Helix albescens
| Helix albescens | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Helicidae |
| Genus: | Helix |
| Species: | H. albescens
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| Binomial name | |
| Helix albescens Rossmässler, 1839
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Helix albescens is a species of large air-breathing land snail from eastern Europe belonging to the family Helicidae.
Description
Helix albescens is a relatively small Helix species with globular shell, which is whitish to cream-brown, usually with five reddish-brown bands of which especially the second and third may partly fuse. Umbilicus closed, apertural margins may be brown. Characteristic is a very large protoconch (the embryonal shell).[1] The animal is yellow, usually with a dark, brown back.
On the genital system, typical characters are a missing diverticulum of bursa copulatrix (gametolytic gland) and a very short flagellum.[2]
Distribution and habitat
Helix albescens is distributed in southern Ukraine, southwestern Russia (Ciscaucasia) and the Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan).[1][3] The distribution of mitochondrial genetic lineages suggests that the species originates from Crimea.[4]
The species naturally occurs in shruby habitats (with Christ's thorn, blackthorn, hawthorn, etc.).[5]
Reproduction
As all stylommatophoran land snails, H. albescens is a hermaphrodite. It lays its eggs in small clutches in cavities dug 5-6 cm deep into a damp soil. Egg laying takes many hours, because laying one egg can takes as much as two hours.[5] Recorded clutch size ranges between 6 and 25 eggs, with an average of 18 eggs.[5] Oval eggs are large relative to the animal, with a maximum diameter of 6-11 mm.[5]
References
- ^ a b Neubert, Eike (2014). "Revision of Helix Linnaeus, 1758 in its eastern Mediterranean distribution area, and reassignment of Helix godetiana Kobelt, 1878 to Maltzanella Hesse, 1917 (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Helicidae)". Contributions to Natural History. 26: 1–200.
- ^ Leonov, S. V. (2004). "Peculiarities of the reproductive system of Helix albescens (Gastrpoda, Pulmonata)" (PDF). Vestnik zoologii. 39 (3): 73–75.
- ^ Korábek, Ondřej; Juřičková, Lucie; Petrusek, Adam (2022). "Diversity of Land Snail Tribe Helicini (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Helicidae): Where Do We Stand after 20 Years of Sequencing Mitochondrial Markers?". Diversity. 14 (1): 24. doi:10.3390/d14010024. ISSN 1424-2818.
- ^ Korábek, Ondřej; Balashov, Igor; Neiber, Marco T.; Walther, Frank; Hausdorf, Bernhard (2023-11-15). "The Caucasus is neither a cradle nor a museum of diversity of the land snail genus Helix (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Helicidae), while Crimea is home to an ancient lineage". Zoosystematics and Evolution. 99 (2): 535–543. doi:10.3897/zse.99.110610. ISSN 1860-0743.
- ^ a b c d Zuev, G. V.; Ovcharov, O. P.; Chesalin, M. V. (1995). "Reproduction of Helix albescens Rossmässler, 1839 (Pulmonata, Helicidae) in captivity". Ruthenica. 5 (1): 49–54.
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