Auriculella pulchra

Auriculella pulchra
Sinistral shell of Auriculella pulchra (specimen at the Natural History Museum Rotterdam)
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 2.3) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Achatinellidae
Genus:	Auriculella
Species:	A. pulchra
Binomial name
Auriculella pulchra Pease, 1868

Auriculella pulchra is a species of tropical air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks. This species is endemic to Hawaii archipelago in the United States. ^[2]

Description

The length of the shell attains 10 mm, its diameter 6 mm.

(Original description in French) The shell is solid, oval, and consistently dextral (in contrast with many others in this genus). It is perforated and features distinct longitudinal striae. There are six whorls, which are plano-convex in profile, and the body whorl is slightly inflated. The suture is well-defined, leading to a subauriform (somewhat ear-shaped) aperture.

The peristome is strongly thickened, reflected, and turned backward, with the margins joined by a callous deposit. The parietal lamella is very prominent and projecting. The columella is reflected over the umbilical perforation and is equipped with a thick fold.

In terms of coloration, the shell is white with a greenish transverse band and a brownish margin. There also exists a yellowish variety in which both the peristome and the aperture are white. ^[3]

Distribution

This species occurs on Hawaii.

References

1. Mollusc Specialist Group (1996). "Auriculella pulchra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996 e.T2409A9437187. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T2409A9437187.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
2. Auriculella pulchra Pease, 1868 . 13 January 2026. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
3. Pease, W.H. (1868). "Description d'espèces nouvelles d'Auriculella, provenant des îles Hawaï". Journal de Conchyliologie. 16: 345. Retrieved 13 January 2026. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Cowie, R. H., Evenhuis, N. L. & Christensen, C. C. (1995). Catalog of the native land and freshwater molluscs of the Hawaiian Islands. vi + 248 pp. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.