Open-access First record of Mirinaba cadeadensis (Gastropoda: Strophocheilidae) in an anthropogenic shell mound from the Paraná coast, Southern Brazil

ABSTRACT

Mirinaba cadeadensis Lange de Morretes, 1952 is restricted to the Paraná state, and found at the municipalities of Morretes, São José dos Pinhais, Paranaguá, Matinhos, and Guaratuba, associated to the Serra do Mar mountains. In this paper, we report the first record of this species in an anthropogenic shell mound. Two shells of M. cadeadensis were located in the internal stratigraphic layers of the Boguaçu shell mound. This is also the first shell mound record for Mirinaba.

KEY WORDS: Atlantic rainforest; biodiversity; Mollusca; sambaqui; shell mound; Stylommatophora; zooarchaeology

Strophocheilidae is a family of terrestrial gastropods with eight living genera, namely Anthinus Albers, 1850; Austroborus Parodiz, 1949; Chiliborus Pilsbry, 1926; Gonyostomus Beck, 1837; Megalobulimus K. Miller, 1878; MirinabaLange de Morretes, 1952; Speironepion Bequaert, 1948; and Strophocheilus Spix, 1827 (Birckolz et al. 2013, Bouchet et al. 2017). The included species are endemic to South America (Leme 1973). In Brazil, Strophocheilidae is the third most biodiverse family of land snails in terms of described species, only behind the families Bulimulidae and Odontostomidae (Simone 2006, Salvador 2019).

Mirinaba was originally described as a subgenus of Strophocheilus by Lange de Morretes (1952), and elevated to genus by Leme (1973), based on important similarities of main morphological characteristics among the Mirinaba species that clearly distinguished them from other species of Strophocheilus. Currently composed of 10 described species (Simone 2006), the distribution of Mirinaba is mostly associated to the Atlantic Forest biome, with records in the South, Southeast and Northeast regions of Brazil (Simone 2006, Jesus and Manso 2010, Birckolz et al. 2013, Birckolz and Gernet 2016). Only one species, Mirinaba fusoides (Bequaert, 1948), occurs outside the Brazilian territory in the province of Missiones, Argentina (Bonard et al. 2012), but also within Brazil, with records for the municipalities of Rio Grande da Serra, state of São Paulo and Taquara (Mundo Novo), state of Rio Grande do Sul (Simone 2006). Six species are found in the Brazilian state of Paraná: Mirinaba antoninensis (Lange de Morretes, 1952); M. cadeadensis (Lange de Morretes, 1952); M. curitybana (Lange de Morretes, 1952); M. erythrosoma (Pilsbry, 1895); M. jaussaudi (Lange de Morretes, 1937) and M. porphyrostoma (Clench & Archer, 1930) (Simone 2006).

Mirinaba cadeadensis is endemic to Paraná, with altitudes ranging from 30 to 850 m a.s.l. at the Serra do Mar mountains (Fig. 1) (Indrusiak and Leme 1985, Birckolz et al. 2013). The main characteristics that can be used to identify M. cadeadensis are a small oval-acuminated shell, a pink peristome with smooth, non-umbilical shell, nepionic whorls with thin spiral streaks, gentle slightly crenulated suture, slight dorsoventral flattening, external lip without dentition, acute apex and light-brown periostracum (Indrusiak and Leme 1985, Birckolz et al. 2013).

Figure 1
Known collection records of Mirinaba cadeadensis. The purple circle indicates the type locality (Cadeado), and the yellow circle the locality where present-day specimens where collected (Morro Itaguá). This locality is also the closest known occurrence of the species to the new Boguaçu shell mound record (red triangle).

