Stenotrema maxillatum

Stenotrema maxillatum
A Ridge-lip slitmouth shell collected in Bullock County, Alabama
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Polygyridae
Genus:	Stenotrema
Species:	S. maxillatum
Binomial name
Stenotrema maxillatum (Gould, 1848)
Synonyms
Helix maxillata Gould, 1848 (unaccepted)

Stenotrema maxillatum, also known as the ridge-lip slitmouth, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae.

Physical appearance

Ridge-lip slitmouths possess small, globose shells, typically chestnut brown in color. The aperture is long, pale, and narrow, with a defined, protruding outer lip. The parietal tooth is hidden behind the outer lip. The ridge-lip slitmouth is most visually similar to Stenotrema hirsutum , except it is smaller and the shell is more globose. ^[1]

Ecology

The ridge-lip slitmouth is endemic to the southeastern United States, where it has been found in Alabama and Georgia. The species is listed as vulnerable. ^[2]

This species is most commonly found in leaf litter or on rocks and logs along wooded hillsides and ravines. ^[3]

References

1. Gould, A. A. (1848). New shells from the south western states collected by J. Bartlett for the late Dr. Amos Binney. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 3: 37-41.
2. "Stenotrema maxillatum". NatureServe Explorer 2.0. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
3. Hubricht, Leslie (1985). The distributions of the native land mollusks of the Eastern United States. Field Museum of Natural History.