Jump to content

Powelliphanta superba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Superb giant land snail)

Powelliphanta superba
Powelliphana superba superba in its native habitat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Rhytididae
Genus: Powelliphanta
Species:
P. superba
Binomial name
Powelliphanta superba
Powell, 1930
Synonyms

Paryphanta superba (Powell, 1930)

Powelliphanta superba is a species of large, carnivorous land snail in the family Rhytididae, which is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Five subspecies are recognised,[1] all of which are classified by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as being Nationally Endangered.[2]

Taxonomy

[edit]

Powelliphanta superba was originally described as Paryphanta superba by Arthur William Baden Powell in 1930.[3] The paratype specimens are located at Auckland War Memorial Museum.[3]

There are five subspecies of P. superba:

  • Powelliphanta superba harveyi
  • Powelliphanta superba mouatae
  • Powelliphanta superba prouseorum
  • Powelliphanta superba richardsoni
  • Powelliphanta superba superba

Description

[edit]
Powelliphanta superba shell
Powelliphanta superba richardsoni shell
Powelliphanta superba shell

The eggs are oval and seldom constant in dimensions 14 by 12 millimetres (0.55 in × 0.47 in).[4]

Conservation status

[edit]

Each of the five subspecies are listed as Threatened under the most recent assessment (2007) of the New Zealand Threatened Classification for Powelliphanta.[5][6] Four are listed as Nationally Endangered, while P. superba superba is listed as Serious Decline.[5][6]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  2. ^ "New Zealand Threat Classification System lists - 2002 - Terrestrial invertebrate - part one". New Zealand Department of Conservation. 2002. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Powell, A. W. B. (1930). "The Paryphantidae of New Zealand: their Hypothetical Ancestry, with descriptions of New Species and a New Genus". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 1: 17–56. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42905933. Wikidata Q58676532.
  4. ^ A. C. O'Connor (1945). "Notes on the eggs of New Zealand Paryphantidae, with description of a new subgenus". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 5: 54–57.
  5. ^ a b "NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  6. ^ a b "New Zealand Threat Classification System Database". www.wikidata.org. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
[edit]