''Ariopelta capensis'' 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 slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

, 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

Oopeltidae Oopeltidae is a family of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Arionoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). Subfamilies and genera The family Oopeltidae c ...

. ''Ariopelta capensis'' is the type species of the genus ''Ariopelta''.

Distribution

Distribution of ''Ariopelta capensis'' includes

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Ecology

''Ariopelta capensis'' serves as the second intermediate host for a parasite, the brachylaimid trematode '' Renylaima capensis''. Unencysted

metacercariae Trematodes are parasitic flatworms of the class ''Trematoda'', specifically parasitic flukes with two suckers: one ventral and the other oral. Trematodes are covered by a tegument, that protects the organism from the environment by providing secr ...

, usually brevicaudate, infect the kidney of ''Ariopelta capensis'' and differ from mature

cercariae Trematodes are parasitic flatworms of the class ''Trematoda'', specifically parasitic flukes with two suckers: one ventral and the other oral. Trematodes are covered by a tegument, that protects the organism from the environment by providing secr ...

by only a slightly greater size.

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from the referenceSirgel, W. F.; Artigas, P.; Bargues, M. D.; Mas-Coma, S. (2012). "Life Cycle of ''Renylaima capensis'', a Brachylaimid Trematode of Shrews and Slugs in South Africa: Two-host and Three-host Transmission Modalities Suggested by Epizootiology and DNA Sequencing". ''

Parasites & Vectors ''Parasites & Vectors'' is a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal published by BioMed Central. The journal publishes articles on the biology of parasites, parasitic diseases, intermediate hosts, vectors and vector-borne pathogens. ''Paras ...

'' 5: 169. . Endemic fauna of South Africa Oopeltidae Gastropods described in 1848 {{Heterobranchia-stub