Wainuia
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| Powell , 1930 |
Wainuia is the name of a genus predatory living snails from the family Rhytididae in the subordination of terrestrial snails (gastropod), whose four species in New Zealand are common on both main islands. While a part of the species predominantly of earthworms fed, eats Wainuia urnula very mobile terrestrial primarily flea crabs .
features
The snails of the genus Wainuia are characterized by a very thin, hammered, dark to completely black shell , the largest part of which consists entirely of conchin - i.e. only periostracum - and in which only the two uppermost, smallest coils have a thin layer of lime. In adult snails, the shells reach a diameter of 21 to 38 mm.
The radula has in these types - similar to Rhytida - in each row of teeth only a few teeth. The outermost marginal lateral tooth is only half the size of the next, which is the largest, while the following ones get smaller towards the middle. In contrast to Rhytida , all of the radula teeth are long, slender and of a similar shape.
Distribution and occurrence
The species of Wainuia are found on both the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand at sea levels of at least 300 m. According to Arthur William Baden Powell, the occurrence of one and the same species of Wainuia urnula on both islands speaks for the fact that the two main islands were separated from each other quite recently.
The snails live in moist microhabitats under loose, moist leaf litter in forests of various types, under rotting fern fronds or tussocks, in rocky slopes as well as in subalpine grassland ( tussock ).
Life cycle
Like other lung snails, the Wainuia snails are hermaphrodites that exchange their sperm while mating. Soon afterwards, both partners lay rather large, oval eggs with a chalky shell in leaf litter .
nutrition
The snails of the genus Wainuia are all pure carnivores , but differ in their range of prey. While Wainuia Edwardi and Wainuia clarki predominantly earthworms eat, the preferred prey of are Wainuia urnula terrestrial amphipods (amphipods), the use of pre-stretched Odontophore taken with the Radulazähnen transported to the mouth of the worm and are crushed there. All species of the genus nocturnal.
species
The genus Wainuia includes the following species:
- Wainuia clarki ( Powell , 1936) , North Island
- Wainuia edwardi ( Suter , 1899) , South Island
- Wainuia fallai ( Powell , 1946) , South Island
- Wainuia urnula ( Pfeiffer , 1855) , North Island, South Island and D'Urville Island
Web links
- Murray Efford: Distribution and status of native carnivorous land snails in the genera Wainuia and Rhytida. ( 5th chapter , appendix )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Arthur William Baden Powell (1930): The Paryphantidae of New Zealand: their Hypothetical Ancestry, with descriptions of New Species and a New Genus. Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 1 (1), pp. 17–56, here p. 51.
- ↑ M. Efford, R. Howitt, D. Gleeson (2002): Phylogenetic relationships of Wainuia (Mollusca: Pulmonata) —biogeography and conservation implications ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 32 (3), pp. 445-456.
- ↑ Murray Efford: Distribution and status of native carnivorous country snails in the genera Wainuia and Rhytida. Pp. 28-31.
- ^ AC O'Connor (1945): Notes on the Eggs of New Zealand Paryphantidae, With Description of a New Subgenus. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 5 (1945-1946), pp. 54-57.
- ↑ Murray Efford: Consumption of amphipods by the New Zealand snail. Wainuia urnula (Pulmonata: Rhytididae). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Journal of Molluscan Studies 66, pp. 45-52. London 2000.
- ^ Arthur William Baden Powell : New Zealand Mollusca , William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979. ISBN 0-00-216906-1
