A Liburnica species from Southern Italy (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Helicidae)

A species of the ariantine helicid genus Liburnica is reported for the first time from southern Italy. It is very similar to Liburnica setosa, the type species of the genus, in shell and anatomical features (namely: continuous detached peristome; occasional small faint denticle in basal peristome; genial papilla with lateral slit-like pore almost as long as the papilla itself; digitiform glands that branch at ca. 1/3 of their length). A potential name for this species is Helix setulosa Briganti, 1825 from a site (Salvitelle) very close to where it was collected (Gole del Fiume Platano). Briganti's figures are not very clear, but they depict shells with a continuous peristome, angled at its innermost point, as in Libumica species. Unfortunately, no sure syntypes and no topotypes were available and more research is therefore necessary to verify this hypothesis. From a biogeographical point of view, the finding of the genus Liburnica in southern Italy is interesting because it constitutes another case of a taxon with significant disjunct distribution involving Apennine Italy and the Balkan Peninsula.