Achatinella abbreviata
Encyclopedia
† Achatinella abbreviata, an Oahu tree snail, was a species
of colorful tropical tree-living air-breathing land snail
, an arboreal pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the genus Achatinella.
is ovate and somewhat ventricose with convex whorls margined round the upper shell. The shell has six whorls
. The spire
is rather short and obtuse at the apex
. The columella is callous and twisted. Olive-yellow, with a black-brown line at the sutures; the lower part of the last whorl
is very dark green and the apex is black.
The height of the shell is 19.0 mm. The width of the shell is 10.0 mm.
to the Hawaiʻian island of Oʻahu.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of colorful tropical tree-living air-breathing land snail
Land snail
A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...
, an arboreal pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the genus Achatinella.
Shell description
The dextral shellMollusc shell
The mollusc shell is typically a calcareous exoskeleton which encloses, supports and protects the soft parts of an animal in the phylum Mollusca, which includes snails, clams, tusk shells, and several other classes...
is ovate and somewhat ventricose with convex whorls margined round the upper shell. The shell has six whorls
Whorl (mollusc)
A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...
. The spire
Spire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
is rather short and obtuse at the apex
Apex (mollusc)
Apex is an anatomical term for the tip of the mollusc shell of a gastropod, scaphopod, or cephalopod mollusc.-Gastropods:The word "apex" is most often used to mean the tip of the spire of the shell of a gastropod...
. The columella is callous and twisted. Olive-yellow, with a black-brown line at the sutures; the lower part of the last whorl
Body whorl
Body whorl is part of the morphology of a coiled gastropod mollusk.- In gastropods :In gastropods, the body whorl, or last whorl, is the most recently-formed and largest whorl of a spiral or helical shell, terminating in the aperture...
is very dark green and the apex is black.
The height of the shell is 19.0 mm. The width of the shell is 10.0 mm.
Distribution
This species was endemicEndemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the Hawaiʻian island of Oʻahu.