NEW FINDINGS OF THE ENDANGERED SLUG TURCOMILAX TURKESTANUS (SIMROTH, 1898) (HETEROBRANCHIA: EUPULMONATA: LIMACIDAE) IN THE NORTHERN TIEN-SHAN
Ishayeva A.A. Nekhaev I.O.
2025Association of Polish Malacologists
Folia Malacologica
2025#33Issue 3169 - 173 pp.
The genus Turcomilax (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Stylommatophora: Limacidae) includes six species of slugs, which are endemic to the mountain systems of the Tien Shan and Himalayas. Two species, Turcomilax tzvetkovi Likharev et Wiktor, 1980 and Turcomilax turkestanus (Simroth, 1898), are listed in the Red List of Kazakhstan. The most recent published observation of Turcomilax turkestanus dates back to the end of the 1990s. Since then, the area encompassing its range has experienced significant recreational pressure, raising concerns about the potential extinction or drastic population decline of these species. The article reports new findings of Turcomilax turkestanus from the Ile Alatau region. Specimens were collected between April and July 2023 and identified based on the anatomical features. New records of Turcomilax turkestanus were made in the valley of Prokhodnaya River at altitudes between 1,824 and 1,863 m, in the Butakovsky Pass at 2,762 m and in the Talgar Pass at 3,300 m. These findings represent the first documented records of the species in these gorges and also, they expand the known information about the distribution heights and biotope of this species.
Central Asia , endemic species , terrestrial gastropods
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Institute of Zoology, Al-Farabi Ave. 93, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Department of Applied Ecology, Saint Petersburg State University, Russian Federation
Institute of Zoology
Department of Applied Ecology
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026