The fat Guam partula or humped tree snail,
scientific name
In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
''Partula gibba'', is an endangered
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of air-breathing
land snail
A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have gastropod shell, shel ...
, a
terrestrial gastropod
Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
mollusk
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
in the family
Partulidae
Partulidae is a family (biology), family of air-breathing land snails, Terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Pupilloidea.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Partulidae Pilsbry, 1900. Accessed ...
.
Distribution
This species occurs throughout the
Mariana Archipelago, and has been reported in the greatest densities and population sizes on the isle of
Sarigan.
Ecology
On Sarigan, the species has been recorded most frequently in high-elevation native forests on the trunks of large ''
Erythrina variegata'' specimens, often resting at the base of branches. On 19 May 2015 specimens were found consuming the Pandanus-fruit ejecta of the
Mariana fruit bat on the leaves of a ''
Pandanus tectorius'' tree. Mariana partulids have been noted to consume plant material, both living and decaying.
See also
List of land snails of the Mariana Islands
References
* Férussac A. E. J. (1821-1822). Tableaux systématiques des animaux mollusques suivis d'un Prodrome général pour tous les mollusques terrestres ou fluviatiles vivants ou fossilesPremière partie, Tableaux systématiques généraux, pp. i-xlvii. Deuxième partie, Tableaux particuliers des mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles, Classe des Gastéropodes. 1, Tableau de la famille des limaces, pp. 1–28. 2, Tableau de la famille des limaçons, pp. 1–92. 3, Tableau de la famille des auricules, pp. 93–114.
or details of dates of publication see Kennard A.S., 1942, Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London 25(3): 105-110 Paris: Arthus-Bertrand. page(s): 66
External links
Partula (gastropod)
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
ESA endangered species
Gastropods described in 1821
Taxa named by André Étienne d'Audebert de Férussac
Critically endangered fauna of the United States
{{Guam-stub