''Euchondrus'' 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 very 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 ...

s, terrestrial

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 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 ...

Enidae Enidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Enidae B. B. Woodward, 1903 (1880). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies ...

Distribution

The snails in this genus are of

levantine Levantine may refer to: * Anything pertaining to the Levant, the region centered around modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, including any person from the Levant ** Syria (region), corresponding to the modern countries of the Lev ...

distribution, which includes Cyprus,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, Syria,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and Jordan.

Shell description

The

gastropod shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of a Gastropoda, gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium s ...

of ''Euchondrus'' is 6.5–13 mm in height in '' Euchondrus parreyssi'', that has very variable size in ''Euchondrus''."Species summary for ''Euchondrus parreyssi''"
AnimalBase, last modified 24 February 2009, accessed 7 September 2010. The shell is elongate with 5-7

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral d ...

and a high

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is toothed.

Ecology

This snail species lives in open habitats, under limestone rocks in the desert. Three species of ''Euchondrus'' in the

Negev desert The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

are noted for eating

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

rocks and slabs (

endolithic An endolith or endolithic is an organism ( archaeon, bacterium, fungus, lichen, algae or amoeba) that is able to acquire the necessary resources for growth in the inner part of a rock, mineral, coral, animal shells, or in the pores between min ...

lichens). They disrupt and eat the limestone. Their grazing resulting in the

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...

of the stones, and the subsequent formation of soil.Odling-Smee F. J., Laland K. N. & Feldman M. W. (2003). "Niche Construction: The Neglected Process in Evolution (MPB-37)".

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...

. 468 pp
HTM

PDF
Chapter 1. page 7-8. They have a significant effect on the region: the total population of snails is estimated to process between 0.7 and 1.1 metric ton per hectare per year of limestone in the Negev desert.

Species

Species within the genus ''Euchondrus'' include: * '' Euchondrus albulus'' (Mousson, 1861) * '' Euchondrus borealis'' (Mousson, 1874)"Species in genus ''Euchondrus''"
=6 AnimalBase, accessed 6 September 2010. * '' Euchondrus chondriformis'' (Mousson, 1861) - type species * ''

Euchondrus desertorum ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' Rochanab, 1981 * ''

Euchondrus ledereri ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1868) * ''

Euchondrus limbodentatus ''Euchondrus'' is a genus of very small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Distribution The snails in this genus are of levantine distribution, which includes Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel ...

'' (Mousson, 1854) * '' Euchondrus nucifragus'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1848) * '' Euchondrus parreyssi'' (L. Pfeiffer, 1846) * '' Euchondrus ramonensis'' * '' Euchondrus saulcyi'' (Bourguignat, 1852) * '' Euchondrus septemdentatus'' (Roth, 1839)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405900 Enidae