Shell mounds (known as ‘sambaquis’, in Portuguese) are anthropogenic structures of the archaeological landscape consisting mostly of mollusk shell layers (Bailey 1977). The shells used during the deposition of layers and construction of such archaeological monuments come from animals used as food by hunter-fisher-gatherer communities (Gernet and Birckolz 2011). The Brazilian coast occupation by hunter-gatherer groups was very intense during pre-Columbian times, and particularly concentrated in the southern and southeastern regions (Bueno et al. 2013). The settlement patterns of the Brazilian coast are probably correlated to sea level variations, during the so-called “Great weather” (8,500-6,500 years BP), in which changes from hot and dry to hot and humid climates influenced the occupation of such areas (Bueno et al. 2013). Some sambaquis along the Paraná coast predate 6,500 years BP (e.g., sambaqui Porto Maurício in Morretes) (Parellada and Gottardi Neto 1994), with more recent ones (e.g., sambaqui ‘Ilha dos Ratos’ in Guaratuba Bay) dating back to ~500 years BP (Rauth 1969), denoting the vast importance of such structures to the coastal populations culture (Prous 1990).

Detailed knowledge on the molluscan fauna in shell mounds helps in paleoenvironmental studies, particularly in the understanding of temporal variation patterns of the abundance and diversity of mollusk species (Goodfriend 1992, Gernet et al. 2014). In particular, such information is important for the understanding of the ecological occupations by past human populations, and their relationship with the landscape and the local fauna (Klokler et al. 2010). In this study we report the first record of M. cadeadensis found in a shell mound. We also compare those shells to modern specimens (including the holotype), and discuss the implications of the presence of this species in the sambaquis.

The Boguaçu shell mound (25°55’11”S; 48°37’39”W; Figs 1-2) is located on the riverbanks of Boguaçu river, in the Guaratuba bay, Paraná, Brazil. The earliest basal layers of this shell mound date back to 4,000 ± 250 years BP, as calculated by the 14C method (Bigarella 1950).

Figure 2
Overview of the Boguaçu shell mound, in Guaratuba Bay, Paraná, Brazil.

We measured the approximate dimensions of the whole shell mound using a metric measuring tape: it is ~80 m long and ~60 m wide at the most basal layer, and ~7 m high. For many years (from the 16th century to the 1960s), like many other shell mounds in the region, extractions of this mound were used for the manufacture of lime and road paving, and they are still threatened by the action of natural tides and vandalism (Gernet et al. 2019).

Two adult specimens of M. cadeadensis (Figs 3, 4) were collected on December 20, 2014. The M. cadeadensis shells were located using a non-interventional visual prospection in the internal stratigraphic layers of the Boguaçu shell mound, using naturally eroded accession entrances. Shells were manually collected. The collection licenses were obtained from Instituto Ambiental do Paraná (IAP 453/12) and Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (36442-1) environmental agencies. The two shells are housed in the malacological collection of the Laboratory of Applied Ecology and Bioinvasions of the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), in Pontal do Paraná, Brazil (LEBIO 578).

Figures 3-7
Shells of Mirinaba cadeadensis: (3-4) LEBIO 578, from the Boguaçu shell mound; (5) LEBIO 587, from Morro Itaguá; (6) LEBIO 588, from Morro Itaguá; (7) MZUSP 18998 (holotype), from Cadeado. Measurements of these specimens can be found in Table 1. Scale bar: 10 mm.

To allow comparisons with modern individuals, we also took measurements of two adult shells of M. cadeadensis collected in 2013 (LEBIO 587, 588), in the locality ‘Morro Itaguá’, Serra da Prata, municipality of Matinhos, state of Paraná. This locality is about 11.5 km apart from the Boguaçu shell mound, northeastwards (Fig. 1). We took the following measurements from each shell: height (H), greatest width (diameter = D), aperture height (h), and aperture width (d). The specimens of M. cadeadensis type series (MZUSP 18998 and MZUSP 14592) were also examined and compared to the shells of Boguaçu shell mound.

The two shells present the characteristic abrasion usually found in shell mound specimens, having a whitish color due to the action of time, and the absence of periostracum. One specimen does not have the protoconch and the adjacent part of the teleoconch. Nonetheless, the characteristics of both shells clearly match those of present-day specimens, including the type specimens, and are within the expected individual variation for species of Mirinaba (Indrusiak and Leme, 1985). Measurements of all specimens are shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Measurements (in mm) of Mirinaba cadeadensis shells.

