Epiglypta is a monotypic genus of glass snails that is endemic to Australia’s Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.[1] The species is Epiglypta howeinsulae, also known as the ribbed glass snail; it has not been collected since 1920 and may be extinct due to rat predation.[3]

Epiglypta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Helicarionidae
Subfamily: Helicarioninae
Genus: Epiglypta
Pilsbry, 1893
Species:
E. howeinsulae
Binomial name
Epiglypta howeinsulae
(Cox, 1873)
Synonyms[1][2]
Genus synonymy
  • Nanina (Epiglypta) Pilsbry, 1893
Species synonymy
  • Helix howeinsulae Cox, 1873

Description

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The shell of adult snails is 17–21 mm in height, with a diameter of 31.9–34.8 mm, subglobose with a moderately raised spire, with rounded whorls, impressed sutures and closely spaced radial ribs. It is yellowish-brown in colouration. The umbilicus is narrowly open in juveniles, closed by reflection in adults. The aperture is ovately lunate. It is identifiable by its large and distinctly ribbed shell.[3]

Distribution and habitat

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The snail's distribution was limited to the vicinity of the summits of the southern mountains of the island, where it was found beneath stones and on wet rock faces.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Epiglypta". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Epiglypta howeinsulae". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c 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.