Placostylus
Encyclopedia
Placostylus, or flax snails, are a genus
of very large, air-breathing land snail
s, terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family
Placostylidae
.
Placostylus is the type genus of the family Placostylidae.
The shells
of the snails in this genus can be as large as 4.5 inches (11 cm) in maximum dimension.
Many species within this genus are now extinct.
, Vanuatu
, New Caledonia
, Fiji
, Lord Howe Island
, and Northland in New Zealand
. There are three species in New Zealand and no susbspecies.
subgenus Basileostylus Haas, 1935
subgenus Maoristylus Haas, 1935
subgenus ?
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of very large, air-breathing land snail
Land snail
A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...
s, terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Placostylidae
Placostylidae
Placostylidae is a family of land snails, gastropods in the superfamily Orthalicoidea.- Taxonomy :The Placostylidae family is classified within the informal group Sigmurethra, itself belonging to the clade Stylommatophora within the clade Eupulmonata .This family has no subfamilies Placostylidae is...
.
Placostylus is the type genus of the family Placostylidae.
The shells
Gastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
of the snails in this genus can be as large as 4.5 inches (11 cm) in maximum dimension.
Many species within this genus are now extinct.
Distribution
This genus of snails occurs in the Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
, and Northland in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. There are three species in New Zealand and no susbspecies.
Species
Species within this genus include:subgenus Basileostylus Haas, 1935
- Placostylus bollonsi SuterHenry SuterHenry Suter was a New Zealand zoologist, naturalist, palaeontologist, and malacologist.- Biography :...
, 1908 - New Zealand flax snail
subgenus Maoristylus Haas, 1935
- Placostylus ambagiosusPlacostylus ambagiosusPlagiostylus ambagiosus is a species of flax snail , a large air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Placostylidae, according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda ....
SuterHenry SuterHenry Suter was a New Zealand zoologist, naturalist, palaeontologist, and malacologist.- Biography :...
, 1906 - Placostylus hongiiPlacostylus hongiiPlacostylus hongii is a species of very large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Placostylidae.-Conservation status:...
(Lesson, 1830)
subgenus ?
- Placostylus bivaricosus Gaskoin, 1855
- Placostylus caledonicus Petit, 1845
- Placostylus cuniculinsulaePlacostylus cuniculinsulae†Placostylus cuniculinsulae was a species of large air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Placostylidae, according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda . This species was endemic to Australia. It is now extinct....
Cox, 1872 - Placostylus eddystonensisPlacostylus eddystonensisPlacostylus eddystonensis is a species of air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Placostylidae. This species is endemic to New Caledonia....
PfeifferLudwig Karl Georg PfeifferLudwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer, also known as Louis Pfeiffer was a German physician, botanist and conchologist.-Biography:He received his education in Kassel, and became professor of pathology there in 1828...
, 1855 - Placostylus fibratusPlacostylus fibratusPlacostylus fibratus is a species of large air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Placostylidae. This species is endemic to New Caledonia....
MartynThomas MartynThomas Martyn was an English botanist and Professor of Botany at Cambridge University. He is sometimes confused with the conchologist and entomologist of the same name....
, 1789 - type species - Placostylus manni Clapp, 1923
- Placostylus miltocheilus ReeveLovell Augustus ReeveLovell Augustus Reeve was an English conchologist.Lovell Augustus Reeve was initially apprenticed to a grocer of Ludgate Hill between 1827 and '34...
, 1848 - Placostylus porphyrostomusPlacostylus porphyrostomusPlacostylus porphyrostomus is a species of large air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Placostylidae. This species is endemic to New Caledonia....
PfeifferLudwig Karl Georg PfeifferLudwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer, also known as Louis Pfeiffer was a German physician, botanist and conchologist.-Biography:He received his education in Kassel, and became professor of pathology there in 1828...
, 1851
External links
- Fabrice M. Brescia, Christine M. Pöllabauer, Murray A. Potter & Alastair W. Robertson, A review of the ecology and conservation of Placostylus (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Bulimulidae) in New Caledonia; Molluscan Research 28(2): 111–122; ISSN 1323-5818
- Powell A. W. B.Arthur William Baden PowellDr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...
, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1 - Flax snail on Department of Conservation (New Zealand) website