Achatinella elegans
Encyclopedia
Achatinella elegans was a species of a land snail, gastropod in the Achatinellidae
family. It was endemic to Hawaii
.
is conically-elongate, solid, plano-convex and margined above with the suture well impressed. The shell has six whorls
. The aperture
is subovate and the white lip is expanded, ubreflected, somewhat contracted in its center and thickened within. The short columella is flat and lightly toothed. The
glossy shell color is alternating light and dark-brown, arranged in longitudinal lines or broad patches. Sometimes with a white sutural band and a
white band on the body whorl
.
The height of the shell is 23.1 mm. The width of the shell is 10.3 mm.
Achatinellidae
Achatinellidae is a family of tropical air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Achatinelloidea.- Taxonomy :...
family. It was endemic to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Shell description
The dextral or sinistral shellGastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
is conically-elongate, solid, plano-convex and margined above with the suture well impressed. 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 aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
is subovate and the white lip is expanded, ubreflected, somewhat contracted in its center and thickened within. The short columella is flat and lightly toothed. The
glossy shell color is alternating light and dark-brown, arranged in longitudinal lines or broad patches. Sometimes with a white sutural band and a
white band on the body 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...
.
The height of the shell is 23.1 mm. The width of the shell is 10.3 mm.