Lord Howe flax snail

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Lord Howe flax snail
Lord Howe Island museum - Placostylus bivaricosus.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Bothriembryontidae
Subfamily: Placostylinae
Genus: Placostylus
Species:
P. bivaricosus
Binomial name
Placostylus bivaricosus
(Gaskoin, 1855)
Lord Howe Island.PNG
P. bivaricosus is endemic to Lord Howe Island
Synonyms
  • Bulimus (Eurytus) etheridgeiBrazier, 1889 (junior synonym)
  • Bulimus (Placostylus) cuniculinsulaeCox, 1872 (junior synonym)
  • Bulimus bivaricosusGaskoin, 1855 (original combination)
  • Bulimus bivaricosus etheridgeiHedley, 1891 (junior synonym)
  • Placostylus (Maoristylus) bivaricosus(Gaskoin, 1855)
  • Placostylus bivaricosus belliIredale, 1944 (junior synonym)
  • Placostylus bivaricosus royiIredale, 1944 (junior synonym)
  • Placostylus cuniculinsulae(Cox, 1872) (junior synonym)
  • Placostylus gizoensisClench, 1941 (junior synonym)

The Lord Howe flax snail or the Lord Howe placostylus, scientific name Placostylus bivaricosus, is a species of large air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Bothriembryontidae. [2]

Contents

Distribution

This large snail is found only on Lord Howe Island off the east coast of Australia. Its conservation status has declined from common to endangered since rats were accidentally introduced to this World Heritage island in 1918.

Subspecies

Subspecies of Placostylus bivaricosus include:

Description

The genus Placostylus is a group of large ground dwelling gastropods with a disjunct distribution in the South west Pacific from the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and New Caledonia, to Lord Howe Island and the northern extremity of New Zealand. The Lord Howe flax snail has a brown, pointed shell up to 7 cm long and 2 cm in diameter.

Conservation

Species decline

Historical accounts and fossil evidence indicate that the Lord Howe Island flax snail was formerly widespread and abundant on the island. The decline was first noted in the 1940s and the species is now listed as critically endangered.

The black rat is considered to be the major predator of this species and likely to be a significant threat to its survival. European blackbirds and song thrushes (self-introduced around 1950) are also thought to be predators of the snail.

Habitat clearing and modification and habitat disturbance, possibly herbicides and pesticides also add to the species decline.

Recovery

In 2001, a recovery plan was completed to protect and recover the Lord Howe Island flax snail in the wild. Actions include habitat and population surveys, community awareness raising and a captive-breeding program.

The Lord Howe Island Board, responsible for implementation of the recovery plan, has since constructed a rodent and bird proof enclosure for the project and the first generation of captive bred Lord Howe Island land snails has hatched.

Over a period of two years, schoolchildren will closely monitor the captive snail population and their eggs, and will then measure growth rates and survival rates of the juvenile snails.

Rodent control or eradication on the island is crucial for the long-term survival of this snail in the wild.

Related Research Articles

Lord Howe woodhen Species of bird

The Lord Howe woodhen also known as the Lord Howe Island woodhen or Lord Howe (Island) rail, is a flightless bird of the rail family, (Rallidae). It is endemic to Lord Howe Island off the Australian coast. It is currently classified as endangered by the IUCN.

<i>Placostylus</i> Genus of gastropods

Placostylus, or flax snails, are a genus of very large, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Bothriembryontidae.

<i>Placostylus hongii</i> Species of gastropod

Placostylus hongii is a species of very large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Bothriembryontidae.

Amphidromus cognatus is a large camaenid land snail endemic to Australia.

<i>Monterissa gowerensis</i> Species of gastropod

Monterissa gowerensis, also known as the Lord Howe microturban, is a species of minute cave snails with an operculum, gastropod mollusks in the family Hydrocenidae.

Basileostylus bollonsi, common name the New Zealand flax snail or pupuharakeke, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Bothriembryontidae.

<i>Placostylus eddystonensis</i> Species of gastropod

Placostylus eddystonensis is a species of air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Bothriembryontidae.

Sphaerospira rockhamptonensis, common name the Rockhampton banded snail, is a species of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Camaenidae.

John William Brazier was a malacologist from Australia.

<i>Placostylus ambagiosus</i> Species of gastropod

Placostylus ambagiosus is a species of flax snail, a large air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Bothriembryontidae.

Charopella is a genus of two species of tiny pinwheel snails that are endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

Pseudocharopa is a genus of three species of pinwheel snails that are endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

<i>Pseudocharopa ledgbirdi</i> Species of land snail

Pseudocharopa ledgbirdi, also known as the Mount Lidgbird pinwheel snail or the Mount Lidgbird charopid snail, is a species of pinwheel snail that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

<i>Pseudocharopa whiteleggei</i> Species of land snail

Pseudocharopa whiteleggei, also known as Whitelegge's pinwheel snail or Whitelegge's land snail, is a species of pinwheel snail that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

<i>Gudeoconcha</i> Genus of land snails

Gudeoconcha is a genus of glass snails that is endemic to Australia’s Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. The single species is G. sophiae(Reeve, 1854). It has four subspecies, only two of which are extant:

<i>Parmellops</i> Genus of land snails

Parmellops is a genus of two species of semislugs that are endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

<i>Parmellops etheridgei</i> Species of land snail

Parmellops etheridgei, also known as Etheridge's semislug, is a species of semislug that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

<i>Innesoconcha</i> Genus of land snails

Innesoconcha is a genus of four species of tiny glass-snails that are endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

<i>Innesoconcha catletti</i> Species of land snail

Innesoconcha catletti, also known as the Catlett's yellow glass-snail, is a species of land snail that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

<i>Charopella wilkinsoni</i> Species of land snail

Charopella wilkinsoni, also known as Wilkinson's pinwheel snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the pinwheel snail family, that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

References

  1. ↑ Ponder, W.F. (1996). "Placostylus bivaricosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996: e.T17447A7077965. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T17447A7077965.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ↑ MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Placostylus bivaricosus (Gaskoin, 1855). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1149983 on 2022-01-22
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ponder W. F., Colgan D. J., Gleeson D. M. & Sherley G. H. (2003). "Relationships of Placostylus from Lord Howe Island: an investigation using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene". Molluscan Research 23(2): 159-178. doi : 10.1071/MR03001, PDF.
  4. ↑ Ponder, W.F. (1996). "Placostylus bivaricosus ssp. etheridgei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996: e.T17448A7078251. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T17448A7078251.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  5. ↑ Etheridge, R. (31 December 1889). "The general zoology of Lord Howe Island; containing also an account of the collections made by the Australian Museum Collecting Party, Aug.–Sept., 1887" (PDF). Australian Museum Memoir. 2 (1): 1–42. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1967.2.1889.479 . Retrieved 23 January 2019.
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