Anguispira jessica, also known as the mountain tigersnail or mountain disc, is a species of pulmonate land snail– a gastropod mollusk in the family Discidae, the disk snails. The species is named after G.M. Kutchka's wife Jessica; he was the first to describe the species in 1938.[1] It was originally considered a subspecies of Angusipira alternata, but has since been elevated to species status.[2]
| Anguispira jessica | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mature mountain tigersnails found in Tennessee | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Discidae |
| Genus: | Anguispira |
| Species: | A. jessica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Anguispira jessica Kutchka, 1938
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Anguispira alternata jessica Kutchka, 1938 | |
Appearance
editThe mountain tigersnail's shell is striated with an elevated apex, and ranges from 17 to 21 mm in diameter. It is pale or light brown in color, with either defined or slightly blotchy reddish-brown stripes.[1][3] There is a set of reddish-brown square-shaped markings slightly below the periphery that extend underneath the shell. Its carina is notably less defined than others in the Anguispira genus.[3]
Habitat
editThe mountain tigersnail is typically found in mountainous areas with high elevation (above 800 meters), although animals have been located at lower elevations as well.[3][4] The species is often found on or around rotting hardwood logs in upland mixed hardwood forest.[3]
Populations have been found in northern Alabama and along the Tennessee-North Carolina border.[5] Additionally, the species is known to inhabit a single county in southwest Virginia: Grayson County.[3] Due to the scarcity of sightings and difficulty of locating new populations, it is listed as vulnerable in Tennessee and North Carolina and critically imperiled in Virginia and Alabama.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Kutchka, G.M. (1938). "New varieties of Anguispira and Discus". The Nautilus. 52 (1): 11–14.
- ^ Pilsbry, Henry A. (1948). Land Mollusca of North America (North of Mexico). Vol. 2, Part 2. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
- ^ a b c d e f "Anguispira jessica". Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
- ^ Dourson, D.C. (2013). Land snails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and southern Appalachians. Goatslug Publications.
- ^ Hubricht, Leslie (1985). The distributions of the native land mollusks of the Eastern United States. Field Museum of Natural History.