Laevaricella perlucens
Encyclopedia
Laevaricella perlucens is a species
of tropical, air-breathing land snail
, a terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Oleacinidae
.
Laevaricella perlucens is very restricted in range and probably meet the IUCN-criteria of Critically Endangered
species.
in 1868.
Guppy's original text (the type description) reads in Latin language and in English language as follows:
This species had never been collected since it was described by Guppy (1868) until 2009 and his type material was subsequently lost. The single specimen collected alive in 2009 allowed figure this species for the first time.
).
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 tropical, 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...
, a terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Oleacinidae
Oleacinidae
Oleacinidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade Eupulmonata .-Anatomy:...
.
Distribution
Laevaricella perlucens is endemic to Dominica. The type locality is "on Morne Diablotin, the north end on the island", Dominica.Laevaricella perlucens is very restricted in range and probably meet the IUCN-criteria of Critically Endangered
Critically Endangered
Critically Endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List for wild species. Critically Endangered means that a species' numbers have decreased, or will decrease, by 80% within three generations....
species.
Description
Laevaricella perlucens was originally discovered and described (under the name Glandina perlucens) by British-born naturalist Robert John Lechmere GuppyRobert John Lechmere Guppy
Robert John Lechmere Guppy was a British-born naturalist after whom the guppy is named...
in 1868.
Guppy's original text (the type description) reads in Latin language and in English language as follows:
This species had never been collected since it was described by Guppy (1868) until 2009 and his type material was subsequently lost. The single specimen collected alive in 2009 allowed figure this species for the first time.
Ecology
This species is restricted to higher localities. It does not occur, however, on the upper slopes of the higher peaks, but it seems to be restricted to the hygrophytic vegetation zone (cloud forestCloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
).