Mariaella dussumieri

Mariaella dussumieri
	Drawing of the internal shell of Mariaella dussumieri.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia; clade Euthyneura; clade Panpulmonata; clade Eupulmonata; clade Stylommatophora; clade Sigmurethra; clade limacoid clade
Superfamily:	Helicarionoidea
Family:	Ariophantidae
Genus:	Mariaella
Species:	M. dussumieri
Binomial name
	Mariaella dussumieri; Gray, 1855

Mariaella dussumieri is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ariophantidae.

Mariaella dussumieri is the type species of the genus Mariaella.

Its specific name is in honor of French merchant Jean-Jacques Dussumier.

Distribution

This species lives in India. It is endemic to Western Ghats.^[2] In the Western Ghats it occurs as far north as the Kadur district of Mysore and perhaps to Mahableshwar. Hill-tracts of Ceylon.^[3]^{[unreliable source?]} The type locality was Mahé, India, a small town between Calicut and Cannanore on the Malabar coast.^[3]

This species has not yet become established in the USA, but it is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.^[4]

Shell description

The internal shell in general thin, slightly convex, ovate and white. The apex of the shell is forming a small point at the right side and near the posterior end. The shell is not involute.^[3]

Anatomy

Mariaella dussumieri mating in Southern Western Ghats

The color of the animal is yellowish brown or olivaceous, sometimes almost black, and generally mottled with dark blotches.^[3] The mantle has two narrow raised ridges on the shell-lobes, one running from the little shell-aperture round the left margin of the shell, the other towards the respiratory orifice on the right margin.^[3] The size appears to vary up to about 8 inches (200 mm) in length.^[3] Teeth of radula in one specimen were 88.3.20.1.20.3.88 (111.1.111), in another 95.2.18.1.18.2.95 (115.1.115).^[3]

Mariaella dussumieri, from horticulture garden in Kallar, Ooty.

References

The article incorporates public domain text from the reference.^[3]

^ Gray. 1855. Cat. Pulm. B. M., page 63.
^ Mavinkurve R. G., Shanbhag S. P. & Madhyastha N. A. 2004. Checklist of terrestrial gastropods of Karnataka, India. Zoos' Print Journal 19(11):1684-1686.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Blanford W. T. & Godwin-Austen H. H. 1908. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Mollusca. Testacellidae and Zonitidae. Taylor & Francis, London, page 204-206.
^ Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". American Malacological Bulletin 27: 113-132. PDF Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

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[1] Gray. 1855. Cat. Pulm. B. M., page 63.

[2] Mavinkurve R. G., Shanbhag S. P. & Madhyastha N. A. 2004. Checklist of terrestrial gastropods of Karnataka, India. Zoos' Print Journal 19(11):1684-1686.

[Godwin-Austen-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Blanford W. T. & Godwin-Austen H. H. 1908. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Mollusca. Testacellidae and Zonitidae. Taylor & Francis, London, page 204-206.

[4] Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". American Malacological Bulletin 27: 113-132. PDF Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine.

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