Prestonella
Prestonella is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Orthalicoidea.[4]
Prestonella is the type genus of the family Prestonellidae,[5] but Prestonellidae is not an available name, because it has no diagnosis.[5] Prestonella is the only genus in the family Prestonellidae.
Taxonomy
Prestonellidae was tentatively placed as a synonym of Aillyidae in the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005.[5]
Herbert (2007)[3] has classified Prestonella in Bulimulidae sensu lato within Orthalicoidea.[3]
Herbert & Mitchell (2009)[4] have classified Prestonella, for which the phylogenetic relationships were previously unknown, in the superfamily Orthalicoidea.[4]
Distribution
This genus is endemic to South Africa[6] and Lesotho.[7] It occurs in the southern edge of the Great Escarpment in southern Africa.[3]
Prestonella has a relict distribution in the south of the southern Africa[7] and it is the only Recent African member of Bulimulidae s.l.[8] Its distribution is highly fragmented.[8]
Ecology
Prestonella lives in forest and Nama Karoo (semi-desert) biomes.[7] It is very specilized in habitat requirements and it inhabits only two types of relictual habitats: vertical-rocks above running water and moist shaded cliffs facing to the south.[8] Prestonella occurs in the elevation 838-1680 m above sea level.[7] There are two rainfall seasons in the area per year.[7] It has been found in 2011, that genetic diversity in the populations of Prestonella is lower in dryer areas.[8] Global warming would probably have serious negative impact on Prestonella species.[8]
Species
There are three[3] species in the genus Prestonella:
References
- ^ van Bruggen A. C. (1978). "Land molluscs". pp. 877-923. In: Werger ed. Biogeography and Ecology of Southern Africa [Monographiae Biologicae 31] Junk, the Hague. (2): 893.
- ^ Connolly M. (1929). "New non-marine mollusca from South Africa" Annals of the Natal Museum 6(2): 219-244; pl. 14 and 8 text figs. page 232.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Herbert D. G. (2007). "Revision of the genus Prestonella (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Orthalicoidea: Bulimulidae s. l.), a distinctive component of the African land snail fauna". African Invertebrates 48(2): 1-19. abstract.
- ^ a b c Herbert D. G. & Mitchell A. (2008). "Phylogenetic relationships of the enigmatic land snail genus Prestonella: the missing African element in the Gondwanan superfamily Orthalicoidea (Mollusca: Stylommatophora)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 96(1): 203-221. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01109.x.
- ^ a b c Bouchet P., Rocroi J.-P., Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdés Á. & Warén A. (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". Malacologia: International Journal of Malacology (Hackenheim, Germany: ConchBooks) 47 (1-2): 1–397. ISBN 3925919724. ISSN 0076-2997. http://www.archive.org/details/malacologia47122005inst.
- ^ Breure B. (23 February 2008) "The extended family". Bram's Snail Site, accessed 7 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Govender V. (2007). "Patterns of Distribution, Diversity and Endemism of Terrestrial Molluscs in South Africa". Thesis. School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal. 219 pp. PDF.
- ^ a b c d e f Fearon J. L., Barker N. P. & Herbert D. G. (2011). "The genetic diversity and conservation biology of the rare terrestrial snail genus Prestonella". Proceedings of the Congresses of the Southern African Society for Systematic Biology Organised by the Southern African Society for Systematic Biology Grahamstown 19-21st January 2011, ISSN2219-410X, page 36. PDF.
- ^ Schileyko A. A. (1999). "Treatise on Recent terrestrial pulmonate molluscs. Part 3: Partulidae, Aillyidae, Bulimulidae, Orthalicidae, Megaspiridae, Urocoptidae". Ruthenica (Suppl. 2): 272.
Further reading
- Herbert D. G. & Mitchell A. (2004). "Prestonella, the missing African element in the Gondwanan family Bulimulidae (Mollusca, Pulmonata)". Paper presented at the IV Southern Connections Conference, Cape Town, 19-23.1.2004.
External links