''Amphorella cimensis'' 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

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

pulmonate gastropod

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 Ferussaciidae.

Distribution and habitat

This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Madeira, Portugal, where it is restricted to

Porto Santo Island Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa. The munic ...

and the adjacent islets of Cal and Cima. The survival of this species is threatened by habitat loss and degradation, especially because of tourism development around coastal bays of Porto Santo. The recent programmes of both eradication of rabbits and removal of introduced plants have led to major improvements in the habitats on Cal and Cima. This snail can be found on bare earth beneath stones and logs.

References

Ferussaciidae Near threatened animals Gastropods described in 1983 Molluscs of Madeira Endemic fauna of Madeira Porto Santo Island {{Heterobranchia-stub