Anguispira alternata | |
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A mature flamed tigersnail found in Tennessee | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Order: | Stylommatophora |
Family: | Discidae |
Genus: | Anguispira |
Species: | A. alternata |
Binomial name | |
Anguispira alternata (Say, 1816) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
List
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Anguispira alternata, also known as the flamed disc or flamed tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is the most common and widespread member of the Anguispira genus, and one of the more common land snail species in North America. [3]
Flamed tigersnails are medium-sized snails with shells ranging from 17 to 25 millimeters (0.67 to 0.98 inches) in diameter. On average, adults have a diameter of 20 mm (0.79 in) and a height of 12 mm (0.47 in). [4] The shell is a depressed heliciform with a rounded, thin-lipped aperture and 5-6 whorls. [5] [6] The base of the shell is pale yellow to brown, and defined by irregular reddish or brown splotches. There are faint radial streaks extending to the base of the shell and a belt of spots below the periphery. It is covered in rib-like striae and the surface is very lightly wrinkled. The embryotic whorl is light gray and smooth. The snail's appearance can vary across its range. Malacologist Henry A. Pilsbry claimed that snails in mountainous or rocky regions tend to have more angular and heavily ribbed shells while snails in lowland areas are more rounded and smooth. [5] [4]
Flamed tigersnails have two pairs of tentacles with eyes on the tips of the upper tentacles (or eyestalks). The body can range from a grayish brown to brownish black with a pale foot. The mucus the snail secretes is typically orange or reddish in color. [4] [7] [8] When the snail retracts inside of its shell, the anterior side of the body is pulled outside-in. The species' average resting heart beat ranges from 37 to 60 beats per minute, but can reach 90+ beats per minute when active. [3]
The flamed tigersnail is hermaphroditic but not viviparous. The eggs the species lays tend to range from 2 to 3 mm (0.08 to 0.12 in) in diameter, are ovate, white in color, and have a gelatinous coating that likely acts as protection. Eggs can be laid alone or in clusters, and typically take 30 to 45 days to hatch. Hatching time can vary based on moisture, temperature and other factors. [4] The flamed tigersnail does not have a love dart. [3]
The flamed tigersnail is found in urban and rural environments across the United States and Canada. The most northern and eastern portion of its range is in New Brunswick, Canada, and it extends to Florida in the south to Kansas in the west. Though populations are considered secure across most of its range, the flamed tigersnail is listed as critically imperiled in Louisiana and Alabama, imperiled in North Carolina, and vulnerable in Indiana and Pennsylvania. It is considered extirpated from Mississippi. [1]
The flamed tigersnail is fairly adaptable and found in a wide range of habitats. They are most commonly found in forests or glades near streams, climbing on trees, limestone outcrops, or buried in leaf litter. [1] However, they can also be found along roadsides, in vacant lots, and other urban settings. [9] One study estimated that flamed tigersnails have an average home range of 40 sq meters (430.56 sq ft). [10] Flamed tigersnails tend to live in groups, commonly burrowing and hibernating together during winter months. In Kansas, snails were observed living in groups of ranging from 16 to 75 snails per foot. [11] Scientists have documented the species climbing on trees at night, presumably to eat bark-dwelling algae. [6] [3] It is unknown if they favor any specific species of tree, but one population was documented most frequently climbing on American beech trees. [9] Generally, flamed tigersnails are herbivores that feed on decaying plant material, fungi, and algae. [4]
The flamed tigersnail serves as an intermediate host for the nematode Parelaphostrongylus tenuis , a parasite known to cause cerebrospinal nematodiasis in white-tailed deer, caribou, moose, elk, and mule deer. The snails ingest the nematode larvae in deer feces, and then the snail can spread the nematode to a new animal if they are ingested. [12]
Another parasite of the flamed tigersnail is Postharmostomum helicis. [4]
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name snail is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called slugs, and land snails that have only a very small shell are often called semi-slugs.
Discus is a genus of small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Discidae, the disk snails.
Anguispira picta, common names painted snake-coiled forest snail and painted tigersnail, is a rare species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Discidae, the disc snails. It is a limestone specialist, and is limited to outcrops with suitable mineralogy.
Anguispira, the tigersnails, is a genus of small pulmonate land snails in the family Discidae endemic to North America. Snails in this genus are defined by their striped shells. Anguispira species are either habitat generalists like A. alternata or limestone specialists like A. cumberlandiana.
Zonitoides arboreus, commonly known as the quick gloss snail, is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Gastrodontidae.
Vertigo ventricosa, common name the five-tooth vertigo, is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails.
Anguispira cumberlandiana, also known as the Cumberland tigersnail or the Cumberland disc, is a range-restricted species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. The species is named after the Cumberland Plateau, a section of the Appalachian Plateau that overlaps with its range.
Marstonia scalariformis, previously known as Pyrgulopsis scalariformis, common name the moss pyrg, is a species of freshwater snail in the family Hydrobiidae.
Punctum minutissimum is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Punctidae, the dot snails.
Anguispira kochi, the banded tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate terrestrial gastropod belonging to the family Discidae, the disk snails. There are two recognized subspecies: Anguispira kochi kochi or the eastern banded tigersnail, and Anguispira kochi occidentalis, the western banded tigersnail.
Laminella venusta is a species of land snail in the genus Laminella. Laminella venusta is a land snail in the family Amastridae. In 1845 this species was given the common name of Graceful Laminella Snail. The Hawaiian name for Laminella venusta is Pupu Kuahiwi, and it is the only surviving member of its species currently living on the island of Molokai.
Anguispira jessica, also known as the mountain tigersnail or mountain disc, is a species of pulmonate land snail– a gastropod mollusk in the family Discidae, the disk snails. The species is named after G.M. Kutchka's wife Jessica; he was the first to describe the species in 1938. It was originally considered a subspecies of Angusipira alternata, but has since been elevated to species status.
Anguispira fergusoni, also known as the coastal plain tigersnail or coastal plain disk, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is found in multiple states along the east coast of the United States.
Anguispira nimapuna, also known as the nimapuna or nimapu tigersnail, is a rare, range-restricted species of pulmonate land snail endemic to north-central Idaho. The species is listed as critically endangered in the United States.
Anguispira knoxensis, also known as the rustic tigersnail or rustic disk, is a rare species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is endemic to the Great Smoky Mountains in southeastern Tennessee. It was originally considered a subspecies of Anguispira alternata.
Anguispira macneilli, also known as the Tombigbee tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of Anguispira alternata.
Anguispira mordax, also known as the Appalachian tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae endemic to the southeastern United States. It is named after the Appalachian mountain range.
Anguispira strongylodes, also known as the southeastern tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails.
Anguispira rugoderma, also known as the Pine Mountain tigersnail, is a rare, narrow-ranged species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is named after the Pine Mounatin ridge, a section of the Appalachian Mountains that overlaps with the snail's range.
Anguispira holroydensis was a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. The species is only known from fossilized specimens. It was first described by Loris S. Russell in 1956.
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