''Bourciera'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
neotropical terrestrial 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 or
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 ...
s in the family
Helicinidae. All species in the genus have an
operculum.
In 1907, an attempt was made to rename the genus ''Pseudhelicina'', sometimes corrected to ''Pseudohelicina,'' on the basis of the fact that ''Bourciera'' was also the name of a genus of birds, but according to MolluscaBase this replacement was unnecessary and ''Bourciera'' is still used. H. Burrington Baker considered ''Bourciera'' among the most primitive of terrestrial mollusks.
Distribution
The genus was initially described from Ecuador based on specimens collected by
Jules Bourcier, after whom it was named. It is also known to occur in Peru.
Species
Species within the genus ''Bourciera'' include:
* ''
Bourciera fraseri
''Bourciera'' is a genus of neotropical terrestrial animal, terrestrial gastropod mollusks or land snails in the family Helicinidae. All species in the genus have an Operculum (gastropod), operculum.
In 1907, an attempt was made to rename the ...
''
Pfeiffer 1859
* ''
Bourciera helicinaeformis''
Pfeiffer 1853
* ''
Bourciera striatula''
Miller 1879
* ''
Bourciera viridissima''
Miller 1879[Miller, Konrad (1879). Die Binnenmollusken von Ecuador. ''Malakozoologische Blätter'' 26 n. s.): 117-203]
References
Helicinidae
Taxa named by Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer
Gastropod genera
{{Helicinidae-stub