Otala lactea

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Otala lactea
Otala lactea.jpg
Live individual
Otala lactea 01.JPG
Five views of a shell of Otala lactea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Helicidae
Subfamily: Helicinae
Tribe: Thebini
Genus: Otala
Species:
O. lactea [2]
Binomial name
Otala lactea [3]
(Müller, 1774)
Synonyms
  • Archelix ahmarina(Bourguignat in Pechaud, 1883) (superseded generic combination)
  • Archelix ahmarina var. ibrahimiPallary, 1922 (original combination)
  • Archelix ahmarina var. ksebianaPallary, 1915 (original combination)
  • Archelix barbiniPallary, 1918 (original combination)
  • Archelix barbini var. coloriaPallary, 1918 (original combination)
  • Archelix barbini var. majorPallary, 1926 (original combination)
  • Archelix barbini var. persimilisPallary, 1918 (original combination)
  • Archelix bleicheri(Paladilhe, 1875) (superseded generic combination)
  • Archelix bleicheri var. minorPallary, 1922 (original combination)
  • Archelix ceardiPallary, 1924 (original combination)
  • Archelix connollyiPallary, 1926 (original combination)
  • Archelix de gouttesianaPallary, 1928 (original combination)
  • Archelix de gouttesiana var. minorPallary, 1928 (original combination)
  • Archelix de gouttesiana var. pallidaPallary, 1928 (original combination)
  • Archelix derenicaPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix fauxnigraPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix fauxnigra var. unicolor-albaPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix freydieriPallary, 1923 (original combination)
  • Archelix freydieri var. minorPallary, 1926 (original combination)
  • Archelix freydieri var. unifasciataPallary, 1926 (original combination)
  • Archelix gebiletanaPallary, 1918 (original combination)
  • Archelix gebiletana var. minorPallary, 1919 (original combination)
  • Archelix huotianaPallary, 1926 (original combination)
  • Archelix ibrahimi(Bourguignat in Pechaud, 1883) (superseded generic combination)
  • Archelix liocephalaPallary, 1923 (original combination)
  • Archelix lucasiA. Férussac & Deshayes, 1848 (superseded generic combination)
  • Archelix lucasi var. discolorPallary, 1926 (original combination)
  • Archelix solignaciPallary, 1926 (original combination)
  • Archelix sphaeromorpha(Bourguignat in Pechaud, 1883) (superseded generic combination)
  • Archelix sphaeromorpha var. albicansPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix sphaeromorpha var. depressaPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix sphaeromorpha var. lineolataPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix sphaeromorpha var. minorPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix sphaeromorpha var. quinque-fasciataPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Archelix sphaeromorpha var. subangulataPallary, 1920 (original combination)
  • Helix ahmarinaJ. Mabille 1883
  • Helix bleicheriPaladilhe, 1875 (junior synonym)
  • Helix canariensisMousson 1872
  • Helix ibrahimiBourguignat in Pechaud, 1883 (junior synonym)
  • Helix jacquemetanaJ. Mabille 1883
  • Helix lacteaO.F. Muller 1774 (original description)
  • Helix lactea var. murcica Rossmässler, 1854 (junior synonym)
  • Helix lucasiA. Férussac & Deshayes, 1848 (junior synonym)
  • Helix plesiasteiaBourguignat in Pechaud, 1884 (junior synonym)
  • Helix sphaeromorphaBourguignat in Pechaud, 1883 (junior synonym)
  • Otala (Otala) lactea(O. F. Müller, 1774)· accepted, alternate representation
  • Otala (Otala) lactea lactea(O. F. Müller, 1774) (superseded combination)
  • Otala (Otala) lactea murcica(Rossmässler, 1854) (superseded combination)
  • Otala lactea murcica(Rossmässler, 1854) (superseded combination)

Otala lactea, known as the milk snail or Spanish snail, is a large, edible [4] species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk, in the family Helicidae, the typical snails. [5]

Contents

Archaeological recovery at the Ancient Roman site of Volubilis, in Morocco, illustrates prehistoric exploitation of O. lactea by humans. [6]

Distribution

This species of snail is native to the western Mediterranean Basin in the southern Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, Algeria, Balearic and Canary Islands, Malta and Corsica. [1] It has been introduced to the Azores, Madeira, United States, [1] including Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, and to Bermuda, Cuba, and southeastern Australia.

Anatomy

love dart of Otala lactea. Otala lactea dart.jpg
love dart of Otala lactea.

This snail creates and uses love darts as part of its courtship behaviour, prior to mating. The shell of the snail plays an important role on its quality of life. This is because the calcium in the snails shell allows for shell regeneration to take place, if the shell was ever to be broken. [7]

O. lactea has developed the evolutionary adaptation of estivation to help it deal with harsh conditions such as drought or famine. During this time, O. lactea suppresses its metabolism. This affects many of the body functions. On a cellular level, this conversion from normal to estivation is seen impacting the Na+/K+-ATPase function. The Na+/K+-ATPase activity has been shown to be significantly reduced during estivation. As the Na+/K+-ATPase pump uses quite a lot of ATP, the suppression of this pump plays a key role in the conversion to estivation in the O. lactea. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Arrébola, J. (2011). "Otala lactea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011: e.T156616A4973231. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  2. Taxonomy for Species Otala lactea
  3. Taxonomy for Species Otala lactea
  4. Man and Mollusc's Data Base of Edible Molluscs
  5. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Otala lactea (O. F. Müller, 1774). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1050532 on 2021-02-14
  6. C. Michael Hogan, Volubilis, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham (2007)
  7. "EVIDENCE THAT <italic>OTALA LACTEA</italic> (MÜLLER) UTILIZES CALCIUM FROM THE SHELL". Journal of Molluscan Studies. December 1974. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.mollus.a065269. ISSN   1464-3766.
  8. Ramnanan, Christopher J.; Storey, Kenneth B. (2006-02-15). "Suppression of Na+/K+-ATPase activity during estivation in the land snail Otala lactea" . Journal of Experimental Biology. 209 (4): 677–688. doi: 10.1242/jeb.02052 . ISSN   0022-0949. PMID   16449562.