''Papilloderma altonagai'' 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
slug
Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...
, 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 ...
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 informal group
Sigmurethra
Sigmurethra is a taxonomic category of air-breathing land snails and slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. This is an informal group which includes most land snails and slugs.
The two strong synapomorphies of Sigmurethra are a ...
.
''Papilloderma altonagai'' is the only species in the genus ''Papilloderma'',
which is the only genus within the family Papillodermatidae,
which in turn is the only family within the superfamily Papillodermatoidea.
The generic name ''Papilloderma'' is composed from the prefix ''Papillo-'' that means "
papilla
Papilla (Latin, 'nipple') or papillae may refer to:
In animals
* Papilla (fish anatomy), in the mouth of fish
* Basilar papilla, a sensory organ of lizards, amphibians and fish
* Dental papilla, in a developing tooth
* Dermal papillae, part of ...
" and from the suffix ''-derma'' from Greek language that means "skin". This name was chosen because the body has conical papillae arranged in rows.
The specific name ''altonagai'' is in honor of the
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, ...
Dr. Kepa Altonaga from the
University of the Basque Country
The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initially ...
, who collected the first specimen of this species.
This species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to northern
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
References
Papillodermatidae
Endemic fauna of Spain
Gastropods described in 1990
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Monotypic gastropod genera
{{Heterobranchia-stub