A team of researchers from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has discovered a completely new genus and species of subterranean freshwater snail in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. The species, Cyllena hermes, is small, unpigmented, eyeless aquatic snail fully adapted to life underground.
The full details of the discovery have been published as a research article in Subterranean Biology , a peer-reviewed open-access journal published by the International Society for Subterranean Biology.
The new snail is currently known to exist in only one highly localized geographic location in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. Researchers discovered the species within a single karstic spring situated at an elevation of approximately 610 meters on the foothills of Mt. Kyllini in Korinthia. The groundwater from this spring emerges from the carbonate bedrock of the mountain to form a small stream that flows toward Lake Stymphalia, tapping into the extensive and dynamic underground hydrological network of the Stymphalia closed karst basin.
Because the snail relies entirely on this single, isolated water source, it is highly sensitive to environmental stressors such as prolonged droughts and water extraction for surrounding neighboring areas, leading the research team to classify the species as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List criteria.
When establishing this new monotypic genus and species, the researchers chose a scientific name steeped in ancient Greek mythology tied directly to the mountain where the snail was found. The genus name, Cyllena, acts as a tribute to Cyllena (Κυλλήνη), a nymph of Mt. Kyllini who, according to Greek myth, nurtured god Hermes. The species name, hermes, honors Hermes (Ἑρμῆς) himself, the divine messenger and one of the twelve primary Olympian gods from ancient Greek mythology, who is famously said to have been born in a cave on Mt. Kyllini.
This significant finding highlights the rich, yet often undocumented biodiversity dwelling within Greece's extensive underground karst ecosystems, while also bringing attention to the fragile nature of these highly localized environments.
Original source:
Radea C, Protopapas D, Parmakelis A, Koskeridou E (2026) From the dark to the light: A new genus and species of stygobiont hydrobiid (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from southern Greece. Subterranean Biology 57: 1-21. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.57.189090
Subterranean Biology
From the dark to the light: A new genus and species of stygobiont hydrobiid (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from southern Greece
18-Jun-2026