Pseudocharopa whiteleggei

Pseudocharopa whiteleggei
Conservation status
Critically endangered  (EPBC Act)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Charopidae
Genus:	Pseudocharopa
Species:	P. whiteleggei
Binomial name
Pseudocharopa whiteleggei (Brazier, 1889)
Location of Lord Howe Island
Synonyms
Helix (Rhytida) whiteleggeiBrazier, 1889 Pseudocharopa editorIredale, 1944

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. ^[1] It is the largest charopid species in Australia. ^[2] It is named after naturalist Thomas Whitelegge. ^[3]

Description

The ear-shaped shell of mature snails is 7.1–8.3 mm in height, with a diameter of 15.6–17.7 mm, discoidal with a flat spire and impressed sutures. It is dark reddish-brown with indistinct zigzag, cream-coloured flammulations (flame-like markings). The umbilicus is moderately wide. The ovately lunate aperture is flattened on the upper edge. The animal has a lime-green sole and dark grey upper body, neck, head and eye-tentacles. ^[2]

Habitat

The snail is known mainly from the summits and upper slopes of Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower, living in rainforest leaf litter. ^[2]

Conservation

The snail has been subject to predation by introduced rodents and is considered to be Critically Endangered. ^[2]

References

1. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Pseudocharopa whiteleggei (Brazier, 1889). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1150009 on 2021-07-20
2. Hyman, Isabel; Köhler, Frank (2020). A Field Guide to the Land Snails of Lord Howe Island. Sydney: Australian Museum. ISBN   978-0-9750476-8-2.
3. Thomas Whitelegg (1850-1927). Australian Dictionary of Biography (1990)

External links

• Brazier, J. (1889). Mollusca. In: Etheridge, R (ed.) The general zoology of Lord Howe Island; containing also an account of the collections made by the Australian Museum Collecting Party, Aug.–Sept., 1887, pp. 22-30. Memoirs of the Australian Museum. 2: 1-42
• Iredale, T. (1944). The land Mollusca of Lord Howe Island. The Australian Zoologist. 10(3): 299-334
• "Pseudocharopa whiteleggei (Brazier, 1889)". MolluscaBase. Flanders Marine Institute. 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-16.