Charopella wilkinsoni, also known as Wilkinson's pinwheel snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the pinwheel snail family, that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.[1]

Charopella wilkinsoni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Charopidae
Subfamily: Charopinae
Genus: Charopella
Species:
C. wilkinsoni
Binomial name
Charopella wilkinsoni
(Brazier, 1889)
Location of Lord Howe Island
Synonyms
  • Helix (Charopa) wilkinsoni Brazier, 1889

Description

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The shell of these snails are 1.3–1.7 mm in height, with a diameter of 3–3.6 mm. The colour is pale golden-brown with cream or orange-brown flammulations (flame-like markings). The shape is discoidal with a low spire, whorls shouldered with an angulate periphery, with fine, closely-spaced radial ribs. The umbilicus is widely open. The aperture is rounded and lunate. The animal has a white body with dark grey eyestalks.[1]

Distribution and habitat

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The snail is found across the island; it is most common at the northern end, living in plant litter in rainforest and moist woodland.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hyman, Isabel; Köhler, Frank (2020). A Field Guide to the Land Snails of Lord Howe Island. Sydney: Australian Museum. ISBN 978-0-9750476-8-2.