''Helicarion mastersi'' 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 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 ...

, also referred to as a

semi-slug Semi-slugs, also spelled semislugs, are land gastropods whose shells are too small for them to retract into, but not quite vestigial. The shell of some semi-slugs may not be easily visible on casual inspection, because the shell may be covered ...

because of its small shell. It is 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 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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

in the family

Helicarionidae Helicarionidae is a family of air-breathing land snails or semi-slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicarionoidea. Distribution The distribution of Helicarionidae includes the eastern Palearctic, Malagasy, Ind ...

. The specific name ''mastersi'' is in honor of the Australian

malacologist Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

George Masters George Masters (1837-1912) was a zoologist, active in Australia during the 19th century. Biography Born in Maidstone, England, to Matilda, née Terry, he was trained as a gardener by his father, George Masters, before moving to Sydney. Masters b ...

(1837-1912), who collected the type specimen.

Subspecies

Subspecies include: * ''Helicarion mastersi callidus'' Iredale, 1941 * ''Helicarion mastersi mastersi'' (Cox, 1868) Helicarion mastersi map

Distribution

This species is found in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 ...

. The type locality is

Kiama, New South Wales Kiama () is a coastal town 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama features several popular surfing beaches and caravan parks, and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants ...

, Australia.

Description

''Helicarion mastersi'' was originally described (under the name ''Vitrina mastersi'') by James Charles Cox in 1868. Cox's original text (the

type description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

) reads as follows:

Ecology

This semislug lives in closed Eucalyptus

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. It is primarily an

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

species, but it can also be found in

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference

External links

"Species ''Helicarion mastersi'' (Cox, 1868)"
Australian Faunal Directory, accessed 18 September 2011. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3076537 Helicarionidae Gastropods described in 1868 Taxa named by James Charles Cox