Appalachina chilhoweensis
{{Short description|Species of land snail}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = A_chilhoweensis.jpg
| image_caption = Mature and juvenile queen craters found in Tennessee
| status = G4
| status_system = TNC
| genus = Appalachina
| species = chilhoweensis
| authority = (J. Lewis, 1871)
| synonyms_ref = {{cite WoRMS |title=Appalachina chilhoweensis |id=1352037 |access-date=10 November 2024}}
| synonyms =
{{Species list
| Helix chilhoweensis | J. Lewis, 1871
| Polygyra chilhoweensis | (J. Lewis, 1871)
}}
}}
Appalachina chilhoweensis, also known as the queen crater, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae. It is the largest North American land snail found east of the Rocky Mountains.{{Cite web |title=Smokies Snail Gallery |url=https://www.asc.ohio-state.edu/eeob/molluscs/snails.html |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=Ohio State University}} It is named after Chilhowee Mountain.Pilsbry, Henry A. "Mollusca of the Great Smoky Mountains." Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1900): 110-150.
Physical appearance
The queen crater is a large snail, with a shell ranging from {{cvt|26.5|to|42|mm}} in diameter. The base of the shell is yellow-brown in color, with dark-brown splotches and a pale, broad lip.{{Cite web |title=Queen Crater |url=https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/13280489 |website=Project Noah}}
Ecology
The queen crater is endemic to the southeastern United States, being found in Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina.{{Cite web |title=Appalachina chilhoweensis |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.120948/Appalachina_chilhoweensis |access-date= |website=NatureServe Explorer}} It is fairly common in Tennessee, and its populations are considered secure. However, in Kentucky and North Carolina, where the species is considerably rarer, it is listed as imperiled.
The queen crater is most commonly found in mixed upland hardwood forests, high up in the Appalachian mountains. They typically reside on wooded hillsides or slopes, under leaf litter or on or around sandstone talus.Dourson, D.C. 2013. Land snails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and southern Appalachians. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 336 pp. The highest elevation a queen crater has been recorded at is 1,666 meters, or 5,465.88 feet.Dourson, Daniel C., and Keith Langdon. "Land snails of selected rare high elevation forests and heath balds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park." Journal of North Carolina Academy of Science 128.2 (2012): 27-32.
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=J. |title=Notes on the land shells of east Tennessee |journal=American Journal of Conchology |date=1871 |volume=6 |issue=3 |page=191}}
External links
- {{cite journal |last1=Emberton |first1=K.C. |title=When shells do not tell: 145 million years of evolution in North America's polygyrid land snails, with a revision and conservation priorities. |journal=Malacologia |date=1995 |volume=37 |issue=1 |page=93 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13113494}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3709491}}
Category:Molluscs of North America
Category:NatureServe secure species
Category:Fauna of the Eastern United States