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Ashmunella cockerelli argenticola H. A. Pilsbry and J. H. Ferriss, 1917. Proceedings oftheAcademy ofNatural Sciences of Philadelphia, 69.91, Pl. 7, Fig. 5. T.L.: Silver C r e e k C a n y o n just b e l o w the " B o x " w h e r e the trail m a k e s a detour on the steep northern slopes between 8,000 and 8,500 ft, southwestern Black Range, Grant Co., N e w Mexico.
Ashmunella cockerelliperobtusa H. A. Pilsbry and J.H.
Ferriss, 1917. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia, 69.91, Pl. 7, Fig. 7, 7a; Pl. 10,
F i g . 4 . T . L . : a b o u t 2 m i l e s e a s t o f t h e trail f r o m S a w y e r
Peak to Grand Central Mine and at a somewhat higher
level than the mine, southeastern Black Range, Grant Co., New Mexico.
We havelistedthethreesubspeciesofA.cockerelliasthey weresetforthoriginallybyPilsbryandFerrissintheirpaperof 1917. No work has been done subsequently to clarify the taxonomic status of the subspecies. It is clear that there is variation a m o n g populations of this species, but whether it is
great enough, and shows a pattern with sufficient geographic consistency, to warrant the retention of subspecific partitioning is not clear to us at this time. A basic problem involving calciphile snails of the Black Range arises from the fact that limestone outcrops are discontinuous, and this leads to insularity ofpopulations.Thus,theremightwellbeotherfairlydistinctive variantsoftheA.cockerellicomplexon"limestoneislands"not yet collected or analyzed. The same problem prevails with the Oreohelix metcalfei complex, discussed hereafter.
DistributionandHabitat--InMay 1987,wecollectedA.
c. cockerelli at several places around Royal John Mine, which
we supposetobetheGrand CentralMine ofPilsbryandFerriss
( 1 9 1 7 ) . W e f o u n d f l o u r i s h i n g c o l o n i e s o f A . c. a r g e n t i c o l a a l o n g
F o r e s t R o a d 5 2 3 w h e r e it c r o s s e s S i l v e r C r e e k C a n y o n , a n d a b i t farther north where it crosses and terminates near Rustler's
Canyon--a northern tributary of Silver Creek Canyon.
T h e h a b i t a t o f A . c. c o c k e r e l l i a r o u n d t h e R o y a l J o h n M i n e
isopenwoodland,vergingonsemiarid.We foundsnailsliving
in limestone talus in sheltered, undisturbed areas. T h e habitat in
w h i c h w e c o l l e c t e d A . c. a r g e n t i c o l a w a s h i g h e r i n e l e v a t i o n a n d
more mesic. Here, along the scenic head canyons of the Silver
Creeksystem,theforestencroachescloselyontothecanyon floors. There is a rich mixture of leaf litter amidst loose
limestone rocks, which, when overturned, revealed an abundance of land snails.
W e did not attempt to locate the type locality of A. c. perobtusa because Pilsbry and Ferriss were uncertain of its e x a c t l o c a t i o n , n o t i n g ( 1 9 1 7 : 9 1 ) t h a t ". . . o n e o f t h e a u t h o r s w a s
l o s t w h e n h e f o u n d t h i s c o l o n y . . . ."
I n s u m m a r y , it a p p e a r s t h a t m e m b e r s o f t h e A . c o c k e r e l l i
complex still occur widely in the southern part of the Black Range.
A s h m u n e l l a b i n n e y i H . A . P i l s b r y a n d J. H . F e r r i s s , 1 9 1 7 . Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 69.91, Pl. 7, Fig. 8; Pl. 10, Fig. 5. T.L.: in upper Silver Creek Canyon above the "Box" at ca. 8,500-ft elevation, southwestern Black Range, Grant Co., N e w
Mexico. (Silver Creek woodlandsnail)
Ashmunella mendax H. A. Pilsbry and J. H. Ferriss, 1917.ProceedingsoftheAcademy ofNaturalSciencesof Philadelphia, 69.92, Pl. 7, Figs. 6-6b; Pl.10, Fig. 1. T.L.:
southsideofIronCreek,abovethemouth ofSpring Creek, southwestern part of the Black Range, Grant Co., N e w Mexico. (Iron Creek woodlandsnail)
Shells of A. binneyi and A. mendax are similar in their
elevated, edentulous morphology. The two taxa are probably
closely related and possibly conspecific. In view of these
affinities, here they are treated together. They are retained as
separate species only on the basis of Pilsbry's (1940:945) report
ofdifferencesingenitalanatomybetweenthetwospecies. Distribution and Habitat--Our collections confirm
Pilsbry's observation (1940:946) that A. mendax was widespreadintheBlackRange,whereasA. binneyiwasmuch more localized.Ashmunella mendax appearstotoleratelower elevations,even occurring along wooded canyons down intothe U p p e r Sonoran-Transition Z o n e boundary. Pilsbry took it at ca. 6,250ft in a garden in the village of Kingston and w e have seen itliving at slightly lower elevations, to the east. Italso extends downto atleast6,680ft along Gallinas Canyon on the west side of the range. Although a "canyon snail" at lower elevations, itis more widespread in the forested zone of higher elevations. Pilsbry (1940:946) wrote, "This snail has a remarkable range, fromabout5500toover9000feet."Asinthecaseofseveral
wide-ranging species already discussed, shell size varies in relation to elevation and probably to other environmental factors. Thus,shellsofthemorehumid,higherforestsarelargerthan those from the lower more xeric canyons.
Ashmunella binneyi, as understood by Pilsbry (1940:945), w a s a l o c a l e n d e m i c f o u n d o n l y o n t h e w e s t s i d e o f t h e B l a c k Range along a 2-mile, north-south distance at8,000–8,500 ftin the upper ends of Silver, Bull Top, and Spring Creek Canyons. Spring Creek is a tributary of Iron Creek, along which is the type l o c a l i t y o f A . m e n d a x . It w o u l d b e u s e f u l t o s t u d y t h i s a r e a t o s e e if there is intergradation or hybridization between the two species.We didnotfindeitherspeciesinlowermostSpring Creek Canyon, although A. binneyi occurs higher up in the canyon. Perhaps there is a real (although narrow) distributional hiatusbetweenthetwotaxainthatarea.
Ashmunella mogollonensis H. A. Pilsbry, 1905 (as a subspecies of A. chiricahuana). Proceedings of the AcademyofSciencesofPhiladelphia, 57:252,Pl.16,Fig. 102. T.L.: Whitewater Creek Canyon about 1-1/2 miles due east of Mogollon Peak, 9,000-ft elevation, Mogollon Mountains,CatronCo.,NewMexico.Onrecentmaps,a W h i t e C r e e k is s h o w n d r a i n i n g e a s t w a r d f r o m M o g o l l o n Baldy Peak and into the West Fork Gila River. Presumably, the T.L. was along this creek, which would be at an elevation of ca. 8,800 ft, at 1% miles east of Mogollon Baldy. (Mogollon woodlandsnail).
Distribution and Habitat--This species occurs around all the higher, central mountains of the Mogollon massif and is common in the upper canyons of the Gila River system. It