Stenotrema edgarianum

Stenotrema edgarianum
Sequatchie slitmouth shells collected in Bledsoe County, Tennessee
Conservation status
Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Polygyridae
Genus:	Stenotrema
Species:	S. edgarianum
Binomial name
Stenotrema edgarianum (I. Lea, 1841)
Synonyms
Carocolla edgarianaI. Lea, 1841 (original combination)

Stenotrema edgarianum, also known as the Sequatchieslitmouth, is a rare, range-restricted species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygyridae.

Physical appearance

The Sequatchie slitmouth's shell is reddish-brown in color, irregularly striated, flat along the top, and convex below. The lip is thick with a narrow opening and a defined parietal tooth. The shell typically has 5 whorls. ^[1]

Ecology

The Sequatchie slitmouth is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains, specifically the Cumberland Plateau, where it can be found in Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, and Cumberland Counties in southeastern Tennessee. ^[2] Due to its rarity, the species is listed as imperiled globally and at the Tennessee state level. ^[3]

This species is found on logs or in leaf litter along wooded hillsides. ^[4] They are rarely found in large numbers. ^[5]

References

1. Lea, I. (1841). On fresh water and land shells (continuation) [fifty-seven new species]. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 2(17): 30-34 [7 May 1841].
2. Hubricht, L. 1973. The land snails of Tennessee. Sterkiana, 49: 11-17.
3. "Stenotrema edgarianum". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
4. Dourson, D.C. 2010. Kentucky's land snails and their ecological communities. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 298 pp.
5. Hubricht, Leslie (1985). The distributions of the native land mollusks of the Eastern United States. Field Museum of Natural History. 40.