First confirmed report of Pseudonapaeus domina (W.H. Benson, 1857) (Stylommatophora: Enidae) from Bandipora district, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Abstract

Pseudonapaeus domina is a poorly known Himalayan enid land snail that has remained known almost exclusively by historical collections since its original description, leaving its present distribution and taxonomic status uncertain. This study documents the first confirmed modern record of the species from Bandipora District, Jammu and Kashmir, India, based on ten voucher specimens. Identification was established through detailed shell morphology and morphometric analyses supported by comparisons with the original description, historical illustrations and documented syntype material. The examined specimens possess a sinistral, elongate-cylindrical shell with eight weakly convex whorls, moderately impressed sutures, a smooth glossy surface lacking spiral sculpture, a narrowly ovate aperture with a thickened reflected peristome and a prominently dilated, gently twisted columella partially concealing the umbilicus. Mean shell height, shell width, aperture height and aperture width measured 20.04 ± 1.32 mm, 4.84 ± 0.45 mm, 6.49 ± 0.31 mm and 3.44 ± 0.25 mm, respectively. Despite being slightly smaller than some historical specimens, the Bandipora population closely matches the diagnostic shell morphology and morphometric proportions of P. domina. This rediscovery confirms the persistence of the species in the Kashmir Valley after nearly 169 years, refines its known distribution in the northwestern Himalaya and provides an important contemporary taxonomic reference for future biodiversity, biogeographic and conservation studies of Himalayan terrestrial gastropods.