Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).

Climate change is a global environmental threat, directly affecting biodiversity. Terrestrial gastropods are particularly susceptible to alterations in temperature and humidity and have develop morph-physiological and behavioural adaptations in this regard. Shell colour polymorphism and its potentia...

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Main Authors: Mario Juan Gordillo-Pérez, Natalie Beenaerts, Dunia L Sánchez, Karen Smeets, Yaumel Calixto Arias-Sosa, Bernardo Reyes-Tur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314008
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author Mario Juan Gordillo-Pérez
Natalie Beenaerts
Dunia L Sánchez
Karen Smeets
Yaumel Calixto Arias-Sosa
Bernardo Reyes-Tur
author_facet Mario Juan Gordillo-Pérez
Natalie Beenaerts
Dunia L Sánchez
Karen Smeets
Yaumel Calixto Arias-Sosa
Bernardo Reyes-Tur
author_sort Mario Juan Gordillo-Pérez
collection DOAJ
description Climate change is a global environmental threat, directly affecting biodiversity. Terrestrial gastropods are particularly susceptible to alterations in temperature and humidity and have develop morph-physiological and behavioural adaptations in this regard. Shell colour polymorphism and its potential implication for thermoresistance constitute an unexplored field in Neotropical land snails. The variation in shell colour luminance is characterized in the threatened endemic Eastern Cuban tree snails Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum using digital tools; being able to discriminate shell luminance between colour morphs for both species, under different image-taking conditions. For P. muscarum, the albino morph presented the highest luminance values (152.7 ± 0.4); while the lowest values correspond to the brown morph with dark bands (112.9 ± 0.8). Otherwise, for P. picta, the morphs showing the highest luminance were yellow with a pink sutural band (112.8 ± 7.1) and pale yellow (112.6 ± 10.3) and the lowest luminance corresponded to the black morph (44.5 ± 1.2). The presence of dark bands decreased the luminance values regardless of their position in the shell, the morph and the species analysed. In general, the shells of P. muscarum have higher luminance than those of P. picta. Luminance variations demonstrate the 'indiscrete' nature of this trait and highlight the complex interactions between evolutionary mechanisms and shell color polymorphism in Polymita. This supports the hypothesis that colour has adaptive value for thermoregulation, encompassing not only the background colour but also the coloration of the bands. The differences in the shell luminance in both species suggest a correlation with the geographical distribution and corresponding habitats. Based on our findings, yellowish morphs will be more resistant to future climatic conditions in their respective habitats on the island.
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spelling doaj-art-5a3def75e8f54726aaef882a76d09d2d2025-02-05T05:31:24ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031400810.1371/journal.pone.0314008Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).Mario Juan Gordillo-PérezNatalie BeenaertsDunia L SánchezKaren SmeetsYaumel Calixto Arias-SosaBernardo Reyes-TurClimate change is a global environmental threat, directly affecting biodiversity. Terrestrial gastropods are particularly susceptible to alterations in temperature and humidity and have develop morph-physiological and behavioural adaptations in this regard. Shell colour polymorphism and its potential implication for thermoresistance constitute an unexplored field in Neotropical land snails. The variation in shell colour luminance is characterized in the threatened endemic Eastern Cuban tree snails Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum using digital tools; being able to discriminate shell luminance between colour morphs for both species, under different image-taking conditions. For P. muscarum, the albino morph presented the highest luminance values (152.7 ± 0.4); while the lowest values correspond to the brown morph with dark bands (112.9 ± 0.8). Otherwise, for P. picta, the morphs showing the highest luminance were yellow with a pink sutural band (112.8 ± 7.1) and pale yellow (112.6 ± 10.3) and the lowest luminance corresponded to the black morph (44.5 ± 1.2). The presence of dark bands decreased the luminance values regardless of their position in the shell, the morph and the species analysed. In general, the shells of P. muscarum have higher luminance than those of P. picta. Luminance variations demonstrate the 'indiscrete' nature of this trait and highlight the complex interactions between evolutionary mechanisms and shell color polymorphism in Polymita. This supports the hypothesis that colour has adaptive value for thermoregulation, encompassing not only the background colour but also the coloration of the bands. The differences in the shell luminance in both species suggest a correlation with the geographical distribution and corresponding habitats. Based on our findings, yellowish morphs will be more resistant to future climatic conditions in their respective habitats on the island.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314008
spellingShingle Mario Juan Gordillo-Pérez
Natalie Beenaerts
Dunia L Sánchez
Karen Smeets
Yaumel Calixto Arias-Sosa
Bernardo Reyes-Tur
Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).
PLoS ONE
title Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).
title_full Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).
title_fullStr Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).
title_full_unstemmed Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).
title_short Shell colour luminance of Cuban painted snails, Polymita picta and Polymita muscarum (Gastropoda: Cepolidae).
title_sort shell colour luminance of cuban painted snails polymita picta and polymita muscarum gastropoda cepolidae
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314008
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