Powelliphanta gilliesi

Powelliphanta gilliesi
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 2.3) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	Pulmonata
Family:	Rhytididae
Genus:	Powelliphanta
Species:	P. gilliesi
Binomial name
Powelliphanta gilliesi E. A. Smith, 1880
Synonyms
Paryphanta gilliesi Smith, 1880

Powelliphanta gilliesi, one of the "amber snails", is a species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.

Distribution

This species is endemic to the West Nelson area of the South Island of New Zealand.

There are nine subspecies,^[2] some of which are listed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation:^[3]

• Powelliphanta gilliesi aurea Powell, 1946
• Powelliphanta gilliesi brunnea Powell, 1938
• Powelliphanta gilliesi compta Powell, 1930 – Nationally Vulnerable
• Powelliphanta gilliesi fallax Powell, 1930 – National Decline
• Powelliphanta gilliesi gilliesi Smith, 1880
• Powelliphanta gilliesi jamesoni Powell, 1936
• Powelliphanta gilliesi kahurangica Powell, 1936
• Powelliphanta gilliesi montana Powell, 1936
• Powelliphanta gilliesi subfusca Powell, 1930 – Gradual Decline

Life cycle

The eggs of this specie are oval in shape and are seldom constant in dimensions, varying from 9 × 8 mm, to 9.75 × 8 mm, and 10 × 8 mm.^[4]

References

1. Mollusc Specialist Group (1996). "Paryphanta gilliesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
2. Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
3. "New Zealand Threat Classification System lists - 2002 - Terrestial [sic] invertebrate - part one". New Zealand Department of Conservation. 2002. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
4. O'Connor A. C. (June) 1945. Notes on the Eggs of New Zealand Paryphantidae, With Description of a New Subgenus. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, volume 5, 1945-46, pages 54-57.