Helicidae

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Helicidae
Helix pomatia 89a.jpg
Helix pomatia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Stylommatophora
Superfamily: Helicoidea
Family: Helicidae
Rafinesque, 1815
Type genus
Helix Linnaeus, 1758
Subfamilies

Helicidae is a large, diverse family of western Palaearctic, medium to large-sized, air-breathing land snails, sometimes called the "typical snails." It includes some of the largest European land snails, several species are common in anthropogenic habitats, and some became invasive on other continents. A number of species in this family are valued as food items, including Cornu aspersum (formerly Helix aspersa; "petit gris") the brown or garden snail, and Helix pomatia (the "escargot"). [1] The biologies of these two species in particular have been thoroughly studied and documented.

Contents

Shell description

The shells are usually flattened or depressed conical. Globular shells are found in the genera Helix , Maltzanella , Lindholmia , Cornu , Cantareus , Eremina , and Idiomella . One species, Cylindrus obtusus , has a cylindrical shell. In some genera, especially in Cepaea , the shells are brightly colored and patterned.

Anatomy

Helicidae typically have a ribbed jaw, bursa copulatrix with a diverticulum, and one dart sac accompanied by a pair of (usually) branched, tubular mucous glands inserting at the base of the dart sac. [2]

Genetics

In this family, the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 22 and 30. [3]

In the "Darwin Tree of Life"." project, four species ( Cepaea nemoralis , Cepaea hortensis, Cornu aspersum, and Arianta arbustorum ) are scheduled for whole genome sequencing and assembly ( "Data portal".).

Helicid snails for sale as food in Italy; from the front Eobania vermiculata, Cantareus apertus, and Helix sp. Snails-Italy.jpg
Helicid snails for sale as food in Italy; from the front Eobania vermiculata , Cantareus apertus , and Helix sp.

Distribution

The core of helicids is distributed in from the Caucasus through Turkey and Europe to North Africa. However, some genera or species live beyond these limits. Helicids occur on Cape Verde [2] ( Eremina ), Canary Islands ( Theba , Hemicycla ) and the Madeira Archipelago ( Lampadia , Idiomela ). [4] Levantina extends far south in western Arabia, and Eremina desertella is distributed as south as Sudan, Eritrea and Puntland in Somalia. [5] [6] Cepaea hortensis lives on Iceland [7] and in a small area in eastern Canada. [8] Some species, notably Cornu aspersum and Theba pisana have been introduced and become established in numerous different areas worldwide.

Taxonomy

Arianta arbustorum Snail black on grass2.jpg
Arianta arbustorum
Iberus gualtieranus alonensis Iberus gualterianus alonensis3.JPG
Iberus gualtieranus alonensis
Cornu aspersum Snail-wiki-120-Zachi-Evenor.jpg
Cornu aspersum

The family Helicidae contains 3 subfamilies (according to molecular phylogenetic analyses [9] [10] [11] [12] ):

Subfamily Helicinae Rafinesque, 1815

Genital system anatomy (does not apply on all species, as derived states are found in some of them): mucous glands divided into 2 or more branches, love dart with four blades (vanes) along its length, two penial papillae/verges.[ citation needed ]

Tribe Allognathini Westerlund, 1903 [4]

Tribe Helicini Rafinesque, 1815 [13]

Tribe Thebini Wenz, 1923 [14] [12]

A 2022 phylogenetic analysis proposed that all groups of the Maghreb radiation belonged to a single tribe, Thebini, without support for a separate Otalini tribe. The same study proposed a new tribe, Maculariini trib. nov. containing the genus Macularia due to the wide geographic disjunction between the western Alpine Macularia and the primarily Maghrebian Thebini tribe. [14]

Tribe Maculariini Neiber, Korábek, Glaubrecht & Hausdorf, 2021

Subfamily Murellinae Hesse, 1918 [10]

Genital system anatomy (does not apply on all species, as derived states are found in some of them): mucous glands weakly branched or undivided, love dart with four blades along its length, one penial papilla. [15]

Distributed in Sardinia, Corsica, the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily. [15] [16]

Subfamily Ariantinae Mörch, 1864 [17]

Genital system anatomy (does not apply on all species, as derived states are found in some of them): mucous glands divided into 2 branches or undivided, love dart with two blades on the tip, one penial papilla.[ citation needed ]