Because terrestrial gastropods can move around the mounds, the presence of gastropods on the surface (outer layers) of the mound are usually related to the natural occurrence of such individuals, and not to human action (Silva et al. 2017). The M. cadeadensis shells were found in the inner layers of the mound, evidencing the actual presence of these gastropods in shell mounds due to human action. Both M. cadeadensis individuals did not show signs of use as tools, instruments or adornments (Gernet et al. 2019) and, hence, were possibly used as food resource since terrestrial gastropods were an important part of the diet of the local communities (Afonso and Tenório 2001).

Other genera of land mollusks have already been reported in Brazilian shell mounds, namely Megalobulimus, Thaumastus Albers, 1860, and Macrodontes Swainson, 1840 (Gernet and Birckolz 2011, Fontenelle et al. 2014, 2019, Macario et al. 2016, 2017, Gernet et al. 2020). This is the first record for Mirinaba, indicating that, despite their smaller size compared to other local land Gastropoda species, these animals were not ignored by prehistoric populations. Importantly, this record increases the number of verified mollusk species found in the Boguaçu shell mound to 21 species (Gernet and Birckolz 2011, Gernet et al. 2019).

The presence of mollusk shells in archaeological shell mounds goes far beyond the traditional assumptions of population subsistence, where the construction and deposition of layers would be a mere artifact of mollusk use in the populations diet, as initially believed (Bennyhoff and Hughes 1987, Aizpurua and Mcanany 1999, Godino et al. 2011). Recent research on the cultural importance of shell mounds indicates that their inclusion in these structures may also be directly related to rituals of celebration and burials (Schmitt and Lupo 2008, Klokler et al. 2010). Zoological remains also reflect the complex relationships between humans and the available resources in the local environment, and their different cultural perceptions regarding each of these resources (Reitz and Wing 1999).

The dimensions of the shells found in the Boguaçu shell mound (Figs 3, 4) are similar to those observed in shells from Morro Itaguá and Cadeado (Table 1), though some morphological variation is seen among them. The thickening of the inner lip is not so evident in one specimen collected in the Boguaçu shell mound (Fig. 4) compared to the Morro Itaguá specimens (Figs 5, 6), but it is similar to the holotype (Fig. 7). In the outer lip there is also a difference in thickness, where in sample LEBIO 588 (Fig. 6) the lip is noticeably narrower than other analyzed shells. In the sambaqui LEBIO 578 #2 specimen (Fig. 3) the presence of a protuberance at the outer lip is evident. The posterior canal on the aperture of the same individual (Fig. 3) has a discontinuity that is not observed in the other shells. Finally, we highlight that this finding is also the first shell mound record for Mirinaba.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was financed in part by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) - Finance Code 001, through scholarships granted to MVG and GYSO. Any issues in terms of writing or grammar in the final version of this manuscript are the author’s responsibility.

