Painted snake-coiled forest snail

Last updated

Painted snake-coiled forest snail
Anguispira picta.jpg
A live individual in situ
Status TNC G1.svg
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Discidae
Genus: Anguispira
Species:
A. picta
Binomial name
Anguispira picta
(G. H. Clapp, 1920)

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.

This species is native to Tennessee in the United States, where it is known only from Franklin County. It may possibly also occur just over the border in Alabama. [1] It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.

This snail was first discovered in 1906. It was once treated as a subspecies of the more common Anguispira cumberlandiana . It is now a species in its own right. The snail is about 2 centimeters wide and 1 high. Its shape is a depressed dome. The shell has six whorls which are whitish with brownish blotches. The juvenile has a translucent and brightly colored shell. [2]

This snail was long thought to be endemic to one cove on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, near the town of Sherwood, Tennessee. The cove is heavily forested and studded with limestone outcrops, and it has a creek running through. [2] The snail still occurs at this cove and it is abundant there. Recent surveys demonstrate that its distribution extends a few miles past the cove. Until recently, its entire distribution was located on privately owned land. A new land grant to the Sherwood Forest, part of South Cumberland State Park, in 2018 includes the range of one-third of the snails, now a protected area. [3] [4]

Threats to the species include residential development, which can alter the habitat indirectly, such as by adding polluted surface runoff to the waterways. There is active limestone quarrying in the area, which can destroy habitat and cause habitat fragmentation. Logging also removes forest cover; the snail can apparently tolerate an amount of deforestation, but the long-term effects are not yet known. [4]

Related Research Articles

Painted turtle Species of reptile

The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only extant species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Four regionally based subspecies evolved during the last ice age.

<i>Discus macclintocki</i> Species of gastropod

Discus macclintocki is a species of land snail in the family Discidae known commonly as the Iowa Pleistocene snail and Pleistocene disc. It occurs in Iowa and Illinois in the United States. It is a federally listed endangered species.

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

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

<i>Anguispira</i> Genus of gastropods

Anguispira is a genus of small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Discidae, the disk snails.

The Cumberland dusky salamander is a species of salamander in the family of lungless salamanders, Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and rivers. This species is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Archachatina bicarinata</i> Species of gastropod

Archachatina bicarinata, the Obô giant snail, or black snail, is a species of air-breathing tropical land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Achatinidae.

Cerion nanus is a species of medium-sized air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod in the family Cerionidae.

<i>Dromus dromas</i> Species of bivalve

Dromus dromas, the dromedary pearlymussel or dromedary naiad, is a rare species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae. This aquatic bivalve mollusk is native to the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems in the United States, where it has experienced a large population decline. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

Oyster mussel Species of bivalve

The oyster mussel is a rare species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae. This aquatic bivalve mollusk is native to the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Virginia in the United States. It has been extirpated from the states of Georgia and North Carolina. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Leptodea leptodon</i> Species of bivalve

Leptodea leptodon, the scaleshell mussel or scale shell, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This aquatic bivalve mollusk has disappeared from much of its historical range. It is endemic to the United States, where it is now present in four or fewer states; it is only found with any regularity in Missouri. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Plethobasus cooperianus</i> Species of bivalve

Plethobasus cooperianus, the orange-footed pimpleback mussel or orangefoot pimpleback, is a rare species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This aquatic bivalve mollusk is native to the Tennessee, Cumberland, and lower Ohio Rivers in the United States, where its distribution has declined over 70%.

Marstonia ogmorhaphe, common names the royal marstonia or royal springsnail, is a minute species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Hydrobiidae, the mud snails. This species is endemic to Tennessee in the United States, where it occurs in two streams in Marion County. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Theliderma intermedia</i> Species of bivalve

Theliderma intermedia, the Cumberland monkeyface pearly mussel or Cumberland monkeyface, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This aquatic bivalve mollusk is native to Tennessee and Virginia in the United States. Historically widespread in the upper Tennessee River system, it populations have been reduced by habitat destruction and pollution. It now only occurs in two tributaries: the Duck and Powell Rivers. It is a federally listed endangered species.

The flat-spired three-toothed snail —also known as the Cheat three-toothed snail after the Cheat River in West Virginia—is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Polygyridae.

Utah roundmouth snail Species of gastropod

The Utah roundmouth snail, also known as the Utah valvata or desert valvata, scientific name Valvata utahensis, is a species of freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Valvatidae, the valve snails.

<i>Polymita picta</i> Species of gastropod

Polymita picta, common name the Cuban Painted Snail,or The Oriente Tree Snail, is a species of large, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helminthoglyptidae.

<i>Patera clarki nantahala</i> Subspecies of gastropod

Patera clarki nantahala, the noonday globe, is a subspecies of Patera clarki, a land snail in the family Polygyridae. It is endemic to North Carolina in the United States.

<i>Anguispira cumberlandiana</i> Species of gastropod

The Cumberland Tigersnail or the Cumberland Disc, scientific name Anguispira cumberlandiana, is a species of small, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Discidae.

Palezone shiner Species of fish

The palezone shiner is a rare species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is native to Alabama and Kentucky in the United States. It once occurred in Tennessee, but it has been extirpated from the state. There are two populations remaining. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

Sherwood, Tennessee Unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States

Sherwood is an unincorporated community at the north end of Crow Creek Valley in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. It is located along Tennessee State Route 56 13.1 miles (21.1 km) southeast of Winchester, and just north of the Alabama state line. Sherwood has a post office with ZIP code 37376.

References

  1. Anguispira picta. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. 1 2 USFWS. Painted snake coiled forest snail Recovery Plan. (October 1982).
  3. "Sherwood Forest addition wins Governor's 2017 Environmental Stewardship Award". Friends of South Cumberland State Park.
  4. 1 2 USFWS. Painted snake coiled forest snail Five-year Review. (January 2008).