Vertigo alpestris

Vertigo alpestris
Six shells of Vertigo alpestris. Scale bar is in mm.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Vertiginidae
Subfamily: Vertigininae
Genus: Vertigo
Species:
V. alpestris
Binomial name
Vertigo alpestris
Alder, 1838[1]
Synonyms
  • Pupa leontina Gredler, 1856 (junior synonym)
  • Pupa shuttleworthiana L. Pfeiffer, 1847 (junior synonym)
  • Vertigo (Glacivertigo) alpestris Alder, 1838 (unaccepted subgeneric classification)
  • Vertigo (Vertigo) alpestris Alder, 1838 · alternate representation

Vertigo alpestris is a species of minute, air-breathing land snail, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs or micromollusks in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails.[2]

Subspecies
  • Vertigo alpestris tobieni Schlickum & Strauch, 1979
  • Vertigo alpestris uturyotoensis Kuroda & Hukuda, 1944

Shell description

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Apertural view of a shell of Vertigo alpestris

The shell is subcylindrical, thin and semitransparent, closely and rather strongly striate in the line of growth. Its color is very glossy, a pale yellowish-horn-color. The periphery is rounded: epidermis thin. The shell has 4½ convex whorls, but slightly compressed. The spire is short, abrupt and bluntly pointed. The suture is excessively deep.[3]

The shell aperture is semioval and subangular, owing to the outward compression of the periphery. The aperture has 4 teeth: one sharp and prominent tooth on the middle of the pillar [parietal wall], one strong and also prominent and thick tooth on the pillar lip, and two lamellae or plate-like teeth which are placed at some little distance within the outer lip, but not on any rib or callous fold as in Vertigo pygmaea. The labial teeth are visible on the outside, owing to the thinness and transparency of the shell. The outer lip is rather thick and very slightly reflected, not strengthened by any rib either outside or inside. The outer edge is abruptly reflected. The inner lip is somewhat thickened in adult specimen. The umbilicus is small and narrow, but rather deep.[3]

The width of the adult shell is 0.9-1.1 mm, the height is 1.6-2.15 mm.[4]

Distribution

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This species occurs in countries and islands including:

References

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This article incorporates public domain text from the reference[3]

  1. ^ Alder J. (1838). "Supplement to a catalogue of the land and fresh-water testaceous Mollusca, found in the vicinity of Newcastle". Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland and Durham 1(3): 337-342, page 340. Newcastle.
  2. ^ MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Vertigo alpestris Alder, 1838. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1050658 on 2023-02-07
  3. ^ a b c Pilsbry H. A. & Cooke C. M. 1918-1920. Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Volume 25. Pupillidae (Gastrocoptinae, Vertigininae). Philadelphia. page 197.
  4. ^ Species summary for Vertigo alpestris. AnimalBase, accessed 23 June 2009.
  5. ^ Balashov I. & Gural-Sverlova N. 2012. An annotated checklist of the terrestrial molluscs of Ukraine. Journal of Conchology. 41 (1): 91-109.
  • Bank, R. A.; Neubert, E. (2017). Checklist of the land and freshwater Gastropoda of Europe. Last update: July 16, 2017
  • Sysoev, A. V. & Schileyko, A. A. (2009). Land snails and slugs of Russia and adjacent countries. Sofia/Moskva (Pensoft). 312 pp., 142 plates.
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