Trichia
Encyclopedia
Trochulus, common name
hairy snails, is a taxonomic genus of small air-breathing land snail
s, pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Hygromiidae
.
Nearly every malacological work prior to 2006 use the name Trichia instead of the now known to be valid name Trochulus.
The speciation
centre for the genus Trochulus is in the Alps
.
The type species
of this genus is Trochulus hispidus.
Species within the genus Trochulus include:
subgenus Trochulus Chemnitz, 1786
subgenus Plicuteria Schileyko, 1978
Based on molecular analyses, Trochulus lubomirskii
does not belong to genus Trochulus.
of shells
of the most of Trochulus species have hairs. Some of the hair-less species do possess some hairs as juveniles. Haired shells appeared to be the ancestral character state in the genus Trochulus, a feature most probably lost three times independently. These losses were correlated with a shift from humid to dry habitats, indicating an adaptive function of hairs in moist environments. It had been previously hypothesised that these costly protein structures of the outer shell layer facilitate the locomotion in moist habitats. Experiments by Pfenninger et. al (2005) showed an increased adherence of haired shells to wet surfaces. The possession of hairs facilitates the adherence of the snails to their herbaceous food plants during foraging when humidity levels are high. The absence of hairs in some Trochulus species could thus be explained as a loss of the potential adaptive function linked to habitat shifts.
or Tussilago
.
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
hairy snails, is a taxonomic genus of small air-breathing land snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Hygromiidae
Hygromiidae
Hygromiidae is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.-Anatomy:...
.
Taxonomy
Trichia Hartmann, 1840 is a junior synonym of Trochulus Chemnitz, 1786.Nearly every malacological work prior to 2006 use the name Trichia instead of the now known to be valid name Trochulus.
Species
Speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise. The biologist Orator F. Cook seems to have been the first to coin the term 'speciation' for the splitting of lineages or 'cladogenesis,' as opposed to 'anagenesis' or 'phyletic evolution' occurring within lineages...
centre for the genus Trochulus is in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.
The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of this genus is Trochulus hispidus.
Species within the genus Trochulus include:
subgenus Trochulus Chemnitz, 1786
- Trochulus alpicola (Eder, 1921)
- Trochulus ataxiacus (Fagot, 1884)
- Trochulus biconicus (Eder, 1917) - synonym: Trichia biconicaTrichia biconicaTrochulus biconicus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae. It is endemic to Switzerland.- External links :* at AnimalBase...
- Trochulus glyptus (Locard, 1880) - synonym: Trochulus caelatus (Studer, 1820) - synonym: Trichia caelataTrichia caelataTrochulus caelatus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae.- Distribution :It is endemic to Northwestern Jura mountains, Switzerland.- External links :* at AnimalBase...
- Trochulus clandestinus (Hartmann, 1821)
- Trochulus coelomphala (Locard, 1888)
- Trochulus erjaveci (Brusina, 1870)
- Trochulus graminicola (Falkner, 1973) - synonym: Trichia gramnicolaTrichia gramnicolaTrochulus graminicola is a species of air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae. It is endemic to Germany.- External links :* at AnimalBase...
- Trochulus hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758) - synonym: Trichia hispidaTrichia hispidaTrochulus hispidus, also known as Trichia hispida, common name, the "hairy snail", is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae.-Anatomy:...
(Linnaeus, 1758) - Trochulus montanus (Studer, 1820)
- Trochulus oreinos (Wagner, 1915) - synonym: Trichia oreinosTrichia oreinosTrochulus oreinos is a species of small, air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies. This species is endemic to Austria....
- Trochulus phorochaetius (Bourguignat, 1864)
- Trochulus plebeius (Draparnaud, 1805) - synonym: Trichia plebeia
- Trochulus sericeusTrochulus sericeusTrochulus sericeus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies.- Further reading :...
(Draparnaud, 1801) - synonym: Trichia sericea (Draparnaud, 1801) - Trochulus striolatusTrochulus striolatusTrochulus striolatus, also known as Trichia striolata, common name the "strawberry snail," is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae....
(C. Pfeiffer, 1828) - synonym: Trichia striolata - Trochulus suberectus (Clessin, 1878)
- Trochulus villosusTrochulus villosusTrochulus villosus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae.- External links :* http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/home/species?id=2678...
(Draparnaud, 1805) - Trochulus villosulusTrochulus villosulusTrochulus villosulus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies....
- (Rossmässler, 1838) - synonym: Trichia villosula (Rossmässler, 1838) - Trochulus waldemari (Wagner, 1912)
subgenus Plicuteria Schileyko, 1978
- Trochulus lubomirskiiTrochulus lubomirskiiTrochulus lubomirskii is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies.- Taxonomy :...
(Ślósarski, 1881) - synonym: Trichia lubomirskii
Based on molecular analyses, Trochulus lubomirskii
Trochulus lubomirskii
Trochulus lubomirskii is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies.- Taxonomy :...
does not belong to genus Trochulus.
Hairs on shells
PeriostracumPeriostracum
The periostracum is a thin organic coating or "skin" which is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including mollusks and brachiopods. Among mollusks it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in bivalves and gastropods, but it is also found in cephalopods such as the...
of 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 most of Trochulus species have hairs. Some of the hair-less species do possess some hairs as juveniles. Haired shells appeared to be the ancestral character state in the genus Trochulus, a feature most probably lost three times independently. These losses were correlated with a shift from humid to dry habitats, indicating an adaptive function of hairs in moist environments. It had been previously hypothesised that these costly protein structures of the outer shell layer facilitate the locomotion in moist habitats. Experiments by Pfenninger et. al (2005) showed an increased adherence of haired shells to wet surfaces. The possession of hairs facilitates the adherence of the snails to their herbaceous food plants during foraging when humidity levels are high. The absence of hairs in some Trochulus species could thus be explained as a loss of the potential adaptive function linked to habitat shifts.
Feeding habits
Trochulus species in moist habitats preferentially forage on large-leaved herbaceous plants like Adenostyles, Urtica, HomogyneHomogyne
Homogyne is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae.-Selected species:*Homogyne alpina*Homogyne discolor*Homogyne sylvestris...
or Tussilago
Tussilago
Tussilago is a genus of plants. T. farfara is the coltsfoot. Many of the species are often placed in other genera, such as Homogyne, Petasites or Adenostyles....
.
Further reading
- Depraz A., Rathey E. & Hausser J. (7 December 2007) "Characterization of 13 polymorphic microsatellite loci for two land snail species, Trochulus villosus and T. sericeus (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Hygromiidae)". Molecular Ecology Notes.
- Hrabáková M., Juřičková L. & Petrušek A. (2006) "Taxonomy of the genus Trochulus (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) in the Czech Republic".