Pseudocharopa whiteleggei

Pseudocharopa whiteleggei
Conservation status
	; Critically endangered (EPBC Act)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Charopidae
Genus:	Pseudocharopa
Species:	P. whiteleggei
Binomial name
	Pseudocharopa whiteleggei; (Brazier, 1889)
	Location of Lord Howe Island
Synonyms
	Helix (Rhytida) whiteleggei Brazier, 1889; Pseudocharopa editor Iredale, 1944;

Pseudocharopa whiteleggei, also known as Whitelegge's pinwheel snail or Whitelegge's land snail, is a species of pinwheel snail that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. ^[1] It is the largest charopid species in Australia.^[2] It is named after naturalist Thomas Whitelegge.^[3]

Description

The ear-shaped shell of mature snails is 7.1–8.3 mm in height, with a diameter of 15.6–17.7 mm, discoidal with a flat spire and impressed sutures. It is dark reddish-brown with indistinct zigzag, cream-coloured flammulations (flame-like markings). The umbilicus is moderately wide. The ovately lunate aperture is flattened on the upper edge. The animal has a lime-green sole and dark grey upper body, neck, head and eye-tentacles.^[2]

Habitat

The snail is known mainly from the summits and upper slopes of Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower, living in rainforest leaf litter.^[2]

Conservation

The snail has been subject to predation by introduced rodents and is considered to be Critically Endangered.^[2]

References

^ MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Pseudocharopa whiteleggei (Brazier, 1889). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1150009 on 2021-07-20
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 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.
^ Thomas Whitelegg (1850-1927). Australian Dictionary of Biography (1990)

External links

Brazier, J. (1889). Mollusca. In: Etheridge, R (ed.) The general zoology of Lord Howe Island; containing also an account of the collections made by the Australian Museum Collecting Party, Aug.–Sept., 1887, pp. 22-30. Memoirs of the Australian Museum. 2: 1-42
Iredale, T. (1944). The land Mollusca of Lord Howe Island. The Australian Zoologist. 10(3): 299-334
"Pseudocharopa whiteleggei (Brazier, 1889)". MolluscaBase. Flanders Marine Institute. 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-16.

[WoRMS-1] MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Pseudocharopa whiteleggei (Brazier, 1889). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1150009 on 2021-07-20

[h&k-2] 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.

[3] Thomas Whitelegg (1850-1927). Australian Dictionary of Biography (1990)

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