Terrestrial Gastropods

The Terrestrial Gastropods in Palestine

الحيوانات البطنقدمية البرية في فلسطين

By: Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa

Article Reference:  Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2015). The Terrestrial Gastropods in Palestine. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Number 126, June 2015. pp. 1-16. Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://animals-of-palestine.webs.com/terrestrial-gastropods

Helix aspersa (O. F. Müller, 1774). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_aspersa#mediaviewer/File:Snail1web.jpg

The Gastropoda or gastropods, more commonly known as snails and slugs, are a large taxonomic class within the phylum Mollusca. The class Gastropoda includes snails and slugs of all kinds and all sizes from microscopic to large. There are many thousands of species of sea snails and sea slugs, as well as freshwater snails, freshwater limpets, land snails and land slugs (Wikipedia).


The class Gastropoda contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. The fossil history of this class goes back to the Late Cambrian. There are 611 families of gastropods known, of which 202 are extinct and appear only in the fossil record (Wikipedia).


Gastropoda (previously known as univalves and sometimes spelled "Gasteropoda") are a major part of the phylum Mollusca, and are the most highly diversified class in the phylum, with 60,000 to 80,000 living snail and slug species. The anatomy, behavior, feeding, and reproductive adaptations of gastropods vary significantly from one clade or group to another. Therefore, it is difficult to state many generalities for all gastropods (Wikipedia).


The class Gastropoda has an extraordinary diversification of habitats. Representatives live in gardens, woodland, deserts, and on mountains; in small ditches, great rivers and lakes; in estuaries, mudflats, the rocky intertidal, the sandy subtidal, in the abyssal depths of the oceans including the hydrothermal vents, and numerous other ecological niches, including parasitic ones (Wikipedia).


Although the name "snail" can be, and often is, applied to all the members of this class, commonly this word means only those species with an external shell large enough that the soft parts can withdraw completely into it. Those gastropods without a shell, and those with only a very reduced or internal shell, are usually known as slugs (Wikipedia).


The marine shelled species of gastropod include edible species such as abalone, conches, periwinkles, whelks, and numerous other sea snails that produce seashells that are coiled in the adult stage—though in some, the coiling may not be very visible, for example in cowries. In a number of families of species, such as all the various limpets, the shell is coiled only in the larval stage, and is a simple conical structure after that (Wikipedia).

Drawing showing an apertural view of a shell of Sphincterochila prophetarum (Bourguignat, 1852). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphincterochila_prophetarum#mediaviewer/File:Sphincterochila_prophetarum_shell.jpg

Cecilioides acicula (O. F. Müller, 1774).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilioides_acicula#mediaviewer/File:Cecilioides_acicula.jpg

Etymology


The word "gastropod" is derived from the Ancient Greek words γαστήρ (gastér, stem: gastr-) "stomach", and πούς (poús, stem: pod-) "foot", hence stomach-foot. This is an anthropomorphic misnomer, based on the fact that to humans it appears as if snails and slugs crawl on their bellies. In reality, snails and slugs have their stomach, the rest of their digestive system, and all the rest of their viscera in a hump on the opposite, dorsal side of the body. In most gastropods, this visceral hump is covered by, and contained within, the shell (Wikipedia).


In the scientific literature, gastropods were described under "gasteropodes" by Georges Cuvier in 1795 (Wikipedia).


The earlier name univalve means "one valve" or shell, in contrast to bivalve applied to mollusks such as clams and meaning that those animals possess two valves or shells (Wikipedia).

Cochlicella barbara (Linnaeus, 1758). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlicella_barbara#mediaviewer/File:Cochlicella_barbara.jpg

Rumina decollata (Linnaeus, 1758). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumina_decollata#mediaviewer/File:Rumina_decollata_0106.JPG

In a study published in 2008, twenty-six species of gastropods (terrestrial, shell-bearing snails and slugs) were recorded at the ‘Evolution Canyon’ microsite, lower Wadi Fallah River (Nahal Oren), Mount Carmel, Occupied Palestine. Twenty-five species were recorded at the temperate, mesic north-facing slope (NFS) and 20 species at the xeric south-facing slope (SFS). Out of these species, six were NFS specific (Pilorcula raymondi hebraica, Euchondrus septemdentatus, Monacha crispulata, Pyramidula rupestris hierosolymitana, Truncatellina haasi, and Vitrea contracta) and one was SFS specific (Prolimax eustrictus). The interslope difference was probably partly due to missing forest species at the SFS in comparison with the NFS. Twenty-two species were Levantine endemics (84.6%) and four species were more widely distributed in the Palaearctic region (15.4%). The Levantine species are inhabitants of the mesic and mainly mountainous regions, but four species (Granopupa granum, Calaxis hierosolymarum, Cecilioides acicula, and Helix engaddensis) also penetrate the deserts. Seven species (Buliminus labrosus, Helix engaddensis, Levantina spiriplana caesareana, Metafruticicola fourousi, Monacha syriaca, Sphincterochila cariosa, and Xeropicta vestalis joppensis) were significantly more abundant on the SFS than on the NFS. The local physical microclimatic sharp divergence leads to gastropod adaptive interslope biotic divergence caused by natural selection (PAVLÍČEK, Mienis, Raz, Hassid, Rubenyan, Nevo, 2007/2008).

Buliminus labrosus labrosus (Olivier, 1804). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buliminus_labrosus#mediaviewer/File:Buliminus-labrosus_01.jpg

Pyramidula rupestris (Draparnaud, 1801). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramidula_rupestris#mediaviewer/File:Pyramidula_rupestris_shell.jpg

Land Gastropods in Palestine are a part of the molluscan fauna of Palestine. A number of species of land molluscs are found in the wild in Palestine. In addition, a number of gastropod species are reared in captivity in greenhouses, aquaria and terraria.


