Banded dune snail

The banded dune snail or Morro shoulderband, scientific name Helminthoglypta walkeriana, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helminthoglyptidae.

Banded dune snail
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Xanthonychidae
Genus: Helminthoglypta
Species:
H. walkeriana
Binomial name
Helminthoglypta walkeriana
(Hemphill, 1911)

This species is endemic to Morro Bay and the central coast in San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County, in California.

Taxonomy

At the time the species was divided into two subtaxa (subspecies or varieties): H. w. walkeriana and *H. w. morroensis
The latter was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered.

In 2004, it was elevated to species status as Helminthoglypta morroensis and it inherited the endangered status it had when it was part of Helminthoglypta walkeriana.

Both snails together were known as the banded dune snail. Today H. walkeriana is the Morro shoulderband, and H. morroensis is the Chorro shoulderband.[2]

Conservation

This snail was placed on the United States' Endangered Species List in 1994.

The USFWS recommends that the Morro shoulderband be downlisted to threatened status and the Chorro shoulderband be delisted.[2]

The snails eat decaying plants and are eaten by birds, reptiles and mammals. Within the narrow distribution in coastal dune and scrub communities in Western San Luis Obispo County, they only come out in wet weather. They seal themselves inside of their shells for months at a time when it's dry for months at a time.[3]

References
  1. Roth, B. (1996). "Helminthoglypta walkeriana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T9859A13022006. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T9859A13022006.en. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  2. USFWS. Morro Shoulderband and Chorro Shoulderband Five-year Review. September 2006.
  3. Orozco, Lance (July 31, 2020). "Officials Say Rare Type Of Snail on Central Coast Doing Well; Removal From Endangered List Proposed". KCLU. Retrieved February 8, 2022.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.