''Afristreptaxis elongatus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of 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 gastropod mollusks that have shells (those without shells are known as ...

, a 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 includ ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Streptaxidae Streptaxidae is a family of carnivorous air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade Stylommatophora. Six Streptaxidae subfamilies are accepted in the 2005 taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi. Stre ...

Description

The height of the shell attains 24 mm, its diameter 15 mm. (Original description) The shell is rimate, oval, and somewhat thin with a whitish, polished surface. The nucleus and the front of the

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. In gastropods In gastropods, the b ...

are almost smooth, while the remainder of the exterior features conspicuous, close-set, oblique striae. There are 6.5 convex

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

s. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is semi-ovate and erect, with a slightly expanded, white peristome. The parietal wall has a small tooth or callosity.

Distribution

This species is occurs in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

References

* Bruggen, A. C. van. (1963). On a sinistral specimen of Afristreptaxis elongatus (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Pulmonata) from South Africa. Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaine. 67(1–2): 17–19. * Brown, K. (2023). A guide to the hunter shells. Vol. 2. The Streptaxoidea. The Enneinae, Orthogibbinae, Marconiinae, Odontartemoninae, Streptaxinae and the Diapheridae. ConchBooks, Germany.

External links

Fulton, H. (1899). Descriptions of supposed new species of Streptaxis and Amphidromus. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London. 3: 302–303

Gbif.org: image
{{Taxonbar, from=Q106235082 elongatus Gastropods described in 1899