''Placostylus'', or flax snails, are 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 large, 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 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 ...
mollusc
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
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 ...
Bothriembryontidae.
[MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Placostylus H. Beck, 1837. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=818479 on 2020-11-14]
The
shells of the snails in this genus can be as large as 4.5 inches (11 cm) in maximum dimension.
Many species within this genus are now
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
.
Taxonomy
''Placostylus'' is the type genus of the family Placostylidae.
It was placed within Placostylidae.
Breure et al. (2010)
[Breure A. S. H., Groenenberg D. S. J. & Schilthuizen M. (2010). "New insights in the phylogenetic relations within the Orthalicoidea (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora) based on 28S sequence data". '' Basteria'' 74(1-3): 25-31.] moved ''
Prestonella'' and ''
Bothriembryon'' to Placostylidae. Subsequently, Breure & Romero (2012)
confirmed previous results from 2010 and they renamed Placostylidae to Bothriembryontidae.
[Breure A. S. H. & Romero P. (2012). "Support and surprises: molecular phylogeny of the land snail superfamily Orthalicoidea using a three-locus gene analysis with a divergence time analysis and ancestral area reconstruction (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora)". '' Archiv für Molluskenkunde: International Journal of Malacology'' 141(1): 1-20. .]
Distribution
This genus of snails occurs in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
,
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
,
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
,
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...
, and
Northland in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. There are three species in New Zealand and no subspecies.
[Buckley T. R., Stringer I., Gleeson D., Howitt R., Attanayake D., Parrish R., Sherley G. & Rohan M. (2011). "A revision of the New Zealand ''Placostylus'' land snails using mitochondrial DNA and shell morphometric analyses, with implications for conservation". '' New Zealand Journal of Zoology'' 38(1): 55-81. .]
Species
In former classification, two subgenera were recognized:
subgenus ''
Basileostylus''
Haas, 1935["Class Gastropoda"](_blank)
New Zealand Mollusca, accessed 26 December 2010.
subgenus ''
Maoristylus''
Haas, 1935
Species within this genus include:
* † ''
Placostylus abbreviatus''
(Gassies, 1871)
* ''
Placostylus ambagiosus''
Suter, 1906
* ''
Placostylus bivaricosus'' (Gaskoin, 1855)
* ''
Placostylus bondeensis
''Placostylus'', or flax snails, are a genus of very large, air-breathing land snails, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Bothriembryontidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Placost ...
''
(Crosse & Souverbie, 1869)
* ''
Placostylus caledonicus''
(Petit, 1845)
* ''
Placostylus eddystonensis''
Pfeiffer, 1855
* ''
Placostylus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1789) - type species
[ ICZN (1992). "Opinion 1662. ''Limax fibratus'' Martyn, 1784 and ''Nerita hebraea'' Martyn, 1786 (currently ''Placostylus fibratus'' and ''Nerita hebraea''; Mollusca, Gastropoda): specific names conserved; and ''Placostylus'' Beck, 1837; ''L. fibratus'' designated as the type species". '' Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature'' 49: 74-75.]
* ''
Placostylus hongii''
(Lesson, 1830)
* ''
Placostylus founaki''
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1853): synonym of ''
Placocharis founaki''
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1847)
* ''
Placostylus fraterculus''
Rensch, 1934
* ''
Placostylus gracilis''
(Broderip, 1840)
* † ''
Placostylus leoni''
Haas, 1935
* ''
Placostylus porphyrostomus''
Pfeiffer, 1851
* ''
Placostylus priscus''
Powell, 1938
* ''
Placostylus salomonis''
(Pfeiffer, 1853)
* ''
Placostylus scarabus''
(Albers, 1854)
* † ''
Placostylus senilis''
(Gassies, 1869)
;Synonyms:
* ''Placostylus albersi''
Dautzenberg & Bouge in Dautzenberg, 1923: synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus souvillei''
(Morelet, 1857) (nom. nov. pro ''Placostylus eximius''
Albers not Reeve)
* ''Placostylus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855)
* ''Placostylus alienus''
Pilsbry, 1893: synonym of ''
Santacharis fuligineus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1854) (original combination; junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus annibal''
(Souverbie, 1869): synonym of ''
Placostylus caledonicus''
(Petit, 1845) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus bavayi''
(Crosse & Marie, 1868): synonym of ''Placostylus eddystonensis bavayi''
(Crosse & Marie, 1868)
* ''Placostylus bollonsi''
Suter, 1908 - New Zealand flax snail: synonym of ''
Basileostylus bollonsi''
(Suter, 1908)
* ''Placostylus calus''
E. A. Smith, 1892: synonym of ''
Eumecostylus calus''
(E. A. Smith, 1892) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus cleryi''
(Petit de la Saussage, 1850): synonym of ''
Eumecostylus cleryi''
(Petit de la Saussaye, 1850)
* ''Placostylus cuniculinsulae''
Cox, 1872: synonym of ''
Placostylus bivaricosus''
