Palaina embra, also known as the mountain-top staircase snail, is a species of staircase snail that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.

Palaina embra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Architaenioglossa
Superfamily: Cyclophoroidea
Family: Diplommatinidae
Genus: Palaina
Species:
P. embra
Binomial name
Palaina embra
Location of Lord Howe Island

Description

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The pupiform shell of adult snails is 3 mm in height, with a diameter of 1.8 mm. It is white in colour, with golden-brown apical whorls and impressed sutures. It has strong, widely spaced, axal ribs. The umbilicus is closed. The circular aperture has a weakly reflected lip and an operculum is present.[2]

Habitat

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The snail is most common in the southern mountains of the island.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Iredale, Tom (1944). "The land Mollusca of Lord Howe Island". Australian Zoologist. 10 (3): 299–334.
  2. ^ a b 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.