''Cernuella'' 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 small air-breathing

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 ...

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 family

Geomitridae Geomitridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Family (biology), family of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, Terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). M ...

, the hairy snails and their allies. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Cernuella Schlüter, 1838. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=426368 on 2020-08-04 The native range of the genus is primarily

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. Some species such as ''

Cernuella virgata ''Cernuella virgata'', also known as ''Helicella virgata'', common name, the "vineyard snail", is a species of small, air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Geomitridae.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase ...

'' have become significant invasive species, agricultural pests, in parts of

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 ...

. This same species of the genus has been recovered in

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

excavations from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

occupation of Volubilis, an ancient habitation site in present-day

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. ''Cernuella'' snails create and use love darts as part of their

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

and mating behavior.

Species

Species within the genus ''Cernuella'' include: * '' Cernuella aginnica'' (Locard, 1882) * '' Cernuella amanda'' (Rossmässler, 1838) * '' Cernuella aradasii'' (Pirajno, 1842) * '' Cernuella caruanae'' (Kobelt, 1888) * ''

Cernuella cisalpina ''Cernuella cisalpina'', sometimes known as the "maritime gardensnail", is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Geomitridae. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Cernuella cisalp ...

'' (Rossmässler, 1837) * '' Cernuella hydruntina'' (Kobelt, 1883) * '' Cernuella jonica'' (Mousson, 1854) * ''

Cernuella lampedusae ''Cernuella'' is a genus of small air-breathing land snails, pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Geomitridae, the hairy snails and their allies. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Cernuella Schlüter, 1838. Accessed through: World Reg ...

'' (Kobelt, 1890) * '' Cernuella neglecta'' (Draparnaud, 1805) * † '' Cernuella palaeocastrensis'' (De Stefani in De Stefani et al., 1891) * '' Cernuella rugosa'' (Lamarck, 1822) * '' Cernuella selmaniana'' Brandt, 1959 * '' Cernuella tineana'' (Benoit, 1862) * ''

'' (Da Costa, 1778) ;Synonyms: * ''Cernuella dobrogica'' Grossu, 1983: synonym of ''Cernuella cisalpina'' (Rossmässler, 1837) (junior synonym) * ''Cernuella metabola'' (Westerlund, 1889): synonym of ''

Theba pisana ''Theba pisana'', common names the white garden snail, sand hill snail, white Italian snail, Mediterranean coastal snail, and simply just the Mediterranean snail, is an edible species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmon ...

'' (O. F. Müller, 1774) (junior synonym) * ''Cernuella zilchi'' Brandt, 1959: synonym of '' Alteniella zilchi'' (Brandt, 1959) (original

References

* Monterosato, T. A. di. (1892). Molluschi terrestri delle isole adiacenti alla Sicilia. Atti della Reale Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Belle Arti di Palermo, Terza Serie. 3 (2): 1-34. Palermo. * Bank, R. A. (2017). Classification of the Recent terrestrial Gastropoda of the World. Last update: July 16th, 2017.

External links

Schlüter, F. (1838). Kurzgefasstes systematisches Verzeichniss meiner Conchyliensammlung nebst Andeutung aller bis jetzt von mir bei Halle gefundenen Land- und Flussconchylien. Gebauersche Buchdruckerei, Halle. vii + 40 pp

Gude, G. K. & Woodward, B. B. (1921). On Helicella, Férussac. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London. 14 (5/6): 174-190. London
{{Commons category Geomitridae Gastropod genera