''Crikey steveirwini'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of air-breathing
land snail, a
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...
pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family
Camaenidae
Camaenidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea, the typical snails and their allies. This is one of the most diverse families in the clade Stylommatophora.
Thes ...
. ''Crikey steveirwini'' is the only species in the genus ''Crikey''.
Etymology
The
specific name ''steveirwini'' is in memory of Australian wildlife expert
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist.
Irwin grew up around crocodiles and ot ...
, who died from a stingray injury in 2006. The genus name was a favourite exclamation of Steve Irwin's, "crikey!" being an Australian
minced oath
A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh" ...
.
The snail species was described by
John Stanisic
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
, a scientist at the
Queensland Museum
The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist m ...
who was later awarded
Certified Environmental Practitioner of the Year 2010.
Habitat
''Crikey steveirwini'' occurs in the north-eastern part of
Queensland, Australia
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, in the tropical rain forests also known as the
Wet Tropics
The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all ...
.
''Crikey steveirwini'' is an
arboreal
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...
species.
It has been found at altitudes over .
Appearance
The small, rare species has a high spire and is creamy yellow with coppery brown spiral bands. It can reach in size.
See also
*
List of organisms named after famous people (born 1950–present)
In biological nomenclature, organisms often receive scientific names that honor a person. A taxon (e.g. species or genus; plural: taxa) named in honor of another entity is an eponym, eponymous taxon, and names specifically honoring a person or pers ...
References
Camaenidae
Gastropods described in 2009
Steve Irwin
{{Camaenidae-stub