(Gaskoin, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus dorseyi''
Dall, 1910: synonym of ''
Partula grisea''
Lesson, 1831
* ''Placostylus duplex''
(Gassies, 1871): synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus porphyrostomus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1853)
* ''Placostylus dupuyi''
Kobelt, 1890: synonym of ''Placostylus eddystonensis bavayi''
(Crosse & Marie, 1868) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus falcicula''
(Gassies, 1871): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1784)
* ''Placostylus founaki''
(Rousseau, 1854): synonym of ''
Placocharis founaki''
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1847)
* ''Placostylus francoisi''
Mabille, 1895: synonym of ''
Poecilocharis bicolor''
(Hartman, 1889) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus gizoensis''
Clench, 1941: synonym of ''
Placostylus bivaricosus''
(Gaskoin, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus goulvainensis''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus smithii''
Kobelt, 1891 (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus guestieri''
(Gassies, 1869): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus guestieri''
(Gassies, 1869)
* ''Placostylus guppyi''
E. A. Smith, 1892: synonym of ''
Placocharis guppyi''
(E. A. Smith, 1892) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus hienguensis''
Crosse, 1871: synonym of ''
Placostylus eddystonensis''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus houailouensis''
Dautzenberg, 1901: synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus kanalensis''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1877): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus layardi''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''Placostylus bondeensis rossiteri''
(Brazier, 1881) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus leucolenus''
Crosse, 1896: synonym of ''
Placostylus fibratus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1784)
* ''Placostylus loyaltyensis''
(Souverbie, 1879): synonym of ''
Leucocharis loyaltyensis''
(Souverbie, 1879)
* ''Placostylus manni''
Clapp, 1923: synonym of ''
Placocharis manni''
(Clapp, 1923) (basionym)
* ''Placostylus mariei''
(Crosse & P. Fischer, 1867): synonym of Placostylus porphyrostomus mariei (Crosse & P. Fischer, 1867)
* ''Placostylus miltocheilus''
Reeve, 1848: synonym of ''
Aspastus miltocheilus''
(Reeve, 1848)
* ''Placostylus ouveanus''
(Mousson, 1869): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus ouveanus''
(Mousson, 1869)
* ''Placostylus palmarum''
(Mousson, 1869): synonym of ''
Placocharis palmarum''
(Mousson, 1869)
* ''Placostylus paravicinianus''
B. Rensch, 1934: synonym of ''
Placocharis paravicinianus''
(B. Rensch, 1934) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus pseudocaledonicus''
(Montrouzier in Crosse, 1859): synonym of ''
Placostylus scarabus''
(Albers, 1854) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus pyrostomus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1860): synonym of ''
Santacharis salomonis''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1852) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus remotus''
Hedley, 1898: synonym of ''
Partula remota''
(Hedley, 1898) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus sanchristovalensis''
(Cox, 1870): synonym of ''
Eumecostylus sanchristovalensis''
(Cox, 1870)
* ''Placostylus savesi''
Crosse, 1886: synonym of ''Placostylus eddystonensis savesi''
Crosse, 1886
* ''Placostylus saxtoni''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''
Placostylus caledonicus''
(Petit, 1845) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus scottii''
(Cox, 1873): synonym of ''
Eumecostylus scottii''
(Cox, 1873)
* ''Placostylus seemanni''
(Dohrn, 1861): synonym of ''
Euplacostylus seemanni''
(Dohrn, 1861)
* ''Placostylus singularis''
(Morelet, 1857): synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus porphyrostomus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1853) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus sinistrorsa''
(Crosse, 1884): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus ouveanus''
(Mousson, 1869) (based on unavailable original name)
* ''Placostylus smithii''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus smithii''
Kobelt, 1891 (basionym)
* ''Placostylus souvillei''
(Morelet, 1857): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus souvillei''
(Morelet, 1857)
* ''Placostylus stutchburyi''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1860): synonym of ''
Placocharis stutchburyi''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1860)
* ''Placostylus superfasciatus''
(Gassies, 1871): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1784) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus unicus''
B. Rensch, 1934: synonym of ''
Eumecostylus unicus''
(B. Rensch, 1934) (original combination)
References
External links
Fabrice M. Brescia, Christine M. Pöllabauer, Murray A. Potter & Alastair W. Robertson, A review of the ecology and conservation of Placostylus (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Bulimulidae) in New Caledonia; Molluscan Research 28(2): 111–122; ISSN 1323-5818*
Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979
Flax snailon
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Gastropod genera