LITERATURE CITED

  • Afonso MC, Tenório MC (2011) Shell mounds in Brazilian Coast: integrating archaeological and environmental studies. In: Turbanti-Memmi I (Ed.) Proceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Archaeometry, Siena (Italy), May 2008. Springer, Heidelberg, 549-554.
  • Aizpurua III, Mcanany PA (1999) Adornment and Identity: Shell ornaments from Formative K’axob. Ancient Mesoamerica 10: 117-127. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095653619910107X
    » https://doi.org/10.1017/S095653619910107X
  • Bailey GN (1977) Shell mounds, shell middens and raised beachs in the Cape York, Peninsula Mankind. The Australian Journal of Anthropology 11(2): 132-143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-9310.1977.tb01175.x
    » https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-9310.1977.tb01175.x
  • Bennyhoff JS, Hughes R (1987) Shell Bead and Ornament Exchange Networks between California and the Western Great Basin. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 64: 79-175.
  • Bigarella JJ (1950) Contribuição ao estudo dos sambaquis do Estado do Paraná. II- Regiões adjacentes a baía de Guaratuba. Arquivos de Biologia e Tecnologia 5: 231-292.
  • Birckolz CJ, Gernet MV (2016) New record of Mirinaba jaussaudi (Gastropoda, Strophocheilidae) in Paraná state, southern Brazil, and rectification of a known locality. Strombus 23(1-2): 1-5.
  • Birckolz CJ, Gernet MV, Serbena AL (2013) Range extension of Mirinaba cadeadensis (Morretes, 1952) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Strophocheilidae) along the coast of Paraná, southern Brazil. Check List 9(6): 1561-1563. https://doi.org/10.15560/9.6.1561
    » https://doi.org/10.15560/9.6.1561
  • Bonard AR, Caldini CH, Miquel SE (2012) Mirinaba fusoides (Bequaert, 1948) (Mollusca, Strophocheilidae): primer registro de la especie en la República Argentina. Historia Natural, Tercera Serie 2(2): 95-100.
  • Bouchet P, Rocroi JP, Hausdorf B, Kaim A, Kano Y, Nützel A, Parkhaev P, Schrödl M, Strong EE (2017) Revised classification, nomenclator and typification of gastropod and monoplacophoran families. Malacologia 61(1-2): 1-526. https://doi.org/10.4002/040.061.0201
    » https://doi.org/10.4002/040.061.0201
  • Bueno L, Dias AS, Steele J (2013) The Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene archaeological record in Brazil: A geo-referenced database. Quaternary International 301: 74-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.03.042
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.03.042
  • Fontenelle JH, Cavallari DC, Simone LRL (2014) A new species of Megalobulimus (Gastropoda, Strophocheilidae) from Brazilian shell mounds. Strombus 21(1-2): 30-37.
  • Fontenelle JH, Tomotani BM, Salvador RB (2019) Taxonomic reassessment of Megalobulimus toriii (Gastropoda, Strophocheilidae). Journal of Conchology 43(3): 313-320.
  • Gernet MV, Belz CE, Pinheiro F, Birckolz CJ (2020) Registro de Macrodontes paulistus (Gastropoda: Odontostomidae) em um sambaqui na Ilha do Teixeira, baía de Paranaguá, sul do Brasil. Pesquisa e Ensino em Ciências Exatas e da Natureza 4: e1480. https://doi.org/10.29215/pecen.v4i0.1480
    » https://doi.org/10.29215/pecen.v4i0.1480
  • Gernet MV, Birckolz CJ (2011) Fauna malacológica em dois sambaquis do litoral do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Biotemas 24(3): 39-49. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2011v24n3p39
    » https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2011v24n3p39
  • Gernet MV, Gernet EVVV, Santos EV (2019) Conchas de moluscos com vestígios de utilização por seres humanos encontradas no Sambaqui do Boguaçu, Guaratuba, Paraná. Pesquisa e Ensino em Ciências Exatas e da Natureza 3(2): 142-146. https://doi.org/10.29215/pecen.v3i2.1260
    » https://doi.org/10.29215/pecen.v3i2.1260
  • Gernet MV, Melo VF, Dieckow J, Lima VC, Silva WTL (2014) Genesis and occupancy of a shell midden on Paraná State coast, Brazil. Quaternary International 352: 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.06.044
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.06.044
  • Godino IB, Álvarez M, Balbo A, Zurro D, Madella M, Villagrán X, French C (2011) Towards high-resolution shell midden archaeology: Experimental and ethnoarchaeology in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). Quaternary International 239: 125-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.04.017
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.04.017
  • Goodfriend GA (1992) The use of land snail shells in paleoenviromental reconstruction. Quaternary Science Reviews 11(6): 665-685. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(92)90076-K
