Acicula (gastropod)
Striped Mulmnadel ( acicula lineata )
Acicula is a living on the land snail genus from the order of Architaenioglossa ("old Bandzüngler "). It is the type genus of the family of Mulmnadeln ( Aciculidae ). The oldest species of the genus comes from the Chattian ( Oligocene, Paleogene ).
Features
The small case of the genus acicula ranging in height from 1.35 to 6.2 mm, the width of 0.5 to 1.85 mm. You are hochkonisch to almost cylindrical, with up to eight whorls. You are always more than twice as high as wide. A seam edge is formed more or less clear, or it may be absent. The ornamentation consists of numerous, arranged more or less regularly, recessed radially extending, fine grooves. The surface is very glossy, the shell translucent and colorless. Some species form of a more or less strong, simple neck ridge, which is separated for adult forms by a groove from the mouth edge.
In relation to the housing of whitish translucent body is comparatively small and slender. The head is separated from the neck by an obliquely to the sole edge furrow. The sole is separated from the body by a weaker and a more educated longitudinal furrow. The snout on the head is far vorstreckbar, but an actual proboscis is not developed. The long, threadlike antennae are highly contractile. The cover on the rear part of the narrow foot projects beyond the base on both sides. He points to 2 ½ to 2 ¾ whorls.
The animals are dioecious. The few eggs which are deposited by the females, are very large in proportion to body size.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The distribution of the genus acicula extends, with large gaps of Great Britain in the west, across Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor to Iran and Israel. The oldest species of the genus acicula is acicula filifera Sandberger, 1862 from the Chattian ( Oligocene, Paleogene ) of Germany.
Most types of Mulmnadeln live deep in the ground, under rotten wood and leaves between overgrown rock rubble. At least one kind Platyla procax from Montenegro seems to be a real cave snail. As far as known to eat the eggs of other animals of species of snails and fungal hyphae.
Taxonomy, nomenclature and systematics
The genus acicula was proposed in 1821 by Johann Wilhelm Daniel Hartmann. Type species by monotype is the kind Auricula lineata Draparnaud, 1805 are synonyms Acme Hartmann, 1821 and Pupula Charpentier, 1837 ( type species by monotype: .. Auricula lineata Draparnaud, 1805 acicula W. Hartmann, 1821 is the type genus of the Aciculidae JE Gray Family, 1850 ( Mulmnadeln ) ).
Currently, 28 species of the genus are known, of which 19 are extant acicula species. Five acicula species have been described exclusively from fossil deposits. Four recent acicula species are already known from Miocene deposits.
- Acicula algerensis Gittenberger & Boeters, 1977
- Acicula beneckei ( Andreae, 1883)
- Acicula benoiti ( Bourguignat, 1864)
- Acicula disjuncta Boeters, Gittenberger & Subai, 1989
- Acicula douctouyrensis ( Bertrand, 2004)
- † acicula edlaueri Schlickum, 1970, Pannonian, Pliocene Neogene
- † acicula filifera Sandberger, 1862 Chattian, Oligocene, Paleogene
- Brown Mulmnadel acicula fusca ( Montagu, 1803), Miocene to recent
- Acicula hausdorfi Boeters, Gittenberger & Subai, 1989
- † acicula isselii ( Platt, 1889), Tortonian, Miocene
- Acicula lallemanti ( Bourguignat, 1864)
- Acicula letourneuxi ( Bourguignat, 1864)
- Acicula limbata Reuss, 1860, Miocene to recent
- Striped Mulmnadel acicula lineata ( Draparnaud, 1805), Miocene to recent Acicula lineata lineata ( Draparnaud, 1805)
- Acicula lineata sublineata ( Andreae, 1883)
- Acicula lineolata lineolata ( Pini, 1885)
- Acicula lineolata banki Boeters, Gittenberger & Subai, 1989