The findings of living specimens of two gadilid scaphopods – Cadulus subfusiformis (M. Sars, 1865) and Pulsellum lofotense (M. Sars, 186) in the coastal waters of Kola Peninsula (SW Barents Sea) are described. Cadulus subfusiformis was previously known from the region only by single empty shell, Pulsellum lofotense was recorded previously without exact locality and was not listed in the modern literature dedicated to the Russian fauna.

Additional specimens of Papyriscala tricincta were collected for the first time since original description of the species. Comparison of the shells with several similar Indo-Pacific species allowed us to conclude that P. tricincta is a junior subjective synonym of the broadly distributed Epitonium clementinum.

On the basis of the newly available material, the previously monotypical genus Fusipagoda was revised. In addition to the type species, Mohnia exquisita, two more were attributed to the genus – Colus sapius and Mohnia corbis. A new species, Fusipagoda itohabei sp. nov., is described.

Buccinum rodgersi Gould, 1860, described from the Bering strait (between the Bering and Chukchi Seas) was never recorded or mentioned in literature since 1883 (with the exception of bibliographical work of R. Johnson, 1964). As it was found that although the species name is not used in current literature, the species was recorded in the Far-East seas of Russia [Sirenko et al., 2013] under the other name, Plicifusus mcleani Sirenko, 2009. In this paper Buccinum rodgersi is transferred to Plicifusus Dall, 1902. Plicifusus mcleani Sirenko, 2009 is considered as its junior synonym.

In May 2014, numerous specimens of Cepaea hortensis were found in Vidnoe, a town 5 km south from the Moscow City. C. hortensis is the third species of the genus introduced in the Moscow Region. The nearest locality of C. hortensis is known from the Vitebsk Region of the Republic of Belarus (about 550 km W of Moscow). Now C. hortensis is reported from one site of Vidnoe town, where it forms a stable population. Also, a few specimens of this species were collected in the park of Timiryazev’s Agriculture Academy in northern part of Moscow City.

The anatomical study of slugs, collected between 2009 and 2015 in Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Lvov and Kharkov Regions of Ukraine, shows the presence of only one species from the complex Arion subfuscus. By size, colour and position of the gonad, relative width of the anterior part of oviduct and by the arrangement of distal parts of reproductive system all studied specimens belonged to Arion fuscus.

Dissection of adult specimens of Campylaea illyrica showed that penial papilla of this species
is very similar to those of the type species of the genus Faustina.

In the field of zoological (and palaeontological) research, accurate documentation methods for the exo-morphology are essential. Here we propose a new method for the documentation of cephalopod paralarvae and juveniles. For documenting small-sized cephalopods autofluorescence microscopy offers numerous advantages for the presentation of outer body parts and surface structures in high resolution, partially also of internal structures such as the gladius. Structures are especially well-contrasted compared to other imaging methods, such as white-light microscopy, micro- or macrophotography. This facilitates a detailed view in high resolution at even the smallest cephalopod paralarvae. Autofluorescence imaging, combined with composite imaging, creates sharp, evenly illuminated pictures. In its higher magnification ranges it can be well compared to low-magnifying scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, but with the advantage that the drying, mounting and preparation needed for SEM is not necessary for autofluorescence microscopy. In contrast the method enables the direct documentation of specimens inside their storage liquid. This is especially important for the investigation of rare specimens, e.g., for historical material from museum collections, or as a pre-documentation for specimens that will be processed further with an invasive method. By the use of different excitation wavelengths it is furthermore possible to either enhance surface structure details or certain inner body structures. Autofluorescence microscopy is also excellent for the imaging of certain types of small-sized fossil cephalopods, not least as the contrast against the matrix can be significantly improved. All these methods and the associated opportunities for studying cephalopod paralarvae are explored in this study.

Son La is a province in the north-western Vietnam, the mountain chain running along the Northwest-Southeast has a phylogenetically diverse terrestrial snail fauna dominated by endemic species, which are very little known so far. This is the first checklist of the terrestrial prosobranch snails from Son La. It includes 42 species, belonging to 17 genera in five families, of which three species are endemic (Dioryx vanbuensis, Cyclophorus implicatus, and Scabrina vanbuensis). In this study two species are recorded for the first time for Vietnam (Chamalycaeus paviei, Scabrina laciniana) and 32 additional species are added to the species list of the Son La.

In 1881 expedition of the Bremen Geographical Society collected molluscs in the north-western part of the Bering Sea off the coast of Chukotka. Unfortunately, the result of this work has not been fully appreciated by Russian malacologists since it was believed that the German expedition was working in American, not Asian waters. In this paper, On the basis of materials from the collection of the Berlin Museum of Natural History and published data it is proved, that molluscs were collected off Asian coast. Photos of the types of Gastropoda described A. Krause, are presented for the first time. "Bela" luetkeana Krause, 1885 (Mangeliidae) is attributed herein to the genus Propebela Iredale, 1918.

A new species of chiton, Leptochiton antarcticus n. sp., is described from the Southern Ocean from depths of 87-1,524 m. The new species is distinguishable from other congeneric species by the shape of head of major lateral teeth of radula, dorsal scales and anterior position of mucro.

