Tag Archives: Bermuda Islands

Vertigo marki Gulick

Mark’s Whorl Snail (Vertigo marki)

Mark’s Vertigo Snail was described in 1904 based on “fossil” material that was found on the Bermuda Islands.

The shells reach sizes of about 0,2 cm in height.

“This species has never been documented alive, although empty Recent shells are recorded from leaf litter around church Cave ….” [1]

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References:

[1] Rüdiger Bieler; John Slapcinsky: A case study for the development of an island fauna: recent terrestrial mollusks of Bermuda. Nemouria 44: 1-99. 2000

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Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata, Vol. 25, Pupillidae (Gastrocoptinae, Vertigininae), 1918-1920′

(public domain)

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edited: 05.05.2022

Corvus sp. ‘Bermudas’

Bermudas Islands Crow (Corvus sp.)

“Birds.         

Neither hath the aire for her part been wanting with due supplies of many sorts of Fowles, as the gray and white Hearne, the gray and greene Plover, some wilde Ducks and Malards, Coots and Red-shankes, Sea-wigions, Gray-bitterns, Cormorants, numbers of small Birds like Sparrowes and Robins, which have lately beene destroyed by the wilde Cats, Wood-pickars, very many Crowes, which since this Plantation are kild, the rest fled or seldome seene except in the most uninhabited places, from whence they are observed to take their flight about sun set, directing their course towards the North-west, which makes many coniecture there are some more Ilands not far off that way.” [1]

This is a part of an account from 1623 that reports some of the bird life inhabiting the Bermudas Islands at that time.

Given the remote location of the islands, the crows mentioned here very likely were of an endemic form, may it have been a species or a subspecies; the text even tells us how these crow population went extinct, they were killed by the British settlers because they were considered a pest for their crops.

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References:

[1] John Smith: The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles: with the Names of the Adventurers, Planters, and Governours from their first beginning, An: 1584. to this present 1624. With the Procedings of Those Severall Colonies and the Accidents that befell them in all their Journyes and Discoveries. Also the Maps and Descriptions of all those Countryes, their Commodities, people, Government, Customes, and Religion yet knowne. Divided into Sixe Bookes. By Captaine Iohn Smith, sometymes Governour in those Countryes & Admirall of New England. London: printed by I. D. and I. H. for Michael Sparkes 1624

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edited: 05.11.2020

Bermuteo avivorus Olson

Bermuda Hawk (Bermuteo avivorus)

As its name implies, this species was endemic to the Bermuda Islands; it is known from subfossil remains and apparently from a contemporaneous account made by captain Diego Ramírez who spend some time ashore for repairing his ship(s) in 1603 and which mentions handsome sparrowhawks that are so stupid that they could easily be clubbed to death. [1]

The species must have disappeared very shortly after that date, since no other traveler subsequently mentions any hawks from the Bermuda Islands.

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References:

[1] Storrs L. Olson: A New Genus and Species of Buteonine Hawk from Quaternary Deposits in Bermuda (Aves: Accipitridae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 121(1): 130–141. 2008

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edited: 16.05.2022

Colaptes oceanicus Olson

Bermuda Flicker (Colaptes oceanicus)  

The Bermuda Flicker was described based on fossil bones of Late Pleistocene age, however, at least one bone assingend to this species, a tarsometatarsus from a juvenile individual, dates to the Holocene. [2]

There is furthermore at least one account from 1623 which not only mentions what very likely is this species but which also gives a hint about the reasons for its extinction.: 

“Neither hath the aire for her part been wanting with due supplies of many sorts of Fowles, as the gray and white Hearne, the gray and greene Plouer, some wilde Ducks and Malards, Coots and Red-shankes, Sea-wigions, Gray-bitterns, Cormorants, numbers of small Birds like Sparrowes and Robins, which haue lately beene destroyed by the wilde Cats, Wood-pickars, very many Crowes, which since this Plantation are kild, the rest fled or seldome seene except in the most vninhabited places, from whence they are obserued to take their flight about sun set, directing their course towards the North-west, which makes many coniecture there are some more Ilands not far off that way.” [1]

The native vegetation was destroyed for plantations, the birds were shot, and many were killed by introduced feral cats.

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References:

[1] John Smith: The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles: with the Names of the Adventurers, Planters, and Governours from their first beginning, An: 1584. to this present 1624. With the Procedings of Those Severall Colonies and the Accidents that befell them in all their Journyes and Discoveries. Also the Maps and Descriptions of all those Countryes, their Commodities, people, Government, Customes, and Religion yet knowne. Divided into Sixe Bookes. By Captaine Iohn Smith, sometymes Governour in those Countryes & Admirall of New England. London: printed by I. D. and I. H. for Michael Sparkes 1624
[2] Storrs L. Olson: Fossil woodpeckers from Bermuda with the description of a new species of Colaptes (Aves: Picidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 126(1): 17–24. 2013

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edited: 02.11.2020

Poecilozonites nelsoni ssp. callosus Gulick

Callose Bermuda Land Snail (Poecilozonites nelsoni ssp. callosus)

The Callose Bermuda Land Snail was described in 1904 as a ‘variety’ of Nelson’s Bermuda Land Snail (Poecilozonites nelsoni (Bland)).

