''Paryphanta'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of land snails in the family

Rhytididae Rhytididae is a taxonomic family of medium-sized predatory air-breathing land snails, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Rhytidoidea. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Rhytididae Pilsbry, 1893. Acces ...

. Species from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

are known commonly as kauri snails (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

: ''pūpūrangi''). They are closely related and similar to snails in the genus ''

Powelliphanta ''Powelliphanta'' is a genus of large, air-breathing land snails, pulmonate gastropods in the family Rhytididae, found only in New Zealand. They are carnivorous, eating invertebrates, mostly native earthworms. Often restricted to very small areas ...

'', which was formerly included within ''Paryphanta''. There are just two species of ''Paryphanta:'' '' Paryphanta busbyi'' and '' Paryphanta watti,'' which occur from North Cape to West Auckland.Kauri Snails.
Department of Conservation (New Zealand). ''P. watti'' occurs only at the extreme northern end of this range near

Kaeo Kaeo (Māori: ''Kāeo'') is a township in the Far North District of New Zealand, located some northwest of Kerikeri. The town takes its name from the ''kāeo'' or New Zealand freshwater mussel, which is found in the nearby rivers. Sanfords ...

. This form is of much darker coloration and often smaller, although does reach the same size as ''P. busbyi'' if allowed to reach old age.

See also

References

Further reading