Schizoglossa
Encyclopedia
Schizoglossa, common name Paua slug, 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 medium-sized to large predatory, air-breathing, land slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

s, carnivorous 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 molluscs in the family Rhytididae
Rhytididae
Rhytididae is a taxonomic family of medium-sized predatory air-breathing land snails, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Rhytidoidea.This family has no subfamilies.-Anatomy:...

.

Species and subspecies

Species and subspecies within the genus Schizoglossa include:
  • Schizoglossa gigantea
    Schizoglossa gigantea
    Schizoglossa gigantea, is a species of large predatory, air-breathing, land slug; a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididaei.-References:...

     Powell
    Arthur William Baden Powell
    Dr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...

    , 1930
    - Gisborne
    Gisborne, New Zealand
    -Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...

    , Hawkes Bay subfossil, East Cape
    East Cape
    East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island....

  • Schizoglossa major
    Schizoglossa major
    Schizoglossa major was a species of large predatory, air-breathing, land slug, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.-References:...

     Powell
    Arthur William Baden Powell
    Dr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...

    , 1938
    - † Waikato
    Waikato
    The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...

     subfossil
  • Schizoglossa novoseelandica (Pfeiffer
    Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer
    Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer, also known as Louis Pfeiffer was a German physician, botanist and conchologist.-Biography:He received his education in Kassel, and became professor of pathology there in 1828...

    , 1862)
    • Schizoglossa novoseelandica novoseelandica (Pfeiffer
      Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer
      Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer, also known as Louis Pfeiffer was a German physician, botanist and conchologist.-Biography:He received his education in Kassel, and became professor of pathology there in 1828...

      , 1862)
      - from North Island
      North Island
      The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

    • Schizoglossa novoseelandica barrierensis Powell
      Arthur William Baden Powell
      Dr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...

      , 1949
      - from Great Barrier Island
      Great Barrier Island
      Great Barrier Island is a large island of New Zealand, situated to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. With an area of it is the fourth-largest island of New Zealand's main chain of islands, with its highest point, Mount Hobson, rising...

  • Schizoglossa worthyae
    Schizoglossa worthyae
    Schizoglossa worthyae, is a species of large predatory, air-breathing, land slug, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.- External links :*...

     Powell
    Arthur William Baden Powell
    Dr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...

    , 1949
    - from North Island
    North Island
    The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...


Description

The shell
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...

 is small, rudimentary, auriform and is worn on the tail. The shell is incapable of containing the body, and is reduced to the function of a shield to the lungs and heart, rudimentary, paucispiral, nacre
Nacre
Nacre , also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up pearls. It is very strong, resilient, and iridescent....

ous within. The columella is excavated into a pit for the reception of the shell-muscle.

The animal has no rachidian teeth.

Further reading

  • Powell A. W. B. (1949) "The Paryphantidae of New Zealand. No. VI. Distribution, hybrids and new species of Paryphanta, Rhytida and Schizoglossa". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 3: 347-367.
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