Cerion nanus
Cerion nanus is a species of medium-sized air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod in the family Cerionidae.
| Cerion nanus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
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| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Eupulmonata clade Stylommatophora informal group Sigmurethra |
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| Species: | C. nanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cerion nanus | |
Distribution and Ecology
This species is endemic to the island of Little Cayman, Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea,[3] where it is found among Evolvulus arbuscula and E. squamosum plants,[4] which grow in this coastal dry limestone shrub. Shells were found in 1975 at three sites, encompassing a total area of 35,000 m2 surrounding the North Shore Track. It is sympatric throughout its range with Cerion pannosum, a species with a much larger distribution and shell-size, which has probably ecologically replaced C. nanus. However, this replacement has not yet occurred, suggesting that this species may have never had a larger population. Currently several small populations exist along the Spot Bay Road in numbers far larger than originally suspected.[5] C. nanus can be identified by the color of their shells, which are grayish or white, and emerge from their hibernation during rainy days but are difficult to identify during dry weather.[6]
References
- Hounsome M. (1996). Cerion nanus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Downloaded on 6 August 2007.
- "The Rarest Snail in the World". American Scientist. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
- "The Rarest Snail in the World". American Scientist. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
- Hounsome; Askew (1980). "CERION NANUS (MAYNARD) (MOLLUSCA : CERIONIDAE ) ON LITTLE CAYMAN" (PDF). Atoll Research Bulletin. 241: 91–96. doi:10.5479/si.00775630.241-9.91 – via Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
- Shipman, Pat (2011). "Marginalia: The Rarest Snail in the World". American Scientist. 99 (6): 454–457. ISSN 0003-0996.
Further reading
- Hounsome M. V. & Askew R. R. (1980). "Cerion nanus (Maynard) (Mollusca: Cerionidae) on Little Cayman" (PDF). Atoll Research Bulletin. 241: 91–96. doi:10.5479/si.00775630.241-9.91. Retrieved 14 May 2014.