''Minaselates paradoxa'' is a species 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 subfamily

Epiphragmophorinae Epiphragmophorinae is a subfamily of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Xanthonychidae (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). This family has no subfamilies. Sh ...

. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Minaselates Cuezzo & Pena, 2017. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=991577 on 2021-02-25 It is the sole representative of the

monospecific In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus ''Minaselates'', described from the

Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional Cavernas do Peruaçu) is a national park in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is noted for its large limestone caves. Location The Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park, with an area of ...

in southeastern Brazil.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

''Minaselates'' is a

genus erected to harbor ''Minaselates paradoxa'', and one of the seven genera currently included in the family

Epiphragmophoridae Epiphragmophorinae is a subfamily of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Xanthonychidae (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). This family has no subfamilies. S ...

. It is apparently closely related to the genus ''

Epiphragmophora ''Epiphragmophora'' is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Epiphragmophorinae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Epiphragmophora Doering, 1875. Accessed through: World Register ...

'', but its shell can be distinguished by the

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also calle ...

sculpture, outline of the apex, complex

teleoconch The gastropod shell is part of the body of a 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 storage. So ...

microsculpture and closed

umbilicus Umbilicus may refer to: *The navel or belly button *Umbilicus (mollusc), a feature of gastropod, Nautilus and Ammonite shell anatomy * ''Umbilicus'' (plant), a genus of over ninety species of perennial flowering plants *Umbilicus urbis Romae The ...

fused with the shell wall. Regarding the soft parts, the presence of a long and thin kidney that extends more than half the length of the pulmonary cavity, as well as a flagellar caecum and a smooth jaw also distinguish ''Minaselates'' from ''Epiphragmophora''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q30682476 Xanthonychidae Gastropods described in 2017 Monotypic gastropod genera