Gundlachia
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Gundlachia | ||||||||||
| Pfeiffer , 1849 |
The genus Gundlachia belongs to the family of flat- faced snails (Planorbidae). They are only a few mm long snails with a bowl-shaped shell. The genus includes a larger number of species that live in the fresh water of different continents.
features
The animals are cup-shaped and have a mantle cavity that has been transformed into a water lung, from which the oxygen is taken directly from the water phase. The formation of a secondary gill in the mantle cavity serves to increase the surface area. The snails therefore do not have to come to the surface of the water to breathe.
distribution
The genus occurs mainly in New Zealand, in Southeast Asia and in South and North America; isolated or displaced occurrences may also be elsewhere.
Systematics
The genus was previously placed in the "Ancylidae" family, which has since been dissolved. There are 32 species and subspecies described, including the following:
- Gundlachia ancyliformis Pfeiffer , 1849; Cuba
- Gundlachia concentrica ( d'Orbigny , 1835); South America
- Gundlachia lucasi Suter, 1905; Length up to 4 mm; endemic to the North Island of New Zealand
- Gundlachia meekiana Stimpson 1863; United States
- Gundlachia moricandi ( d'Orbigny , 1837); South America
- Gundlachia neozelanica Suter, 1905; Length up to 3 mm; endemic to the South Island of New Zealand
- Gundlachia ticaga (Marcus & Marcus, 1962); South America
literature
- PF Basch: Status of the genus Gundlachia (Pulmonata, Ancylidae). University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - Occasional Papers 602 (1959)