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Achatinellidae
Achatinellidae is a family of tropical air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Pupilloidea. Taxonomy It was previously the only family in the superfamily Achatinelloidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). It is now classified under the superfamily Pupilloidea. The family Achatinellidae represents a diverse adaptive radiation. All species of tree-snail in Hawaii are believed to have come from a single ancestral snail. How that ancestral snail made the trip across the ocean is unknown. A longstanding theory is that a bird carried a notably smaller ancestor across the ocean and dropped it on the islands, as bird mediated dispersal has been documented in other snail species. Alternative theories include that it floating across the ocean on a mat of debris, or that it island hopped across the Pacific in a combination of the theories. Subfamilies in the family Achatinellidae include: * Achat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achatinella
''Achatinella'' is a tropical genus of colorful land snails in the monotypic Achatinellidae subfamily Achatinellinae. Species are arboreal pulmonate gastropod mollusks with some species called Oʻahu tree snails or kāhuli in the Hawaiian language. ''Achatinella'' species are all endemic to the island of Oahu in Hawaii, and all remaining extant species are endangered. They were once abundant and were mentioned extensively in Hawaiian folklore and songs, and their shells were used in lei and other ornaments. Many of the species are sinistral or left-handed chirality in their spiral shell coiling, whereas most gastropod shells are dextral, with a right handed spiral. Distribution There were 41 species of ''Achatinella'' endemic to the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, though only 13 species survive. Some species have less than 50 remaining individuals, and others have +300; many species fall in between. Conservation status All 13 species are listed under United States federal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |