''Monacha obstructa'' 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 ...

, a 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 ...

in the family

Hygromiidae Hygromiidae is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea. Helicellidae Ihering, 1909 Anatomy Some snails in genera within this family create ...

, the hairy snails and their allies.

Distribution

This species occurs in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and Israel. ''M. obstructa'' is also invasive in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Parasites

Parasites of ''Monacha obstructa'' include: * ''

Brachylaima ''Brachylaima'' is a genus of trematodes. It has recently been discovered that it can infest the gastrointestinal tract of human beings. Epidemiology and transmission The first documented case of ''Brachylaima'' infestation (known as brachylaim ...

'' sp. in the

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

of infected snails

References

External links

* http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/home/species?id=2397 * Férussac A. E. J. P. J. F. d'Audebard de 1821-1822
''Tableaux systématiques des animaux mollusques classés en familles naturelles, dans lesquels on a établi la concordance de tous les systèmes; suivis d'un prodrome général pour tous les mollusques terrestres ou fluviatiles, vivants ou fossiles''
pp. j-xlvij 1-47 1-110, Paris, Londres. (Bertrand, Sowerby)
page 69
Hygromiidae Gastropods described in 1842 {{Hygromiidae-stub