Stenotrema altispira

Last updated

Stenotrema altispira
Stenotrema altispira.jpg
A highland slitmouth found in Caldwell County, North Carolina
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Polygyridae
Genus: Stenotrema
Species:
S. altispira
Binomial name
Stenotrema altispira
(Pilsbry, 1894)
Synonyms
  • Polygyra hirsuta altispira (Pilsbry, 1894)

Stenotrema altispira, also known as the highland slitmouth, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States. [1]

Contents

Physical appearance

The highland slitmouth possesses a brown, domed shell that is slightly taller than other species in the Stenotrema genus. Adult snails typically range from 8.5 to 11 mm (0.33-0.43 in) in length and 6.5–8 mm (0.25-0.31 in) in height. The shell's surface is covered with short, stiff hairs. The aperture is paler than the rest of the shell, with a narrow opening and a long parietal tooth. [2]

Ecology

The highland slitmouth is endemic to North America, and can be found in three states: North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. The species is listed as vulnerable globally, and listed as vulnerable in North Carolina, imperiled in Tennessee, and critically imperiled in Virginia. [1] The species can only be found in Grayson and Smyth Counties in Virginia, and is therefore at risk of extirpation. [2]

This species is found in high elevations along mountain ridges, typically around 1100 to 2000 meters (3608 to 6561.68 feet) in elevation. Individuals are most commonly found crawling on leaf litter, herbaceous vegetation, or woody debris in hardwood or mixed hardwood forests. [2] [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Smoky Mountains</span> American mountain range along North Carolina/Tennessee border

The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains, and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934 and, with over 11 million visits per year, is the most visited national park in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests</span> Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the United States

The Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests are an ecoregion in the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome, in the Eastern United States. The ecoregion is located in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, including the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It covers an area of about 61,500 square miles (159,000 km2) in: northeast Alabama and Georgia, northwest South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and central West Virginia and Pennsylvania; and small extensions into Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.

<i>Stenotrema</i> Genus of gastropods

Stenotrema is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Polygyridae. Members of this genus are known as slitmouths. These are typically small to medium-sized snails, with a velvety or hairy shell surface, and a narrow aperture which is usually closely guarded by well-developed "teeth".

Rich Mountain slitmouth or Pilsbry's narrow-apertured land snail, scientific name Stenotrema pilsbryi, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Polygyridae. This species is endemic to Ouachita Mountains of the United States.

<i>Anguispira alternata</i> Species of land snail

Anguispira alternata, also known as the flamed disc or flamed tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is the most common and widespread member of the Anguispira genus, and one of the more common land snail species in North America.

<i>Anguispira cumberlandiana</i> Vulnerable species of land snail

Anguispira cumberlandiana, also known as the Cumberland tigersnail or the Cumberland disc, is a range-restricted species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. The species is named after the Cumberland Plateau, a section of the Appalachian Plateau that overlaps with its range.

<i>Sonorella neglecta</i> Species of mollusc

Sonorella neglecta is a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the subfamily Helminthoglyptinae. Sonorella is a genus of large land snails consisting of over 80 species, with new ones continuing to be described. The shells typically differ only rather subtly, but proportions of the genitalia differentiate species. The genus is distributed in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico, with individual species often restricted to a single mountain massif or to a small part of one. Sonorella neglecta is such a narrow-range endemic from the Chiricahua Mountains. Its official vernacular name is the Portal Talussnail.

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

Anguispira kochi, the banded tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate terrestrial gastropod belonging to the family Discidae, the disk snails. There are two recognized subspecies: Anguispira kochi kochi or the eastern banded tigersnail, and Anguispira kochi occidentalis, the western banded tigersnail.

Anguispira alabama, also known as the Alabama tigersnail or Alabama disc, is a rare, range-restricted species of pulmonate land snail found in Alabama and Tennessee. Due to its rarity and the difficulty of locating new populations, the species is listed as vulnerable in both states.

Anguispira stihleri, also known as the Greenbrier tigersnail, is a rare, range-restricted species of pulmonate land snail endemic to Greenbrier County, West Virginia. It was first discovered in 1993 by biologist Craig Stilher, for whom it is named.

<i>Anguispira jessica</i> Species of land snail

Anguispira jessica, also known as the mountain tigersnail or mountain disc, is a species of pulmonate land snail– a gastropod mollusk in the family Discidae, the disk snails. The species is named after G.M. Kutchka's wife Jessica; he was the first to describe the species in 1938. It was originally considered a subspecies of Angusipira alternata, but has since been elevated to species status.

<i>Anguispira fergusoni</i> Species of land snail

Anguispira fergusoni, also known as the coastal plain tigersnail or coastal plain disk, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is found in multiple states along the east coast of the United States.

Anguispira knoxensis, also known as the rustic tigersnail or rustic disk, is a rare species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is endemic to the Great Smoky Mountains in southeastern Tennessee. It was originally considered a subspecies of Anguispira alternata.

<i>Anguispira mordax</i> Species of land snail

Anguispira mordax, also known as the Appalachian tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae endemic to the southeastern United States. It is named after the Appalachian mountain range.

<i>Anguispira strongylodes</i> Species of land snail

Anguispira strongylodes, also known as the southeastern tigersnail, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails.

Anguispira rugoderma, also known as the Pine Mountain tigersnail, is a rare, narrow-ranged species of pulmonate land snail in the family Discidae, the disk snails. It is named after the Pine Mounatin ridge, a section of the Appalachian Mountains that overlaps with the snail's range.

<i>Appalachina chilhoweensis</i> Species of land snail

Appalachina chilhoweensis, also known as the queen crater, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae. It is the largest North American land snail found east of the Rocky Mountains. It is named after Chilhowee Mountain.

<i>Stenotrema barbigerum</i> Species of land snail

Stenotrema barbigerum, also known as the fringed slitmouth, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States.

<i>Stenotrema angellum</i> Species of land snail

Stenotrema angellum, also known as the Kentucky slitmouth, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae.

<i>Stenotrema blandianum</i> Species of land snail

Stenotrema blandianum, also known as the Missouri slitmouth, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae.

References

  1. 1 2 "Stenotrema altispira". NatureServe Explorer 2.0. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  2. 1 2 3 "Stenotrema altispira." Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
  3. Hubricht, Leslie (1985). The distributions of the native land mollusks of the Eastern United States. Field Museum of Natural History.
  4. Dourson, D.C. 2013. Land snails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and southern Appalachians. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 336 pp.