Powelliphanta "Kirwans"
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| Powelliphanta "Kirwans" | ||||||||||||||
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 A Powelliphanta of unknown species.
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This is a yet-unnamed Powelliphanta species, provisionally known as Powelliphanta "Kirwans". This is one of the amber snails. It is an undescribed species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.
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[edit] Distribution
This species is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It is found only in an area of less than 10 ha on the top of Kirwans Hill, about 12 km northeast of Reefton in Westland.
[edit] Habitat
This unnamed snail lives under the skirts of tussock and mountain flax, on greywacke base material, around the treeline at altitudes of between 1,250 and 1,280 m above sea level.
[edit] Shell description
The shell has a low, flattened apex and less rounded appearance than the nearby Powelliphanta sp. from Matakitaki. Coloration is a plain warm tan-brown, with a faint reddish tinge on the dorsal surface and one of two narrow black axial bands on the ventral surface. The shell is mostly glossy, but has a soft matt appearance on the dorsal surface of the inner whorls, caused by very fine sculpturing.
The shell diameter is up to 40 mm.
[edit] Predators and other threats
Powelliphanta "Kirwans" is under threat from Weka, Hares, Deer and Pigs.
[edit] Conservation status
Powelliphanta "Kirwans"is classified by the New Zealand Threat Classification System as Range Restricted.
[edit] References
- Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- Department of Conservation Recovery Plans
- New Zealand Department of Conservation Threatened Species Classification
