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Athoracophoridae

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Athoracophoridae, common name the leaf-veined slugs, are a family of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the infraorder Stylommatophora, the stalk-eyed snails and slugs. Many of the species have an attractive pattern on their dorsal surface which resembles the veins in a leaf, hence the common name.

Athoracophoridae
Two individuals of Triboniophorus graeffei
Two individuals of Triboniophorus graeffei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Superfamily: Athoracophoroidea
P. Fischer, 1883[1] (1860)
Family: Athoracophoridae
P. Fischer, 1883[1] (1860)
Subfamilies

Athoracophoridae is the only family in the superfamily Athoracophoroidea.[2]

Leaf-veined slugs live on the various land masses and islands in the south-west Pacific area. In te reo Māori, leaf-veined slugs are known as putoko ropiropi.[3]

The scientific name Athoracophoridae is derived from prefix "a-", that means "without" and from a Greek word "θωραχοφὁρος" (thorachoforos), that means "breastplate".[1] This is a reference to the fact that the mantle in these slugs is small and not well delineated; it does not have the obvious, saddle-shaped or breast-plate-shaped appearance that it does in most other land slug groups.

Anatomy

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In the family Athoracophoridae (in subfamily Aneitinae and in subfamily Athoracophorinae), the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 36 and 45 (according to the values in this table).[4] While they belong to the pulmonate snails, they lack a true lung. The vascularized mantle cavity is reduced, and a series of blind tubules radiate from it, being surrounded blood vessels. This allows for a more compact lung structure in these generally flat animals.[5]

Distribution

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Species in this family are found in eastern Australia, New Zealand including its sub-Antarctic islands, Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia,[6] as well as on the Melanesian islands north to New Caledonia and New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Taxonomy

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The following two subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005),[2] that follows classification after Grimpe & Hoffmann (1925):[7]

The name Athoracophoridae has precedence over the name Aneitidae, because Athoracophoridae is in prevailing usage.[2]

Genera

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Genera within the family Athoracophoridae include:[8]

See also

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  • Alaninema ngata, a nematode which is an intestinal parasite in slugs of this family

References

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  1. ^ a b c (in French) Fischer P. (21 February 1883). Manuel de conchlyliologie et de paléontologie conchlyliologique (5): 417-512. Savy, Paris. page 492.
  2. ^ a b c Bouchet, Philippe; Rocroi, Jean-Pierre; Frýda, Jiri; Hausdorf, Bernard; Ponder, Winston; Valdés, Ángel & Warén, Anders (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". Malacologia. 47 (1–2). Hackenheim, Germany: ConchBooks: 1–397. ISBN 3-925919-72-4. ISSN 0076-2997.
  3. ^ Ryan, Paddy (24 Sep 2007). "Snails and slugs - Flax snails, giant snails and veined slugs". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  4. ^ Barker G. M.: Gastropods on Land: Phylogeny, Diversity and Adaptive Morphology. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-85199-318-4. 1-146, cited pages: 139 and 142.
  5. ^ Burton, W.D. (1982). "How to be sluggish". Tuatara. 25 (2): 48–63. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Burton D. W. (1982). "How to be sluggish." Tuatara 25(2): 48-63. page 55.
  7. ^ (in German) Grimpe G. & Hoffmann (1925). "Die Nacktschnecken von Neu-Caledonien, den Loyalty-Inseln und den Neuen-Hebriden." In: Sarasin F. & Roux J. (eds.) Nova Caledonia, A (Zoologie), Band 3, Heft 1-3: 337-476, plates 5-6.
  8. ^ Powell A. W. B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand, ISBN 0-00-216906-1

Further reading

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  • Burch J. B. (1968). "Tentacle retraction in Tracheopulmonata". Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia 1(11): 62-67.
  • Burch J. B. & Patterson C. M. (1969). "Systematic position of the Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda : Euthyneura)". Malacologia 9: 259-260.
  • Burton D. W. (1962). "New Zealand land slugs — Part 1". Tuatara 9(8): 87-97.
  • Burton D. W. (1963). "New Zealand Land Slugs — Part 2". Tuatara 11(2): 90-96.
  • Burton D. W. (1980). "Anatomical studies on Australian, New Zealand and sub-antarctic Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda : Pulmonata)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 7: 173-198.
  • Burton D. W. (1981). "Pallial systems in the Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 8: 391-402.
  • Forcart L. (1973). "Notes on Veronicellidae and Athoracophoridae in Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago". Nautilus 87: 25-27.
  • Grimpe G. & Hoffmann H. (1924). "Diagnosen neuer Athoracophoriden (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)". Zoologischer Anzeiger 58: 171-177.
  • Oberzeller E. (1970). "Ergebnisse der Österreichischen Neukaledonien-Expedition 1965. Terrestrische Gastropoda II: Veronicellidae und Athoracophoridae." Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 74: 325-341. PDF.
  • Plate L. H. (1898). "Beitrage zur Anatomie und Systematik der Janelliden". Zoologische Jahrbucher. Abtheilung fur Anatomie und Ontogenie der Thiere (Jena) XI: 193-269.
  • Suter H. (1897). "A revision of New Zealand Athoracophoridae". Journal of Molluscan Studies 2(6): 245-257. abstract.
  • Suter H. (1913). Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca. (Athoracophoridae, pp. 789-808, pl. 31, figs. 3-13.)
  • Stanisic J. (1998). "Family Athoracophoridae". pp. 1109-1110. In: Beesley P. L., Ross G. J. B. & Wells A. (eds). Mollusca: The Southern Synthesis. Fauna of Australia. Melbourne, CSIRO Publishing Vol. 5, Part B, pp. vi-viii, 565-1234.
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