''Placostylus'', or flax snails, are 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 very large, air-breathing
land snails,
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 gastropod molluscs in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Bothriembryontidae.
[MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Placostylus H. Beck, 1837. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=818479 on 2020-11-14]
The
shells of the snails in this genus can be as large as 4.5 inches (11 cm) in maximum dimension.
Many species within this genus are now
extinct.
Taxonomy
''Placostylus'' is the type genus of the family Placostylidae.
It was placed within Placostylidae.
Breure et al. (2010)
[Breure A. S. H., Groenenberg D. S. J. & Schilthuizen M. (2010). "New insights in the phylogenetic relations within the Orthalicoidea (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora) based on 28S sequence data". '']Basteria
''Basteria'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Netherlands Malacological Society, covering research on molluscs. It was established in 1936 and is now published mostly in English. Since 2000, the editor-in-chief has ...
'' 74(1-3): 25-31. moved ''
Prestonella'' and ''
Bothriembryon'' to Placostylidae. Subsequently, Breure & Romero (2012)
confirmed previous results from 2010 and they renamed Placostylidae to Bothriembryontidae.
[Breure A. S. H. & Romero P. (2012). "Support and surprises: molecular phylogeny of the land snail superfamily Orthalicoidea using a three-locus gene analysis with a divergence time analysis and ancestral area reconstruction (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora)". '' Archiv für Molluskenkunde: International Journal of Malacology'' 141(1): 1-20. .]
Distribution
This genus of snails occurs in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
,
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
,
New Caledonia,
Fiji,
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
, and
Northland in
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 ...
. There are three species in New Zealand and no subspecies.
[Buckley T. R., Stringer I., Gleeson D., Howitt R., Attanayake D., Parrish R., Sherley G. & Rohan M. (2011). "A revision of the New Zealand ''Placostylus'' land snails using mitochondrial DNA and shell morphometric analyses, with implications for conservation". '']New Zealand Journal of Zoology
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'' 38(1): 55-81. .
Species
In former classification, two subgenera were recognized:
subgenus ''
Basileostylus''
Haas, 1935["Class Gastropoda"](_blank)
New Zealand Mollusca, accessed 26 December 2010.
subgenus ''
Maoristylus''
Haas, 1935
Species within this genus include:
* † ''
Placostylus abbreviatus''
(Gassies, 1871)
* ''
Placostylus ambagiosus''
Suter, 1906
* ''
Placostylus bivaricosus'' (Gaskoin, 1855)
* ''
Placostylus bondeensis''
(Crosse & Souverbie, 1869)
* ''
Placostylus caledonicus''
(Petit, 1845)
* ''
Placostylus eddystonensis''
Pfeiffer, 1855
* ''
Placostylus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1789) - type species
[ ICZN (1992). "Opinion 1662. ''Limax fibratus'' Martyn, 1784 and ''Nerita hebraea'' Martyn, 1786 (currently ''Placostylus fibratus'' and ''Nerita hebraea''; Mollusca, Gastropoda): specific names conserved; and ''Placostylus'' Beck, 1837; ''L. fibratus'' designated as the type species". '']Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries.
Orga ...
'' 49: 74-75.
* ''
Placostylus hongii''
(Lesson, 1830)
* ''
Placostylus founaki''
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1853): synonym of ''
Placocharis founaki''
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1847)
* ''
Placostylus fraterculus''
Rensch, 1934
* ''
Placostylus gracilis''
(Broderip, 1840)
* † ''
Placostylus leoni''
Haas, 1935
* ''
Placostylus porphyrostomus''
Pfeiffer, 1851
* ''
Placostylus priscus''
Powell, 1938
* ''
Placostylus salomonis''
(Pfeiffer, 1853)
* ''
Placostylus scarabus''
(Albers, 1854)
* † ''
Placostylus senilis''
(Gassies, 1869)
;Synonyms:
* ''Placostylus albersi''
Dautzenberg & Bouge in Dautzenberg, 1923: synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus souvillei''
(Morelet, 1857) (nom. nov. pro ''Placostylus eximius''
Albers not Reeve)
* ''Placostylus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855)
* ''Placostylus alienus''
Pilsbry, 1893: synonym of ''
Santacharis fuligineus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1854) (original combination; junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus annibal''
(Souverbie, 1869): synonym of ''
Placostylus caledonicus''
(Petit, 1845) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus bavayi''
(Crosse & Marie, 1868): synonym of ''Placostylus eddystonensis bavayi''
(Crosse & Marie, 1868)
* ''Placostylus bollonsi''
Suter, 1908 - New Zealand flax snail: synonym of ''
Basileostylus bollonsi
''Basileostylus bollonsi'' , common name the New Zealand flax snail or , is a species of air-breathing land snail, a Terrestrial animal, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod Mollusca, mollusc in the family Bothriembryontidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). ...