This form differs from the normal form by its smaller size and some other characters, the author writes the following lines.:

“Shell smaller than the typical form, shiny, with heavy ribbed striae, colored with a broad yellowish-brown peripheral band on a white ground. Whorls a trifle more than nine, increasing regularely and very gradually. The suture does not change ist character nor become deflected from the peripheral line of the preceding whorl. The usual peripheral angle is almost obsolete. The base has a stronger angle about the umbilical perforation than is usual in the species. The peristome is greatly thickened on the inside from 1 mm. at the suture to fully 2 mm. near the columella. A prominent callosity covers the parietal wall of the aperture.” [1]

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References:

[1] Addison Gulick: The fossil land sanils of Bermuda. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of philadelphia 56(2): 406-425. 1904

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Photo from: ‘Stephen Jay Gould: An volutionary microcosm: Pleistocene and recent history of the land snail P. (Poecilozonites) in Bermuda. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative zoology 138(7): 407-531. 1969’

(under creative commons license (3.0))
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

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edited: 13.06.2020

Poecilozonites nelsoni ssp. discoides Gulick

Discus-shaped Bermuda Land Snail (Poecilozonites nelsoni ssp. discoides)

The Discus-shaped Bermuda Land Snail was described in 1904 as some kind of form of the the Bermuda Land Snail (Poecilozonites nelsoni (Bland)), it might have been a distinct subspecies or perhaps nothing but a distinct-shaped form. [1]

This snail is now apparently extinct.

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References:

[1] Addison Gulick: The fossil land shells of Bermuda. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 56(2): 406-425. 1904

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Depiction from: ‘Addison Gulick: The fossil land shells of Bermuda. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 56(2): 406-425. 1904’

(not in copyright)

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edited: 11.09.2020

Vertigo bermudensis Pilsbry

Bermuda Whorl Snail (Vertigo bermudensis)

The Bermuda Whorl Snail was described in 1919, this species is known only from a few specimens which all have been collected in the early 1900s from the vicinitiy of Church Cave near Tucker’s Town, a small town in the St. George’s Parish on Bermuda.

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Photo from: ‘Rüdiger Bieler; John Slapcinsky: A case study for the development of an island fauna: recent terrestrial mollusks of Bermuda. Nemouria 44: 1-99. 2000’

(under creative commons license (3.0))
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 

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edited: 13.06.2020

Paroxya bermudensis Rehn

Bermuda Flightless Grasshopper (Paroxya bermudensis)  

This, indeed wingless and therefore flightless, predominantly brown colored grasshopper species was described in the year 1909.  

The males reached a length of 1,72 cm, the females of 2,45 cm.  

The species is considered extinct nowadays, for what introduced Norway (Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout)) and Black Rats (Rattus rattus (L.)) are held responsible for.  

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References:  

[1] J. A. G. Rehn: A new species of the genus Paroxya from Bermuda (Orthoptera). Entomological news, and proceedings of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 20: 343-345. 1909

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edited: 11.10.2020

Ingolfiella longipes Stock, Sket & Iliffe

Long-legged Ingolfiella Amphipod (Ingolfiella longipes)

This species was described in 1987; it is still known only from a single specimen that was collected from Walsingham Sink Cave, an anchialine cave in Hamilton Parish, Bermuda Islands.

The species has never been found since and (even if rather unlikely) might be extinct.

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edited: 14.08.2022

Poecilozonites reinianus (Pfeiffer)

Flat Bermuda Land Snail (Poecilozonites reinianus)

The Flat Bermuda Land Snail was described in 1864, it is one of 12 species that are known from the Bermuda Islands.

The species is known apparently from fossil- as well as from recent specimens, but appears to be already extinct now. 

The shells reached sizes of about 0,3 cm in heigth and about 1 cm in diameter.

Unfortunately I cannot say much about this species, the same applies to all congeneric species of snails from the Bermuda Islands.

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References:

[1] Henry A. Pilsbry: Recent and fossil Bermudan snails of the genus Poecilozonites. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 76: 1-9. 1924

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Depiction from: ‘H. A. Pilsbry: On the helicoid land molluscs of Bermuda. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 40: 285-291. 1888’

(public domain)

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edited: 11.05.2019

Prosadenoporus agricola (Willemoes-Suhm)

Bermudas Terrestrial Smiling Worm (Prosadenoporus agricola)  

The Bermudas Terrestrial Smiling Worm was described in 1874, it was restricted to the Bermudas Islands.

The milky-white, brownish or greenish colored species was commonly found along the shores of mangrove swamps, under stones and logs on moist, silty soil or inside earthworm burrows above the high-water mark and, during the wet season, also on adjacent hillsides.

The former habitat of this species is now completely lost due to commercial development.
Some very few last survivors – the last of their kind – were found during intensive field searches in 1966, since then the species is considered extinct. [1]

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Depiction from: ‘A. E. Verrill: The Bermuda islands: an account of their scenery, climate, productions, physiography, natural history and geology, with sketches of their discovery and early history, and the changes in their flora and fauna due to man. New Haven, Conn.: the author 1902’

(public domain)

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References:  

[1] Svetlana A. Maslakova; Jon L. Norenburg: Revision of the smiling worms, genera Prosadenoporus Burger, 1890 and Pantinonemertes Moore and Gibson, 1981 and description of a new species Prosadenoporus floridensis sp. nov. (Prosorhochmidae; Hoplonemertea; Nemertea) from Florida and Belize. Journal of Natural History 42: 25-26. 2008

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edited: 03.11.2020