''Allenella belli'', also known as the beautiful pinhead snail, is a
species of
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 ...
that is
endemic to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's
Lord Howe Island in the
Tasman Sea.
Description
The depressedly turbinate shell of the mature snail is 1.6 mm in height, with a diameter of 2.4 mm, and a low conical spire. It is amber to golden in colour. The whorls are rounded, with impressed
sutures and distinct radial ribs. It has an ovately lunate aperture and narrowly open
umbilicus.
Distribution and habitat
This rare snail has a distribution limited to the summits and upper slopes of the island's southern mountains. The only live specimens were collected from shrubs and tree trunks.
References
*
belli
Gastropods of Lord Howe Island
Taxa named by Tom Iredale
Gastropods described in 1944
{{Punctidae-stub