Achatinella

Achatinella
Achatinella bulimoides
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Achatinellidae
Subfamily: Achatinellinae
Gulick, 1873
Genus: Achatinella
Swainson, 1828
Diversity[1]
41 species,

9 extant species remained in 2014[1][2]

Synonyms
  • Achatinella (Achatinella) Swainson, 1828 · alternate representation
  • Achatinella (Achatinellastrum) L. Pfeiffer, 1854 · alternate representation
  • Achatinella (Apex) E. von Martens, 1860 (junior synonym)
  • Achatinella (Bulimella) L. Pfeiffer, 1854· alternate representation
  • Achatinellastrum L. Pfeiffer, 1854 superseded rank
  • Apex E. von Martens, 1860 junior subjective synonym
  • Bulimella L. Pfeiffer, 1854
  • Bulimus (Helicteres) H. Beck, 1837 (invalid; placed on the Official Index by Opinion 2017)
  • Cochlogena (Helicteres) A. Férussac, 1821 unavailable name (an infra-generic name within Helix (Cochlogena) proposed as a nominitive pleural)
  • Helicter Pease, 1862 (invalid: unjustified emendation...)
  • Helicterella Gulick, 1873 nomen nudum
  • Helicteres A. Férussac, 1821 (unavailable name - a genus-level name within Helix (Cochlogena) as a nominitive pleural)

Achatinella is a tropical genus of colorful land snails in the monotypic Achatinellidae subfamily Achatinellinae.[3]

Species are arboreal pulmonate gastropod mollusks with some species called Oʻahu tree snails or kāhuli in the Hawaiian language.

Achatinella species are all endemic to the island of Oahu in Hawaii, and all remaining extant species are endangered. They were once abundant and were mentioned extensively in Hawaiian folklore and songs, and their shells were used in lei and other ornaments.

Many of the species are sinistral or left-handed chirality in their spiral shell coiling, whereas most gastropod shells are dextral, with a right handed spiral.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Holland 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chiaverano 2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Achatinella Swainson, 1828".