The patterns of the migration activity of 43 species of land snails and slugs were analyzed on the basis of both original and literature data. Different species of terrestrial mollusks demonstrate significant intra- and interspecific differences in their migratory abilities. During short-term experiments, the distance from release point was determined mainly by displacement of individuals by random (Brownian) motion. Random events of passive dispersal of the snails (homing) were observed in the course of the long-term experiments lasting several years. The possibility of passive dispersal of terrestrial mollusks by means of different mechanisms (anemochory, hydrochory, zoochory and anthropochory) has been shown. Two distinct spatial scales in the process of the terrestrial mollusks invasion (transcontinental and intra-continental) were distinguished. Most cases of transcontinental invasion represent mainly the transfer of European species to Africa, North and South America, and Australia.

The data on distribution of molluscs of the genus Digyrcidum Locard, 1882 in waterbodies of the Urals and Western Siberia are given. A new species, Digyrcidum starobogatovi Andreeva et Lazutkina, sp. nov., is described. This species inhabits waterbodies of the Urals and Western Siberia cojointly with the species Digyrcidum bouguirgnati (Paladilhe, 1869).

It is established that all reports of Oxychilus diaphanellus outside of Crimea were based on an erroneous identification of Oxychilus translucidus. The differences between these two species, as well as those between O. translucidus and some other species of Oxychilinae in Ukraine, are discussed.

The present investigation was undertaken to study a shell disease of the freshwater snail, Pila globosa. Observations were made in June-July in four consecutive years. The disease first appears as blisters in the periostracum and then, once the periostracum is lost from these lesions, dissolution of the underlying calcified layer. The numerically predominant bacterial genera in the lesions included Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Escherichia and Listeria. Communication describes this previously unreported shell disease, which may be a health problem in apple snails.

Lymnaea (Stagnicola) likharevi Lazareva, 1967 and Lymnaea (Stagnicola) saridalensis Mozley, 1934 – two closely allied lymnaeid species that inhabit Western Siberia and, in many cases, may co-occur in the same habitat. A detailed study of conchological and anatomical variation of the two species from seven syntopic samples has shown that these are non-diagnosable since there is no morphological hiatus to separate them. A new synonymy is established: L. likharevi is a junior synonym of L. saridalensis. The data on the type series of the studied species as well of Lymnaea draveri Mozley, 1934 are provided.

Several species of freshwater snails are for the first time registered from the waterbodies of the central part European Russia (Moscow Region and adjacent areas) based upon own author’s samplings and museum collections. These are: Lymnaea (Corvusiana) corvus (Gmelin, 1791), Lymnaea (Corvusiana) gueretiniana (Servain, 1881), L. (S.) archangelica Kruglov et Starobogatov, 1986, L. (S.) fusca (C. Pfeiffer, 1821) sensu Kruglov, 2005, L. (S.) callomphala (Servain, 1881), L. (Peregriana) fulva (Küster, 1862), Anisus (Costorbis) strauchianus (Clessin, 1886), Physa taslei Bourguignat, 1862, and Pseudosphaerium pseudosphaerium (Favre, 1927). The data on their ecology and distribution in the region are given alongside with diagnostic characters, taxonomic and nomenclatorial remarks. This newly obtained information is useful for more exact zoogeographical characterization of the region. It has been shown that the malacofauna of the upper Volgian drainage basin is, possibly, not so zoogeographically peculiar as it was considered earlier.

Leptochiton muelleri Sirenko and Schwabe ( 2011) was known from only 7 specimens found near Sri Lanka. The author in 2010-2014 in Vietnamese waters collected the species from South to North Vietnam. Leptochiton muelleri turned out to be a very wide spread Vietnamese species, found from Con Dao Id. (08º39’N) to Van Don (21º02’N). This minute species was found by using a new method of collecting, described by Sirenko (2012). It is expected that the species will have a wide distribution into the Indo West Pacific Region.

Annotated check-list of shell-bearing Gastropoda of Murman Coast (Barents Sea Coast of Kola Peninsula) is presented. Based on original material collected in 1996-2013 and literature data 148 species are recorded for the region. Nine species: Skenea rugulosa (G.O. Sars, 1878), Aclis sarsi Dautzenberg et Fischer, 1912, Admete clivicola Høisæter, 2010, Nassarius incrassatus (Strøm, 1768), Raphitoma leufroyi (Michaud, 1828), Taranis moerchi (Malm, 1861), Ondina divisa (J. Adams, 1797), Menestho albula (Fabricius, 1780), Bogasonia volutoides Warén, 1989 were absent in previous reviews of Russian molluscan fauna. Three species with unclear taxonomical position are listed: Skenea cf. trochoides, Omalogyra cf. atomus and Chrysallida sp. A majority of species found in Murman waters have a boreal distribution and are typical for northern European fauna. References to previous studies based on material from Murman Coast as well as original records are listed for each species, some remarkable species are depicted and discussed.

A comparative analysis of the camera eyes of gastropod pulmonate mollusks Trochulus hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the South Sweden and Kaliningrad Region was carried out on the basis of own and published data. It was demonstrated that the mollusks’ eyes have common structure but different size, and their principle components have more similarities in morphological and optical properties than in anatomical parameters.