Endodontidae

Endodontidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora
informal group Sigmurethra

Superfamily: Punctoidea
Family: Endodontidae
Pilsbry, 1895
Genera

See text

Endodontidae is a taxonomic family of very small air-breathing land snails and slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Punctoidea.

This family, which includes both snails and slugs, appears to have once been much more diverse, but has declined, and is now endangered due to human activity.

Anatomy

In this family, the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 26 and 35 (according to the values in this table).[1]

Distribution and conservation status

This family is found only in the Pacific islands. The family is critically endangered and on the verge of extinction, mainly because of habitat loss due to human development. On American Samoa, some species are in decline due to predation by introduced fire ants.[2] On Rurutu in French Polynesia the family is only known by subfossil shells. At least 18 endemic species are known of which four were described in 2009 and eight were described as new to science in 2013. Only one of them survived into the first half of the 20th century. Most of them became extinct due to the degradation of their habitats.[3][4]

Genera

The family Endodontidae has no subfamilies.

Genera within the family Endodontidae include:[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ Barker G. M.: Gastropods on Land: Phylogeny, Diversity and Adaptive Morphology. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-85199-318-4. 1-146, cited pages: 139 and 142.
  2. ↑ Samoan Snail Catalog
  3. ↑ Sartori et al (2013): Anthropogenic extinction of Pacific land snails: A case study of Rurutu, French Polynesia, with description of eight new species of endodontids (Pulmonata) In: Zootaxa 3640 (3): 343–372
  4. ↑ Zimmermann G., Gargominy O. & Fontaine B. 2009. — Quatre espèces nouvelles d’Endodontidae (Mollusca, Pulmonata) éteints de Rurutu (Îles Australes, Polynésie française). Zoosystema 31 (4) : 791-805. (in French)
  5. ↑ Powell A. W. B. New Zealand Mollusca. William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1.
  6. ↑ Solem A. (29 October 1976) Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part I. Family Endodontidae. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Endodontidae


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