Pittieria aurantiaca

Pittieria aurantiaca
Drawing of apertural view of the shell of Pittieria aurantiaca
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora

informal group Sigmurethra
Superfamily:
Testacelloidea
Family:
Spiraxidae
Subfamily:
Euglandininae
Genus:
Pittieria
Subgenus:
Laeviglandina
Species:
P. aurantiaca
Binomial name
Pittieria aurantiaca
(Angas, 1879)[1]
Synonyms

Euglandina aurantiaca Angas, 1879 Oleacina aurantiaca[2]

Pittieria aurantiaca[3] is a species of predatory air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae.

This species was described based on only one specimen.[1] This specimen was collected by William More Gabb (1839-1878) in Costa Rica, and the species was described under the name Euglandina aurantiaca by George French Angas in 1879, after Gabb's death.[1] The species was subsequently moved to the genus Pittieria, which was created by Eduard von Martens in 1901.

This snail is carnivorous but it also eats honeydew while that substance is being produced by a species of lantern bug. A species of carpenter ant has been observed climbing onto the head of the snail in order to steal some of the honeydew while the snail is feeding in this way.

  1. ^ a b c Angas G. F. (1879). "On the Terrestrial Mollusca collected in Costa Rica by the late Dr. W. M. Gabb, with Descriptions of new Species". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 475-485. 481. Plate 40, fig. 8.
  2. ^ Pilsbry H. A. (1908). Manual of Conchology (2)1: 31. Plate 5, figure 67.
  3. ^ Thompson F. G. (16 June 2008). "AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAND AND FRESHWATER SNAILS OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA" Archived 2012-10-12 at the Wayback Machine. "PART 4 PULMONATA (ACHATINOIDEA-SAGDOIDEA)" Archived 2016-06-02 at the Wayback Machine. accessed 14 January 2011.