Glass snails

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Glass snails
Shell of the ear-shaped glass snail (Eucobresia diaphana)

Shell of the ear-shaped glass snail ( Eucobresia diaphana )

Systematics
Subclass : Orthogastropoda
Superordinate : Heterobranchia
Order : Lung snails (pulmonata)
Subordination : Land snails (Stylommatophora)
Superfamily : Limacoidea
Family : Glass snails
Scientific name
Vitrinidae
Fitzinger , 1833

The glass snails (Vitrinidae) are a family of shell and nudibranchs, native to Europe, belonging to the land snails (Stylommatophora). Within the family, the transition from snails to slugs can be seen very well.

features

Most members of this family already have a "nudibranch-like" habit, as the animal can no longer completely withdraw into the thin, translucent housing. The name of the family comes from this thin, almost glass-like case. The case is usually low and dextrally rolled up with up to four whorls. It has a large opening and is usually ear-shaped. The opening is not restricted by teeth or calluses. The development from a shell snail to a slug (with a small, rudimentary shell inside the mantle) can be studied very well in this family; from forms that can almost completely retreat into the shell (e.g. Vitrina pellucida ), to "half-slugs" such as Vitrinobrachium breve , to "real" slugs in which the shell is enclosed by the mantle (e.g. Plutonia in the Azores). The process of shell regression and the acquisition of a slug habit is also referred to as vitrinization in the literature .

Occurrence and way of life

The Vitrinidae mostly live in moist to dry forests, quarries and rocky landscapes from the lowlands to the high mountains. Some species also live predominantly in the ground. The family occurs in Europe, Western Asia, the Macaronesian Islands, and East Africa. Few species are also native to North America.

Systematics

The glass snails are in the superfamily of limacoidea provided, including the slug (Limacidae), the slugs (Agriolimacidae) and the Wurmschnegel (Boettgerillidae) are expected. The family glass snails was divided by some authors into three subfamilies Vitrininae Fitzinger, 1833, Semilimacinae Schileyko, 1986 and Phenacolimacinae Schileyko, 1986. According to Hausdorf (1998), the Vitrininae are polyphyletic, the Semilimacinae Schileyko, 1986 paraphyletic and only the Phenacolimacinae Schileyko, 1986 are monophyletic. The latter taxon is also a more recent synonym for Plutoniinae Cockerell, 1893. He recommends abandoning the subfamily structure for the time being. The MolluscaBase divides the family into two subfamilies; this structure is followed here.

literature

  • Bernhard Hausdorf: Phylogeny and biogeography of the Vitrinidae (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 134: pp. 347-358, 2002. ISSN  0024-4082
  • Bernhard Hausdorf: Phylogeny of the Limacoidea sensu lato (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 64: 35-66, 1998. ISSN  0260-1230
  • Anatolij A. Schileyko: Treatise on Recent Terrestrial Pulmonate Molluscs Part 11 Trigonochlamydidae, Papillodermidae, Vitrinidae, Limacidae, Bielziidae, Agriolimacidae, Boettgerillidae, Camaenidae. Ruthenica, Supplement 2 (11): 1467-1626, Moscow 2003 ISSN  0136-0027

Individual evidence

  1. MolluscaBase: Vitrinidae Fitzinger, 1833