This is the first recorded genus of a terrestrial gastropod mollusc from Vietnam.
According to Dr Vu Van Lien, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Museum of Nature, the new land snail species has been given the scientific name Calybium plicatus sp.nov.
Calybium plicatus sp.nov belongs to the genus Calybium, family Helicinidae, order Cycloneritida, class Gastropoda and was collected from doline 1 in Son Doong Cave.
Calybium plicatus sp. nov. has a similar shell shape to Calybium massiei Morlet, 1892 but differs by having a smaller shell size and the parietal wall of six evenly spaced parietal lamellae.
This discovery represents the first report of the genus Calybium in Vietnam.
The newly discovered land snail species was described by Vietnamese experts, as part of the research project on studying the biodiversity of the Son Doong cave system for conservation and sustainable development, conducted from 2022 to 2024.
The research team has proposed naming this new land snail species “Oc non Son Doong” (Son Doong cone snail) in Vietnamese.
