Paludina contecta var. emiliana Roffiaen 1868

Paludina contecta var. emiliana Roffiaen, 1868 Fig. 1 A Paludina contecta var. emiliana Roffiaen, 1868: 80. Type material. RBINS I.G.34957 / MT.2029: 1 holotype, ex Roffiaen coll. Type locality. Italy: Arona, Lago Maggiore, Italian shore of the lake. “ […] Lac Majeur, à Arona, sur la rive italienne ” (Roffiaen 1868: 80). Taxonomic status. Junior synonym of Viviparus contectus (Millet, 1813). Discussion. According to the specimen’s label, it stems from the collection of Roffiaen, it is from the type locality and the word “ type ” is written on it in the same handwriting. Considering that the description of Roffiaen (1868) was based on a single shell, the present specimen can be considered the holotype. This taxon was distinguished by Roffiaen (1868) as lacking coloured spiral bands and by the first whorls being purplish. Both colour variations are observed in Viviparus contectus, a species that is known from the region, and the shell shape of the present specimen (Fig. 1 A) is likewise consistent with that species, including the “ hammered ” markings on the teleoconch (Welter-Schultes 2012; Rowson et al. 2021). Nevertheless, one key diagnostic feature of V. contectus, the sharply pointed tip of the spire (Rowson et al. 2021), is not observed in the present specimen. Still, V. contectus is known for conchological variation across its distribution (Welter-Schultes 2012) and, thus, Paludina contecta emiliana is here considered its junior synonym.