Powelliphanta "Matakitaki"
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| Powelliphanta "Matakitaki" | ||||||||||||||
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 A Powelliphanta of unknown species.
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This is a yet-unnamed Powelliphanta species, provisionally known as Powelliphanta "Matakitaki". This is one of the amber snails. It is an undescribed species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.
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[edit] Distribution
This undescribed species of snail is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It is found only in an area of south Nelson bordered by the Buller River, the Maruia River, and the D'Urville River, and was only discovered in the 1990s.
[edit] Habitat
This snail lives under leaf litter in silver beech forest, and also under tussock and turpentine scrub in alpine grasslands, around the treeline at altitudes of between 1,200 and 1,700 m above sea level. This species is apparently mostly confined to calcium-rich soils on a marble substrate, but some also occur on schists.
[edit] Shell description
Powelliphanta "Matakitaki" is similar to Powelliphanta sp. from Matiri, in both colour and shape. The base of the globose shell is glossy, but the upper surface is faintly matt due to fine striae. The shell colour is olive-green to tawny-brown, overlain by a faint reddish hue on the dorsal surface and occasional, inconspicuous, narrow axial bands of dark brown. The parietal callus is smooth and olive-brown, and the mantle and mucous is a faint blue-green colour.
The shell diameter is up to 44 mm, and the height is up to 21 mm.
[edit] Threats
The habitat of Powelliphanta "Matakitaki" is under threat of overgrazing by goats, hares and deer, as the fertile calcium-rich soils support a variety of grasses and herbs which are attractive to these animals.
[edit] Conservation status
Powelliphanta "Matakitaki" is classified by the New Zealand Threat Classification System as Range Restricted.
[edit] References
- Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- Department of Conservation Recovery Plans
- New Zealand Department of Conservation Threatened Species Classification
