''Euchondrus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of very small air-breathing land snails,

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

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Enidae Enidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Enidae B. B. Woodward, 1903 (1880). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies ...

Distribution

The snails in this genus are of

levantine Levantine may refer to: * Anything pertaining to the Levant, the region centered around modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, including any person from the Levant ** Syria (region), corresponding to the modern countries of the Lev ...

distribution, which includes Cyprus,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, Syria,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and Jordan.

Shell description

The

gastropod shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of a Gastropoda, gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium s ...

of ''Euchondrus'' is 6.5–13 mm in height in ''

Euchondrus parreyssi ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, I ...

'', that has very variable size in ''Euchondrus''."Species summary for ''Euchondrus parreyssi''"

AnimalBase AnimalBase is a project brought to life in 2004 and is maintained by the University of Göttingen, Germany. The goal of the AnimalBase project is to digitize early zoological literature, provide copyright-free open access to zoological works, and p ...

, last modified 24 February 2009, accessed 7 September 2010. The shell is elongate with 5-7

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral d ...

and a high

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is toothed.

Ecology

This snail species lives in open habitats, under limestone rocks in the desert. Three species of ''Euchondrus'' in the

Negev desert The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...

are noted for eating lichens growing under the surface

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

rocks and slabs ( endolithic lichens). They disrupt and eat the limestone. Their grazing resulting in the

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs '' in situ'' (on site, with little or no movemen ...

of the stones, and the subsequent formation of soil.Odling-Smee F. J., Laland K. N. & Feldman M. W. (2003). "Niche Construction: The Neglected Process in Evolution (MPB-37)".

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent Academic publishing, publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, ...

. 468 pp
HTM

PDF
Chapter 1. page 7-8. They have a significant effect on the region: the total population of snails is estimated to process between 0.7 and 1.1 metric ton per hectare per year of limestone in the Negev desert.

Species

Species within the genus ''Euchondrus'' include: * ''

Euchondrus albulus ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' (Mousson, 1861) * ''

Euchondrus borealis ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' (Mousson, 1874)"Species in genus ''Euchondrus''"
=6

, accessed 6 September 2010. * ''

Euchondrus chondriformis ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' (Mousson, 1861) - type species * ''

Euchondrus desertorum ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' Rochanab, 1981 * ''

Euchondrus ledereri ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1868) * ''

Euchondrus limbodentatus ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' (Mousson, 1854) * ''

Euchondrus nucifragus ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levant, levantine distribution, ...

'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1848) * ''

'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1846) * ''

Euchondrus ramonensis ''Euchondrus ramonensis'' is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Enidae Enidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks. MolluscaBase eds. ...

'' * ''

Euchondrus saulcyi ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, I ...

'' (Bourguignat, 1852) * ''

Euchondrus septemdentatus ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levant, levantine distribution, ...

'' (Roth, 1839)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405900 Enidae