Euchondrus Nucifragus
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''Euchondrus'' is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of very small 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 ...
s,
terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. 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 o ...
pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates is an informal group (previously an order, and before that, a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group inclu ...
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 ...
s in the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
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 distribution, which includes Cyprus,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, Syria,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and Jordan.


Shell description

The
gastropod shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, 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 ...
of ''Euchondrus'' is 6.5–13 mm in height in '' Euchondrus parreyssi'', 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). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagram ...
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. Spire ...
. The
aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...
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 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 southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
are noted for eating
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s growing under the surface
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
rocks and slabs (
endolithic An endolith or endolithic is an organism ( archaeon, bacterium, fungus, lichen, algae, sponge, or amoeba) that is able to acquire the necessary resources for growth in the inner part of a rock, mineral, coral, animal shells, or in the pores bet ...
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, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no move ...
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 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, with the financial ...
. 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 albulus'' is a gastropod (snail), It is native to the Negev Desert of Israel. It eats lichens growing in cracks in limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the ma ...
'' (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, Israe ...
'' (Mousson, 1874)"Species in genus ''Euchondrus''"
=6
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 ...
, 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, Israe ...
'' (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, Israe ...
'' 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, Israe ...
'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1868) * ''
Euchondrus limbodentatus ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small 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 mol ...
'' (Mousson, 1854) * '' Euchondrus nucifragus'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1848) * '' Euchondrus parreyssi'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1846) * '' Euchondrus ramonensis'' * '' Euchondrus saulcyi'' (Bourguignat, 1852) * '' Euchondrus septemdentatus'' (Roth, 1839)


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405900 Enidae