Land Gastropods in Palestine (according to Wikipedia):

Pomatiidae

Ferussaciidae

Cochlicellidae

Zonitidae

Limacidae

  • Limacus flavus (Linnaeus, 1758) - native

Agriolimacidae

Oxychilidae

Subulinidae

Aciculidae

Enidae

Chondrinidae

Pyramidulidae

Vertiginidae

Pupillidae

Zonitidae

Sphincterochilidae

Hygromiidae

Helicidae

Theba pisana (Müller, 1774). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theba_pisana#mediaviewer/File:Theba_pisana_0109.JPG

Non-indigenous land Gastropods in Palestine (according to Roll, Dayan, Simberloff and Mienis, 2008/2009):


Novisuccinea hortensis (Reinhardt, 1877). Family Succineidae.

Novisuccinea ovalis (Say, 1817). Family Succineidae.

Gastrocopta cf pellucida (Pfeiffer, 1841). Family Chondrinidae.

Gastrocopta procera (Gould, 1840). Family Chondrinidae.

Vallonia costata (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Valloniidae.

Vallonia excentrica (Sterki, 1893). Family Valloniidae.

Vallonia pulchella (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Valloniidae.

Vallonia excentrica (Sterki, 1893). Family Valloniidae.

Vallonia pulchella (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Valloniidae.

Elia moesta moesta (Rossmässler, 1839). Family Clausiliidae.

Achatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822). Family Achatinidae.

Lamellaxis clavulinus (Potiez & Michaud, 1838). Family Subulinidae.

Rumina decollata (Linnaeus, 1758). Family Subulinidae.

Rumina saharica (Pallary, 1901). Family Subulinidae.

Euglandina rosea (de Fe´russac, 1821). Family Spiraxidae.

Lucilla scintilla (Lowe, 1852). Family Helicodiscidae.

Hawaiia minuscula (Binney, 1840). Family Oxychilidae.

Oxychilus cyprius (Pfeiffer, 1847). Family Oxychilidae.

Oxychilus translucidus (Mortillet, 1854). Family Oxychilidae.

Zonitoides arboreus (Say, 1816). Family Gastrodontidae.

Zonitoides nitidus (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Gastrodontidae.

Lehmannia valentiana (de Fe´russac, 1822). Family Limacidae.

Deroceras laeve (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Agriolimacidae.

Deroceras reticulatum (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Agriolimacidae.

Cornu aspersum aspersum (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Helicidae.

Cornu aspersum megalostomum (Bourguignat, 1864). Family Helicidae.

Eobania vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Helicidae.

Helix cincta (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Helicidae.

Helix ligata (O. F. Müller, 1774). Family Helicidae.

Helix xeraethia (Rolle & Kobelt, 1895). Family Helicidae.

Prietocella barbara (Linnaeus, 1758). Family Cochlicellidae.

Cernuella virgata (Da Costa, 1778). Family Hygromiidae.

Monacha species. Family Hygromiidae.

Xeroclausa meda (Porro, 1840). Family Hygromiidae.

Xerotricha conspurcata (Draparnaud, 1801). Family Hygromiidae.

(after Roll, Dayan, Simberloff and Mienis, 2008/2009).

References and Internet Websites


Acicula Palaestinensis. http://www.takealot.com/books/acicula-palaestinensis,9786136137124

Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2009). Flora and Fauna in Palestine. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. Number 91, July 2009, Rajab 1430 AH. pp. 1-31. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://flora-fauna-palestine.webs.com/

Khalaf-von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam (2014). Fauna Palaestina – Part Four. Zoological Studies in Palestine between 1983 – 2014 / Fauna Palaestina - Teil Vier. Zoologische Studien in Palästina zwischen 1983 – 2014. ISBN 978-9950-383-77-7. Erste Auflage / First Edition : July 2014, Ramadan 1435 H. pp. 456 (English part 378 pages and Arabic part 78 pages). Publisher: Dar Al Jundi Publishing House, Al-Quds (Jerusalem), State of Palestine. http://fauna-palaestina-part-1.webs.com/faunapalaestina4.htm 
Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2015). The Terrestrial Gastropods in Palestine. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Number 126, June 2015. pp. 1-16. Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://animals-of-palestine.webs.com/terrestrial-gastropods 
PAVLÍČEK, TOMÁŠ; Hendrik Klaas Mienis, Shmuel Raz, Veronique Hassid, Artem Rubenyan and Eviatar Nevo (2007/2008). Gastropod biodiversity at the ‘Evolution Canyon’ microsite, lower Nahal Oren, Mount Carmel, Israel. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 93, Issue 1, pages 147–155, January 2008. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00920.x. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00920.x/abstract 
Roll, Uri; Tamar Dayan, Daniel Simberloff and Henk K. Mienis (2008, 2009). Non-indigenous land and freshwater gastropods in Israel. Biol Invasions (2009) 11:1963–1972. DOI 10.1007/s10530-008-9373-4. http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/lewi_files/documents/Roll_BiolInv_2009.pdf Safriel, U. N. (1975). The role of vermetid gastropods in the formation of Mediterranean and Atlantic reefs. Oecologia. 20. VI. 1975, Volume 20, Issue 1, pp 85-101. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00364323

Fossil of the gastropod Discohelix tunisiensis (Cox, 1969) from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of southern Palestine. http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2013/08/11/woosters-fossil-of-the-week-an-almost-planispiral-gastropod-from-the-middle-jurassic-of-southern-israel/

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