| Athoracophoridae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Two individuals of Triboniophorus graeffei | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Superfamily: | Athoracophoroidea P. Fischer, 1883[1] (1860) |
| Family: | Athoracophoridae P. Fischer, 1883[1] (1860) |
| Subfamilies | |
| |
Athoracophoridae, common name the leaf-veined slugs, are a family of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the infraorder Stylommatophora, the stalk-eyed snails and slugs. Many of the species have an attractive pattern on their dorsal surface which resembles the veins in a leaf, hence the common name.
Athoracophoridae is the only family in the superfamily Athoracophoroidea.[2]
Leaf-veined slugs live on the various land masses and islands in the south-west Pacific area. In te reo Māori, leaf-veined slugs are known as putoko ropiropi.[3]
The scientific name Athoracophoridae is derived from prefix "a-", that means "without" and from a Greek word "θωραχοφὁρος" (thorachoforos), that means "breastplate".[1] This is a reference to the fact that the mantle in these slugs is small and not well delineated; it does not have the obvious, saddle-shaped or breast-plate-shaped appearance that it does in most other land slug groups.
- ^ a b c (in French) Fischer P. (21 February 1883). Manuel de conchlyliologie et de paléontologie conchlyliologique (5): 417-512. Savy, Paris. page 492.
- ^ Bouchet, Philippe; Rocroi, Jean-Pierre; Frýda, Jiri; Hausdorf, Bernard; Ponder, Winston; Valdés, Ángel & Warén, Anders (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". Malacologia. 47 (1–2). Hackenheim, Germany: ConchBooks: 1–397. ISBN 3-925919-72-4. ISSN 0076-2997.
- ^ Ryan, Paddy (24 Sep 2007). "Snails and slugs - Flax snails, giant snails and veined slugs". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 January 2024.