''
(Suter, 1908)
* ''Placostylus calus''
E. A. Smith, 1892: synonym of ''
Eumecostylus calus''
(E. A. Smith, 1892) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus cleryi''
(Petit de la Saussage, 1850): synonym of ''
Eumecostylus cleryi''
(Petit de la Saussaye, 1850)
* ''Placostylus cuniculinsulae''
Cox, 1872: synonym of ''
Placostylus bivaricosus''
(Gaskoin, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus dorseyi''
Dall, 1910: synonym of ''
Partula grisea''
Lesson, 1831
* ''Placostylus duplex''
(Gassies, 1871): synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus porphyrostomus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1853)
* ''Placostylus dupuyi''
Kobelt, 1890: synonym of ''Placostylus eddystonensis bavayi''
(Crosse & Marie, 1868) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus falcicula''
(Gassies, 1871): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1784)
* ''Placostylus founaki''
(Rousseau, 1854): synonym of ''
Placocharis founaki''
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1847)
* ''Placostylus francoisi''
Mabille, 1895: synonym of ''
Poecilocharis bicolor''
(Hartman, 1889) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus gizoensis''
Clench, 1941: synonym of ''
Placostylus bivaricosus''
(Gaskoin, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus goulvainensis''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus smithii''
Kobelt, 1891 (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus guestieri''
(Gassies, 1869): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus guestieri''
(Gassies, 1869)
* ''Placostylus guppyi''
E. A. Smith, 1892: synonym of ''
Placocharis guppyi''
(E. A. Smith, 1892) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus hienguensis''
Crosse, 1871: synonym of ''
Placostylus eddystonensis''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus houailouensis''
Dautzenberg, 1901: synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus kanalensis''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1877): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus alexander''
(Crosse, 1855) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus layardi''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''Placostylus bondeensis rossiteri''
(Brazier, 1881) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus leucolenus''
Crosse, 1896: synonym of ''
Placostylus fibratus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1784)
* ''Placostylus loyaltyensis''
(Souverbie, 1879): synonym of ''
Leucocharis loyaltyensis''
(Souverbie, 1879)
* ''Placostylus manni''
Clapp, 1923: synonym of ''
Placocharis manni''
(Clapp, 1923) (basionym)
* ''Placostylus mariei''
(Crosse & P. Fischer, 1867): synonym of Placostylus porphyrostomus mariei (Crosse & P. Fischer, 1867)
* ''Placostylus miltocheilus''
Reeve, 1848: synonym of ''
Aspastus miltocheilus''
(Reeve, 1848)
* ''Placostylus ouveanus''
(Mousson, 1869): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus ouveanus''
(Mousson, 1869)
* ''Placostylus palmarum''
(Mousson, 1869): synonym of ''
Placocharis palmarum''
(Mousson, 1869)
* ''Placostylus paravicinianus''
B. Rensch, 1934: synonym of ''
Placocharis paravicinianus''
(B. Rensch, 1934) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus pseudocaledonicus''
(Montrouzier in Crosse, 1859): synonym of ''
Placostylus scarabus''
(Albers, 1854) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus pyrostomus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1860): synonym of ''
Santacharis salomonis''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1852) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus remotus''
Hedley, 1898: synonym of ''
Partula remota''
(Hedley, 1898) (original combination)
* ''Placostylus sanchristovalensis''
(Cox, 1870): synonym of ''
Eumecostylus sanchristovalensis''
(Cox, 1870)
* ''Placostylus savesi''
Crosse, 1886: synonym of ''Placostylus eddystonensis savesi''
Crosse, 1886
* ''Placostylus saxtoni''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''
Placostylus caledonicus''
(Petit, 1845) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus scottii''
(Cox, 1873): synonym of ''
Eumecostylus scottii''
(Cox, 1873)
* ''Placostylus seemanni''
(Dohrn, 1861): synonym of ''
Euplacostylus seemanni''
(Dohrn, 1861)
* ''Placostylus singularis''
(Morelet, 1857): synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus porphyrostomus''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1853) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus sinistrorsa''
(Crosse, 1884): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus ouveanus''
(Mousson, 1869) (based on unavailable original name)
* ''Placostylus smithii''
Kobelt, 1891: synonym of ''Placostylus porphyrostomus smithii''
Kobelt, 1891 (basionym)
* ''Placostylus souvillei''
(Morelet, 1857): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus souvillei''
(Morelet, 1857)
* ''Placostylus stutchburyi''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1860): synonym of ''
Placocharis stutchburyi''
(L. Pfeiffer, 1860)
* ''Placostylus superfasciatus''
(Gassies, 1871): synonym of ''Placostylus fibratus fibratus''
(Martyn, 1784) (junior synonym)
* ''Placostylus unicus''
B. Rensch, 1934: synonym of ''
Eumecostylus unicus''
(B. Rensch, 1934) (original combination)
References
External links
Fabrice M. Brescia, Christine M. Pöllabauer, Murray A. Potter & Alastair W. Robertson, A review of the ecology and conservation of Placostylus (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Bulimulidae) in New Caledonia; Molluscan Research 28(2): 111–122; ISSN 1323-5818*
Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979
Flax snailon
Department of Conservation (New Zealand) website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7200423
Gastropod genera