, this species was probably already present in the east of the country a century ago. We present a historical investigation starting from an illustration in a book by W. Adam on Belgian land molluscs published in 1960. The depicted shell was presented as that of the semi-slug Eucobresia diaphana (Draparnaud, 1805) and was collected in 1923 in Malmedy. We show it most certainly belongs to V. breve. We also discuss the halo-effect hypothesis of an authoritative work in long-term identification errors and the historical biogeographic implications for these two species.
Disciplines :
Zoology
Author, co-author :
Delcourt, Johann ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Biologie du comportement - Ethologie et psychologie animale