Athoracophoridae,
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
the leaf-veined slugs, are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
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 ...
s,
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
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 ...
s in the
infraorder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...
Stylommatophora
Stylommatophora is an orderPhilippe Bouchet, Jean-Pierre Rocroi, Bernhard Hausdorf, Andrzej Kaim, Yasunori Kano, Alexander Nützel, Pavel Parkhaev, Michael Schrödl and Ellen E. Strong. 2017. Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification ...
, the stalk-eyed snails and slugs. Many of the species have an attractive pattern on their dorsal surface which resembles the veins in a
leaf
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
, hence the common name.
Athoracophoridae is the only family in the superfamily Athoracophoroidea.
Leaf-veined slugs live on the various land masses and islands in the south-west
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
area.
The scientific name Athoracophoridae is derived from prefix "a-", that means "without" and from a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word "" (), that means "
breastplate
A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...
".
This is a reference to the fact that the
mantle in these slugs is small and not well delineated; it does not have the obvious, saddle-shaped or breast-plate-shaped appearance that it does in most other land slug groups.
Anatomy
In the family Athoracophoridae (in subfamily
Aneitinae and in subfamily
Athoracophorinae), the number of
haploid
Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
chromosome
A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
s lies between 36 and 45 (according to the values in this table).
[Barker G. M.: Gastropods on Land: ''Phylogeny, Diversity and Adaptive Morphology''. in Barker G. M. (ed.): ]
The biology of terrestrial molluscs
'. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, . 1-146, cited pages: 139 and 142. While they belong to the pulmonate snails, they lack a true
lung
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
. The vascularized mantle cavity is reduced, and a series of blind tubules radiate from it, being surrounded blood vessels. This allows for a more compact lung structure in these generally flat animals.
Distribution
Species in this family are found in eastern
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 ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
including its
sub-Antarctic
The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...
islands,
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.
History
The first inhabitants o ...
, the
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
These rainforest-co ...
, the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
,
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
,
as well as on the
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
n islands north to
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
and
New Britain
New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
Taxonomy
The following two
subfamilies
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
have been recognized in
the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005),
that follows classification after Grimpe & Hoffmann (1925):
* Athoracophorinae
P. Fischer, 1883 (1860) - synonym:
Janellidae Gray, 1853 (inv.) - a
subantarctic
The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...
subfamily
[Burton D. W. (1982)]
"How to be sluggish."
''Tuatara'' 25(2): 48-63
*
Aneitinae Gray, 1860 - a northern subfamily
The name Athoracophoridae has precedence over the name Aneitidae, because Athoracophoridae is in prevailing usage.
Genera
Genera within the family Athoracophoridae include:
[ Powell A. W. B. (1979). ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand, ]
* ''
Aneitea'' Gray, 1860
** ''
Aneitea sarasini''
* ''
Athoracophorus
''Athoracophorus'' is a genus of air-breathing, land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Athoracophoridae.
Species
Species in the genus ''Athoracophorus'' include:
* '' Athoracophorus bitentaculatus'' ( Quoy & Gaimar ...
''
Gould
Gould may refer to:
People
* Gould (name), a surname
Places United States
* Gould, Arkansas, a city
* Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community
* Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Gould, Oklahoma, a town
* Gould, West Virginia, a ...
, 1852 - the type genus, 3 species
* ''
Palliopodex'' Burton, 1963 - with the only species ''
Palliopodex verrucosus'' (Simroth, 1889)
* ''
Pseudaneitea'' Cockerell, 1891
* ''
Reflectopallium'' Burton, 1963
* ''
Triboniophorus'' Humbert, 1863
See also
* ''
Alaninema ngata'', a nematode which is an intestinal parasite in slugs of this family
References
Further reading
*
Burch J. B. (1968). "Tentacle retraction in Tracheopulmonata". ''Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia'' 1(11): 62-67.
* Burch J. B. & Patterson C. M. (1969). "Systematic position of the Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda : Euthyneura)". ''
Malacologia
''Malacologia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of malacology, the study of mollusks. The journal publishes articles in the fields of molluscan systematics, ecology, population ecology, genetics, molecular genetics, evolution, an ...
'' 9: 259-260.
* Burton D. W. (1962)
"New Zealand land slugs — Part 1" ''Tuatara'' 9(8): 87-97.
* Burton D. W. (1963)
''Tuatara'' 11(2): 90-96.
* Burton D. W. (1980). "Anatomical studies on Australian, New Zealand and sub-antarctic Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda : Pulmonata)". ''New Zealand Journal of Zoology'' 7: 173-198.
* Burton D. W. (1981). "Pallial systems in the Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)". ''New Zealand Journal of Zoology'' 8: 391-402.
* Forcart L. (1973). "Notes on Veronicellidae and Athoracophoridae in Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago". ''Nautilus'' 87: 25-27.
* Grimpe G. & Hoffmann H. (1924). "Diagnosen neuer Athoracophoriden (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)". ''Zoologischer Anzeiger'' 58: 171-177.
* Oberzeller E. (1970). "Ergebnisse der Österreichischen Neukaledonien-Expedition 1965. Terrestrische Gastropoda II: Veronicellidae und Athoracophoridae." ''
Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien
''Annalen'' may refer to:
* ''Annalen der Physik'', a physics journal
* ''Crell's Annalen'', a chemistry journal
* ''Liebigs Annalen'', a chemistry journal
* ''Mathematische Annalen
''Mathematische Annalen'' (abbreviated as ''Math. Ann.'' or, f ...
'' 74: 325-341
PDF
* Plate L. H. (1898). "Beitrage zur Anatomie und Systematik der Janelliden". ''Zoologische Jahrbucher. Abtheilung fur Anatomie und Ontogenie der Thiere'' (Jena) XI: 193-269.
*
Suter H. (1897). "A revision of New Zealand Athoracophoridae". ''Journal of Molluscan Studies'' 2(6): 245-257
abstract
* Suter H. (1913). ''Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca''. (Athoracophoridae, pp
789808, pl
31 figs. 3-13.)
* Stanisic J. (1998). "Family Athoracophoridae". pp. 1109-1110. In: Beesley P. L., Ross G. J. B. & Wells A. (eds). ''Mollusca: The Southern Synthesis. Fauna of Australia''. Melbourne, CSIRO Publishing Vol. 5, Part B, pp. vi-viii, 565-1234.
External links
"Athoracophoridae" Australian Government.
AMNH
{{Taxonbar, from=Q146753, from2=Q19789333