THE EXPEDITION MEMOIRS 2004

MALACOLOGISTS AT THE PEAK: LAND SNAIL SURVEYS OF DILEK PENINSULA, AYDIN MOUNTAINS and SPIL MOUNTAIN, TURKEY

28 June - 6 July 2004

by Aydın Örstan

Participants: Aydın Örstan & Tim Pearce (Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh), Francisco Welter-Schultes (Zoologisches Institut, Göttingen), Zeki Yıldırım & Salih Ceylan (Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Burdur)

...we proceeded along the bay, to a spot a few miles beyond Scala Nuova [Kuşadası], where we pitched our tent. At this town many victims are daily carried off by the plague, and this prevented my being able to procure post-horses. On approaching the city I skirted its walls, and here, as with most Turkish towns, the favourable impression is perhaps highest before entering.

Charles Fellows, Travels and Researches in Asia Minor, 1852

When we arrived in Kuşadası at the end of June there was no sign of the plague. Nevertheless, we quickly escaped the densely packed buildings and the masses of people and found reprieve in the forests and the high hills of the Dilek Peninsula 20 km to the south. Besides, that's where we were hoping to find the more interesting snails. The Dilek Peninsula National Park, established in 1966, is on a promontory that extends westward from the Turkish mainland towards the Greek island of Samos. Most of the park and, in fact, most of the mountainous area outside the park towards the east was densely forested.

Western side of the peak of Mt. Mycale (Dilek Tepe). I took this picture

from 1130 m. The peak was about 100 m higher.

Scorpions were abundant on Mt. Mycale and elsewhere on the Dilek Peninsula under the rocks we were overturning for snails. We left them and the snails they seemed to be guarding alone. The two snails next to this scorpion are Pseudochondrula seductilis.

Thanks to the permits Zeki and Salih had obtained, we were allowed to enter the restricted western half of the peninsula and climb the high hills. We collected at more than 50 stations in and around the park extending from the beach in front of the gendarmerie station near the western tip of the peninsula to the peaks of two of the highest hills. We even collected at the ruins of the monastery near the western end of the peninsula.


Zeki's trusty car that had served us well in Bodrum in 2002 didn't let us down on the rocky roads of the Dilek Peninsula either. Here, Francisco, Salih and Zeki are taking a break from collecting on a section of the road overlooking the Büyük Menderes delta.	Shells from one of our stations on the Dilek Peninsula.

"I am one of those who prefer neglected ruins, places untouched even by the archaeologist, where one's thoughts can build their own palaces, and the past, draped and veiled in its garment of earth, lies like the sleeping beauty undiscovered and undisturbed."

Freya Stark, Ionia: A Quest, 1954

The ruins of the Greek Monastery (Aya Yorgi?) on Dilek Peninsula.

After we finished surveying the Dilek Peninsula, we took a day trip to the mountains behind (north of) Aydın. These mountains were dotted with small villages that created picturesque scenes as we drove along narrow winding roads. There were also isolated calcerous outcrops where we found snails. When we arrived at our last station (in the picture on the right below) the sun was about to set. We rushed to the rocks and started searching for shells. We continued to collect until it got too dark to see.

Aydın and his sign.

One of the small villages on the mountains behind Aydın. The white peak of the hill

above the village, at about 1030 m, was marble where we collected until after dark.

Our next survey area was the Spil Mountain National Park between Izmir and Manisa. Spil Mountain (the ancient Mt. Sipylus), consisting of several calcerous high hills, was also forested. We climbed to the peak of the hill called Çırpıcıdede (1450 m). The peak was rather windy and barren, but we did find snails. At the foot of this hill there was a small creek along which we collected succineids. Using the tents and sleeping bags Zeki and Salih had brought, we spent the night on Spil Mountain. There were some unexpected finds the following day, including a fossil land snail shell that Tim found.

Francisco, Aydın and Tim at the peak of Çırpıcıdede (1450 m), one of the hills of Spil Mountain (photo by Zeki Yıldırım).

Both the Dilek Peninsula and Spil Mountain, being protected areas, retain at least some of their original flora and fauna in relatively undisturbed forests. However, both parks are considered threatened as a result of habitat destruction (Özhatay et al., 2003, Türkiye'nin Önemli Bitki Alanları, WWF Türkiye, Istanbul). In stark contrast, the Aydın Mountains are mostly covered with agricultural fields and groves of fruit trees. One can only imagine what it would have been like to experience a virgin forest of thousands of years ago.

One of the Zebrina cosensis we encountered on Spil Mountain.

This one was aestivating on a vertical cliff.

Despite our busy schedule, there was also time to stop and

photograph the wild flowers. These were also on Spil Mountain.

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