Mystivagor is a monotypic genus in the subfamily of the pinwheel snails[1]

Mystivagor
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Stylommatophora
Superfamily: Punctoidea
Family: Charopidae
Subfamily: Charopinae
Genus: Mystivagor
Iredale, 1944

The sole species is M. mastersi, also known as the slug-like pinwheel snail or Master's charopid land snail. It is classified as Critically Endangered under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Description edit

The reduced, globosely ear-shaped shell of this snail is 5.4–6.7 mm in height, with a diameter of 5.6–5.7 mm. The colour is chestnut-brown with zigzag cream flammulations (flame-like markings). The sutures are impressed, with wide radial ribs. The umbilicus is absent. The aperture is teardrop-shaped.[2]

Distribution and habitat edit

The species is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. The snail is very rare and is known from only a few scattered localities across the island, in plant litter in rainforest and moist woodland.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Mystivagor Iredale, 1944. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=818402 on 2021-07-12
  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.