Pupilla muscorum
| Pupilla muscorum | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Six shells of Pupilla muscorum, scale bar in mm | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Pupilloidea |
| Family: | Pupillidae |
| Genus: | Pupilla |
| Species: | P. muscorum |
| Binomial name | |
| Pupilla muscorum (Linnaeus, 1758)[1] |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Turbo muscorum Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Pupilla muscorum is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Pupillidae.
Contents |
[edit] Taxonomy
A variety Pupilla muscorum var. pratensis Clessin, 1871 considered as ecophenotype of Pupilla muscorum was elevated to its species level Pupilla pratensis in 2009.[2]
[edit] Description
The shell is usually light brown, varies from reddish brown to horny grey, weakly striated or almost smooth, 5-6.5 weakly convex whorls, suture not very deep, aperture usually with well-developed lip, cervical callus strongly developed, like a dam, parietal tooth usually present, palatal tooth sometimes too.[3]
Pupilla muscorum differs from Pupilla pratensis with which it lives sympatrically, in its thicker, smaller and more slender shell, lighter and more variable colour and stronger apertural lip.[3]
The animal of Pupilla muscorum is small, elliptical, dark with lighter sides and foot, upper tentacles not very long, lower tentacles very short.[3]
The height of the shell is 3.0-4.0 mm. The width of the shell is 1.65-1.75 mm (shell diameter does not vary much).[3]
[edit] Distribution
This species of land snail occurs in the Northern Hemisphere including almost all of Europe. It is recorded as present in countries and islands including:
- Great Britain. It is threatened by disturbance due to intensification of land use of old calcareous grasslands in Britain.[3]
- Ireland
- lower concern in Austria. Vulnerable in Vorarlberg.[3]
- lower concern in Germany, decreasing (4R) in Bavaria.[3]
- Crimea [1]
- Pakistan[4]
- Michigan, USA [2]
- Vermont, USA [3]
[edit] Ecology
Pupilla muscorum lives on dry meadows, sand dunes, open and sunny habitats.[3] Calciphile.[3] In Portugal found under stones, dead leaves and in mosses.[3] In Britain frequent in sheep-grazed calcareous grasslands.[3] In the Alps in up to 2400 m, in Bulgaria 1200 m.[3]
Ovoviviparous, the species is able to hibernate with eggs and can release eggs with partly grown embryos in favourable seasons.[3]
[edit] References
This article incorporates public domain text from the reference [3].
- ^ Linnaeus C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. pp. [1-4], 1-824. Holmiae. (Salvius).
- ^ von Proschwitz T., Schander C. , Jueg U. & Thorkildsen S. (2009). "Morphology, ecology and DNA-barcoding distinguish Pupilla pratensis (Clessin, 1871) from Pupilla muscorum (Linnaeus, 1758) (Pulmonata: Pupillidae)". Journal of Molluscan Studies 75(4): 315-322. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyp038.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Species summary for Pupilla muscorum". AnimalBase. Last modified 30-01-2010, accessed 30 July 2010.
- ^ Pokryszko B. M., Auffenberg K., Hlaváč J. Č. & Naggs F. (2009). "Pupilloidea of Pakistan (Gastropoda: Pulmonata): Truncatellininae, Vertigininae, Gastrocoptinae, Pupillinae (In Part)". Annales Zoologici 59(4): 423-458. doi:10.3161/000345409X484847.