Incertae sedis

Related Research Articles

<i>Helix</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Helix is a genus of large, air-breathing land snails native to the western Palaearctic and characterized by a globular shell. It is the type genus of the family Helicidae, and one of the animal genera described by Carl Linnaeus. Members of the genus first appeared during the Miocene. Well-known species include Helix pomatia and Helix lucorum. Cornu aspersum, though externally similar and long classified as a member of Helix, is not closely related to Helix and belongs to a different tribe of Helicinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-lipped snail</span> Species of gastropod

The white-lipped snail or garden banded snail, scientific name Cepaea hortensis, is a large species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helicidae. The only other species in the genus is Cepaea nemoralis.

<i>Caucasotachea vindobonensis</i> Species of gastropod

Caucasotachea vindobonensis is a large species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod in the family Helicidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helicoidea</span> Superfamily of gastropods

Helicoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade Stylommatophora.

<i>Cepaea</i> Genus of gastropods

Cepaea is a genus of large air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Helicidae. The shells are often brightly colored and patterned with brown stripes. The two species in this genus, C. nemoralis and C. hortensis, are widespread and common in Western and Central Europe and have been introduced to North America. Both have been influential model species for ongoing studies of genetics and natural selection. Like many Helicidae, these snails use love darts during mating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hygromiidae</span> Family of gastropods

Hygromiidae is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love dart</span> Darts that some snails shoot into each other during mating

A love dart is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. These darts are made in sexually mature animals only, and are used as part of the sequence of events during courtship, before actual mating takes place. Darts are quite large compared to the size of the animal: in the case of the semi-slug genus Parmarion, the length of a dart can be up to one fifth that of the semi-slug's foot.

<i>Monacha</i> Genus of gastropods

Monacha is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Trochulininae Lindholm, 1927 of the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthalicoidea</span> Superfamily of gastropods

The Orthalicoidea are a superfamily of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the infraorder Orthalicoidei of the suborder Helicina

<i>Macularia sylvatica</i> Species of gastropod

Macularia sylvatica is a medium-sized species of air-breathing dextral land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helicidae. It was once seen as a close relative of the grove snail, but does in fact not belong to the genus Cepaea at all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geomitridae</span> Family of gastropods

Geomitridae is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.

<i>Caucasotachea</i> Genus of gastropods

Caucasotachea is a genus of medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Helicidae.

<i>Levantina</i> Genus of gastropods

Levantina is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Helicinae of the family Helicidae, the typical snails.

<i>Helix cincta</i> Species of mollusc

Helix cincta is a species of gastropods belonging to the family Helicidae.

Helicinae is a subfamily of terrestrial gastropods in the family Helicidae. It contains mostly large land snail species, distributed in the western Palaearctic. The most recent classification proposed division into three tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helicini</span>

Helicini is a tribe of terrestrial gastropods in the family Helicidae. It contains mostly large land snail species, diversified in particular in the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Caucasus.

<i>Helix vladika</i>

Helix vladika is a species of large, air-breathing land snail native to Montenegro and Serbia. It has a brown, conical shell. It is the largest land snail species in Europe. Typical habitat are beech forests. The species is closely related to Helix straminea.

<i>Helix dormitoris</i>

Helix dormitoris is a species of large, air-breathing land snail native to mountainous regions of Montenegro, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina and western Serbia.

