Praticolella
Encyclopedia
Praticolella is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of 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...

s, 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 mollusks in the family Polygyridae
Polygyridae
Polygyridae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.The Polygyridae make up a significant proportion of the land snail fauna of eastern North America, and are also found in western North America, northern Central America, and...

.

This genus comprises about 15 species of small snails with semi-globose shells.

Shell description

The shells
Gastropod 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...

 of these snails often have contrasting color bands, and are usually without apertural teeth, although a tooth may sometimes occur on the parietal wall of 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....

.

Snails in this genus are distinguished from other polygyrid snails on the basis of their internal anatomy.

Distribution

Species of Praticolella may be found from Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 and eastern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, into the southeastern United States, from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

.

Species

This genus includes the following species and subspecies:
  • Praticolella ampla (Pfeiffer, 1866)
  • Praticolella bakeri Vanatta, 1915
  • Praticolella berlandieriana
    Praticolella berlandieriana
    Praticolella berlandieriana is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Polygyridae....

    (Moricand, 1833)
  • Praticolella campi Clapp & Ferriss, 1919
  • Praticolella candida Hubricht, 1983
  • Praticolella griseola
    Praticolella griseola
    Praticolella griseola is a species of a land snail, terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Polygyridae.- Distribution :Distribution of Praticolella griseola include Cuba....

    (Pfeiffer, 1841)
  • Praticolella jejuna (Say, 1821)
  • Praticolella lawae (Lewis, 1874)
  • Praticolella martensiana (Pilsbry, 1907)
  • Praticolella mobiliana (Lea, 1841)
  • Praticolella pachyloma (Menke, 1847)
  • Praticolella strebeliana Pilsbry, 1899
  • Praticolella taeniata Pilsbry, 1940
  • Praticolella trimatris Hubricht, 1983
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