Aulacospira

Aulacospira
Shell of Aulacospira hololoma (lectotype)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Infraorder: Pupilloidei
Superfamily: Pupilloidea
Family: Hypselostomatidae
Genus: Aulacospira
Möllendorff, 1890
Type species
Helix scalatella Möllendorff, 1888.
Synonyms
  • Aulacospira (Micropetasus) Möllendorff, 1890
  • Helix (Aulacospira) Möllendorff, 1890

Aulacospira is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Hypselostomatidae.[1]

Description

(Original description in Latin) The shell is small, eccentrically umbilicate, and similar in structure to those of the Fruticicola. It is thin, horny, and uniform in color. From its pointed apex, the spire is somewhat scalariform (staircase-like) and carinate (keeled). There are 4 to 5 finely striated whorls, which are flattened and concave due to a spiral groove; on the body whorl, the keel sometimes fades away. The aperture is oblique and generally subcircular, equipped with between 0 and 5 teeth. The peristome is reflected and scarcely thickened.[2]

(Description in 2020 by Dumrongrojwattana, P. & Tanmuangpak, K.) The shell is small—measuring 1.5 mm in height and 2.9 mm in width—and possesses a helicoid shape that is either depressed or triangular, making it notably wider than it is high. Its color is a uniform brown or purplish hue. The apex is prominent, featuring a protoconch that is either smooth or covered with a dense mesh of granular reticulation.

The teleoconch appears relatively smooth, though it is marked by uneven, oblique striae. The spire is slightly concave and, in some specimens, takes on a scalariform appearance. The body whorl can be either keeled or rounded and often features a distinct groove located below the suture. The shell is umbilicate, with an umbilicus that ranges from narrow to moderately narrow. Finally, the aperture is oblique and rounded, typically equipped with zero to five apertural teeth, while the peristome is thin and expanded.[3]

Species

Synonyms
  • Aulacospira azpeitiae Hidalgo, 1890: synonym of Pseudostreptaxis azpeitiae (Hidalgo, 1890) (superseded combination)
  • Aulacospira depressa (Jaeckel, 1950): synonym of Tonkinospira depressa (Jaeckel, 1950) (combination changed subsequently)
  • Aulacospira depressiana Dumrongrojwattana & Panha, 2006: synonym of Aulacospira depressa Dumrongrojwattana & Panha, 2006 (incorrect original spelling)

Distribution

The species of this genus oocur in Thailand and the Philippines, living on limestone rocks.

References

  1. ^ MolluscaBase eds. (2026). MolluscaBase. Aulacospira Möllendorff, 1890. Accessed through: World Register of Marine * At: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=870135 on 2026-01-31
  2. ^ Möllendorff, O.F. von (1890). "Die Landschnecken-Fauna der Insel Cebu". Bericht über die Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Frankfurt-am-Main. 1890: 224. Retrieved 31 January 2026. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Dumrongrojwattana, P. & Tanmuangpak, K. (2020). "The terrestrial microsnail genus Aulacospira Möllendorff, 1890 (Eupulmonata, Stylommatophora, Hypselostomatidae) in Thailand with key to Thai species". Zookeys. 980: 26. Retrieved 31 January 2026.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is under a CC BY 4.0 license.
  • Schileyko, A. A. (1998). Treatise on Recent terrestrial pulmonate molluscs. Part 2. Gastrocoptidae, Hypselostomatidae, Vertiginidae, Truncatellinidae, Pachnodidae, Enidae, Sagdidae. Ruthenica. Supplement 2: 129–261. Moskva
  • Panha S, Burch JB (2001) The pupillid genus Aulacospira in Thailand (Pulmonata: Stylommatophora). Walkerana 12: 65–76.
  • Vermeulen JJ, Phung LC, Truong QT (2007) New species of terrestrial molluscs (Caenogas tropoda, Pupinidae & Pulmonata, Vertiginidae) of the Hon Chong–Ha Tien limestone hills, Southern Vietnam. Basteria 71: 81–92.