A checklist of terrestrial molluscs ( Mollusca : Gastropoda ) from Sierra Bibijagua , Isla de la Juventud , Cuba

Sierra Bibijagua are marmoreal elevations located on northern Isla de la Juventud (Island of Youth), southwestern Cuba. Isla de la Juventud is the largest island (2,200 km2) of the Canarreos Archipelago, Greater Antilles. A checklist of terrestrial molluscs recorded from Sierra Bibijagua is presented, including the following information: synonymy, type locality, updated distribution, endemism, and photographs of shells and living individuals whenever possible. The checklist comprises 12 families and 16 genera currently known from the area, including six new records: Farcimen procer, Leidyula floridana, Liguus fasciatus, Subulina octona, Glandinella poeyana, and Bradybaena similaris.


INTRODUCTION
Cuba is considered the most diverse insular Caribbean region, with ca. 12,000 invertebrate species, with the most numerous group being insects, molluscs and arachnids (González et al. 2012). The Cuban Archipelago has a rich terrestrial molluscan fauna with over 1,390 living species, most of which are endemic (95%; Espinosa 2011). Cuban land snails are typically represented by three main groups: clade Neritimorpha (two families, 13 genera, 77 species), clade Caenogastropoda (four families, 39 genera, 399 species) and the informal group Pulmonata (clades Systellomorpha and Stylommatophora; 28 families, 106 genera, 914 species) (Espinosa 2011). Within the Cuban Archipelago, Isla de la Juventud is considered one of the most important areas of endemism: about 30% of the local terrestrial mollusc species are endemics to the island (Espinosa and Ortea 1999;Espinosa 2009). The purpose of this study is to survey the terrestrial gastropods from Sierra Bibijagua, Isla de la Juventud, because there are no previous records of research and/or scientific collecting of these invertebrates at this locality. BChecklist I www.biotaxa.org/cl

Study site
Isla de la Juventud, formerly known as Isle of Pines, is a 2,204 km 2 Caribbean island separated from southwestern Cuba by about 94 km of water (CNAP 2013). The island's greatest width north to south (between Punta Lindero and Punta del Guanal) is 54 km. The greatest distance east to west (between Seboruco Alto and Caleta de Lugo) is 58 km (Acevedo 1983). In the northern part of the island there are five marmoreal sierras that are the habitats of the majority of the endemic terrestrial molluscs (Figure 1). The names of these sierras are: Sierra de Caballos (295 m above sea level [a.s.l.]), Sierra de las Casas (261 m a.s.l), Sierra Chiquita (157 m a.s.l), Sierra Colombo (130 m a.s.l), and Sierra Bibijagua (93 m a.s.l). Additionally, in southern Isla de la Juventud is Ciénaga de Lanier, the third most important Ramsar wetland site in Cuba (Iturralde-Vinent 1988).

Data collection
During 2014-2015, terrestrial molluscs from Sierra Bibijagua (21º89'27.1" N, 082°73'63.1" W) were collected, studied, and recorded. The number of individuals in 15 quadrants (7 x 7 m) were counted twice a day, checking rocks, fallen trunks, vegetation, and trees up to 2 m high. All specimens were collected by hand and preserved in 90% ethanol. Samples were deposited in the scientific malacological collection housed at the National Museum of Natural History of Cuba (MNHNC, Havana) under the registration numbers MNHNCu-08.00127 to MNHNCu-08.00129. Geographic coordinates were taken with a GPS receiver. Species identifications and endemism were assessed using the following bibliography : Pilsbry 1907;Henderson and Bartsch 1920;Torre and Bartsch 1941;Alcalde 1945;Aguayo and Jaume 1954;Jaume 1954aJaume , 1954bClench andJacobson 1970, 1971;Espinosa and Ortea 1999  0Check Líst I www.biotaxa.org/cl

RESULTS
In Sierra Bibijagua, I found 16 terrestrial molluscs species, including seven "prosobranch" snails (clades Neritimorpha and Caenogastropoda), one pulmonate slug (clade Systellomorpha), and eight pulmonate snails (clade Stylommophora). A total of 111 land snails were identified, belonging to 12 families and 16 genera. Toe most common species in terms of number of individuals was Zachrysía aurícoma (39%) and Líguus fascíatus (23%). Toe photographs of shells are documented in Figure 2 and living individuals in Figures 3 and 4.
Distribution: Western and central part of Cuban Archipelago.
Distribution: Endemic species to Isla de la Juventud, Cuba.