References

  1. ↑ M.P. Kerney & R.A.D. Cameron. 1979. A field guide to the land snails of Britain and northwestern Europe. Collins, London.
  2. 1 2 Nordsieck, Hartmut (1987). "Revision des Systems der Helicoidea (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora)". Archiv für Molluskenkunde . 118: 9–50.
  3. ↑ Thiriot-QuiéVreux, Catherine (2003). "Advances in Chromosomal Studies of Gastropod Molluscs". Journal of Molluscan Studies . 69 (3): 187–202. doi: 10.1093/mollus/69.3.187 . ISSN   1464-3766.
  4. 1 2 Neiber, Marco T.; Chueca, Luis J.; Caro, Amaia; Teixeira, Dinarte; Schlegel, Kevin A.; Gómez-Moliner, Benjamín J.; Walther, Frank; Glaubrecht, Matthias; Hausdorf, Bernhard (2021). "Incorporating palaeogeography into ancestral area estimation can explain the disjunct distribution of land snails in Macaronesia and the Balearic Islands (Helicidae: Allognathini)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 162: 107196. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107196. PMID   33965538.
  5. ↑ Jickeli, Carl F. (1874). Fauna der Land- und Süsswasser-Mollusken Nord-Ost-Afrika's. Dresden: E. Blochmann & Sohn.
  6. ↑ Neubert, Eike (1998). "Annotated checklist of the terrestrial and freshwater molluscs of the Arabian Peninsula with descriptions of new species". Fauna of Arabia. 17: 333–461.
  7. ↑ Arnason, Einar; Grant, P. R. (1976). "Climatic Selection in Cepaea hortensis at the Northern Limit of Its Range in Iceland". Evolution . 30 (3): 499. doi:10.2307/2407574. JSTOR   2407574. PMID   28563245.
  8. ↑ Pearce, Timothy A.; Olori, Jennifer C.; Kemezis, Kathleen W. (2010). "Land Snails from St. Elzear Cave, Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec: Antiquity of Cepaea Hortensis in North America". Annals of Carnegie Museum . 79 (1): 65–78. doi:10.2992/007.079.0105. ISSN   0097-4463. S2CID   84205240.
  9. ↑ Razkin, Oihana; Gómez-Moliner, Benjamín Juán; Prieto, Carlos Enrique; Martínez-Ortí, Alberto; Arrébola, José Ramón; Muñoz, Benito; Chueca, Luis Javier; Madeira, María José (2015-02-01). "Molecular phylogeny of the western Palaearctic Helicoidea (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 83: 99–117. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.11.014. PMID   25485783.
  10. 1 2 Neiber, Marco T.; Hausdorf, Bernhard (2015-12-01). "Molecular phylogeny reveals the polyphyly of the snail genus Cepaea (Gastropoda: Helicidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 93: 143–149. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.07.022. PMID   26256642.
  11. ↑ Neiber, Marco T; Korábek, Ondřej; Glaubrecht, Matthias; Hausdorf, Bernhard (2022-04-11). "A misinterpreted disjunction: the phylogenetic relationships of the North African land snail Gyrostomella (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Helicidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 194 (4): 1236–1251. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab059. ISSN   0024-4082.
  12. 1 2 Holyoak, David T.; Holyoak, Geraldine A.; Gómez Moliner, Benjamín M.; Chueca, Luis J. (2020). "Phylogeny, species-limits and taxonomic revision of the Otalini (Helicidae) from north-west Africa". Journal of Conchology . 43: 551–611.
  13. ↑ Korábek, Ondřej; Juřičková, Lucie; Petrusek, Adam (2021-12-31). "Diversity of Land Snail Tribe Helicini (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Helicidae): Where Do We Stand after 20 Years of Sequencing Mitochondrial Markers?". Diversity. 14 (1): 24. doi: 10.3390/d14010024 . ISSN   1424-2818.
  14. 1 2 Marco T Neiber; Ondřej Korábek; Matthias Glaubrecht; Bernhard Hausdorf (2022). "A misinterpreted disjunction: the phylogenetic relationships of the North African land snail Gyrostomella (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Helicidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 194 (4): 1236–1251. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab059.
  15. 1 2 Hesse, Paul (1908). Iconographie der Land- & Süsswasser-Mollusken mit vorzüglicher Berücksichtigung der Europäischen noch nicht abgebildeten Arten. Neu Folge. Vierzehnter Band. Wiesbaden: C. W. Kreidel.
  16. ↑ Fiorentino, Viviana; Salomone, Nicola; Manganelli, Giuseppe; Giusti, Folco (2010). "Historical biogeography of Tyrrhenian land snails: The Marmorana–Tyrrheniberus radiation (Pulmonata, Helicidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 55 (1): 26–37. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.11.024. PMID   19995610.
  17. ↑ Groenenberg, Dick S.J.; Subai, Peter; Gittenberger, Edmund (2016-01-28). "Systematics of Ariantinae (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Helicidae), a new approach to an old problem". Contributions to Zoology. 85 (1): 37–65l. doi:10.1163/18759866-08501003. ISSN   1383-4517.
  18. ↑ Höltke, Olaf; Rasser, Michael W (2015). "Pseudochloritis insignis–a peculiar large land-snail from the Miocene of SW Germany: taxonomic status and census of morphologically related forms". Journal of Conchology. 42 (1): 1.
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