''Xeropicta'' 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 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 ...

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 subfamily Helicellinae of the family

Geomitridae Geomitridae is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea Helicoidea is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Taxonomic rank, superfamily of air-b ...

, the hairy snails and their allies.MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Xeropicta Monterosato, 1892. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=996346 on 2022-08-03

Distribution

The distribution of the genus ''Xeropicta'' includes south-eastern Europe to Near East and north-eastern Africa. Species in this genus have not yet become established in the US, but they are considered to represent potentially serious threats as pests,

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that these species be given top national

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

significance in the USA.Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". ''American Malacological Bulletin'' 27: 113-132
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Description

The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

is always white with brown spiral bands. The shell is medium-sized to small with a subdepressed to subconoidal

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

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

is open.

Reproductive system

There is a presence of two symmetrical dart sacs and two long accessory sacs, which are always longer than the dart sacs. There are four branched mucous glands around the vagina and penis is with penial appendix at its base. Penis is innervated from the right cerebral ganglion.

Species

Species within the genus ''Xeropicta'' include: * '' Xeropicta akrotirica'' Gittenberger, 1991"Species in genus ''Xeropicta''"
AnimalBase, accessed 8 October 2010. * '' Xeropicta candaharica'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1846) * '' Xeropicta carmelensis'' Forcart, 1976 * '' Xeropicta derbentina'' (Krynicki, 1836) * '' Xeropicta ilanae'' Forcart, 1981 * '' Xeropicta krynickii'' (Krynicki, 1833) - type species * '' Xeropicta ledereri'' (Pfeiffer, 1856) * '' Xeropicta mesopotamica'' (Mousson, 1874) * '' Xeropicta parableta'' (O. Boettger, 1881) * '' Xeropicta smyrnocretica'' (Germain, 1933) * '' Xeropicta vestalis'' (Pfeiffer, 1841) * '' Xeropicta zeevbari'' Mienis & Rittner, 2020 ;Synonym: * ''Xeropicta tiflisiana'' Lindholm, 1913: synonym of '' Kalitinaia tiflisiana'' (Lindholm, 1913) Xeropicta vestalis joppensis 01.JPG, ''Xeropicta vestalis joppensis''

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference"Genus summary for ''Xeropicta''"

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 27 December 2010, accessed 8 October 2010. * Bank, R. A. (2017). Classification of the Recent terrestrial Gastropoda of the World. Last update: July 16, 2017

External links

Monterosato, T. A. di. (1892). Molluschi terrestri delle isole adiacenti alla Sicilia. Atti della Reale Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Belle Arti di Palermo. 3rd Series, 2: 1-34
{{Taxonbar, from=Q8043884 Geomitridae