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(92)90076-K
  • Indrusiak LF, Leme JLM (1985) Anatomia comparada de três espécies de Mirinaba Morretes, 1952 (Gastropoda, Strophocheilidae) do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Acta Biológica Paranaense 14(1-4): 163-180.
  • Jesus LS, Manso CLC (2010) Inventário da coleção de referência de moluscos terrestres e límnicos do LABIMAR, Campus Prof. Alberto Carvalho da Universidade Federal de Sergipe. Scientia Plena 6(12): 1-5.
  • Klokler D, Villagrán XS, Giannini PCF, Peixoto S, Deblasis P (2010) Juntos na costa: zooarqueologia e geoarqueologia de sambaquis do litoral sul catarinense. Revista do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia 20: 53-75. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2448-1750.revmae.2010.89910
    » https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2448-1750.revmae.2010.89910
  • Lange de Morretes F (1952) Novas espécies brasileiras da família Strophocheilidae. Arquivos de Zoologia 8(4): 109-126.
  • Leme JLM (1973) Anatomy and systematics of the Neotropical Strophocheiloidea (Gastropoda, Pulmonata) with the description of a new family. Arquivos de Zoologia 23(5): 295-337. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2176-7793.v23i5p295-337
    » https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2176-7793.v23i5p295-337
  • Macario KD, Alves EQ, Carvalho C, Oliveira FM, Ramsey CB, Chivall D, Souza R, Simone LRL, Cavallari DC (2016) The use of the terrestrial snails of the genera Megalobulimus and Thaumastus as representatives of the atmospheric carbon reservoir. Scientific Reports 6: 27395. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep27395
    » https://doi.org/10.1038/srep27395
  • Macario KD, Tenório MC, Alves EQ, Oliveira FM, Chanca IS, Netto B, Carvalho C, Souza R, Aguilera O, Guimarães RB (2017) Terrestrial mollusks as chronological records in Brazilian shellmounds. Radiocarbon 59(5): 1561-1577. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2017.34
    » https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2017.34
  • Parellada CI, Gottardi Neto A (1994) Inventário de sambaquis do litoral do Paraná. Boletim Paranaense de Geociências 42: 121-152.
  • Prous A (1990) Os Moluscos e a Arqueologia Brasileira. Arquivos do Museu de História Natural da UFMG 11: 241-298.
  • Rauth JW (1969) Nota prévia sobre a escavação arqueológica do sambaqui do Godo. Publicações Avulsas do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi 13: 75-98.
  • Reitz EJ, Wing ES (1999) Zooarchaeology - Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 273 pp.
  • Salvador RB (2019) Land snail diversity in Brazil. Strombus 25(1-2): 10-20.
  • Silva EP, Pádua SC, Souza RCCL, Duarte MR (2017) Shell mounds of the southeast coast of Brazil: recovering information on past malacological biodiversity. In: Mondini M, Muñoz AS, Fernández PM (Eds) Zooarchaeology in the Neotropics. Springer, Cham, 47-60.
  • Schmitt DN, Lupo KD (2008) Do faunal remains reflect socioeconomic status? An ethnoarchaeological study among Central African farmers in the northern Congo Basin. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27(3): 315-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2008.06.001
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2008.06.001
  • Simone LRL (2006) Land and Freshwater Molluscs of Brazil. EGB/Fapesp, São Paulo, 390 pp.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Zoobank register
    https://zoobank.org/1A3AB92D-DF9C-4C9D-BD47-F514C5E32177
  • How to cite this article
    Gernet MV, Simone LRL, Belz CE, Omura GYS, Birckolz CJ, Domingos FMCB (2022) First record of Mirinaba cadeadensis (Gastropoda: Strophocheilidae) in an anthropogenic shell mound from the Paraná coast, Southern Brazil. Zoologia (Curitiba) 39: e22010. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-4689.v39.e22010
  • Published by
    Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia at Scientific Electronic Library Online (https://www.scielo.br/zool)

Edited by

  • Editorial responsibility
    Rosana M. da Rocha

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    25 Nov 2022
  • Date of issue
    2022

History

  • Received
    07 Mar 2022
  • Accepted
    14 July 2022
location_on
Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia Caixa Postal 19020, 81531-980 Curitiba PR Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 41) 3266-6823 - Curitiba - PR - Brazil
E-mail: sbz@sbzoologia.org.br
rss_feed Stay informed of issues for this journal through your RSS reader
Acessibilidade / Reportar erro