Powelliphanta traversi otakia

Taxobox
name = "Powelliphanta traversi otakia"


image_caption = A "Powelliphanta" of unknown species.
image_width = 250
status = CR
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
ordo = Pulmonata
familia = Rhytididae
genus = "Powelliphanta"
species = "P. traversi"
subspecies = "P. traversi otakia"
trinomial = "Powelliphanta traversi otakia"
trinomial_authority = Powell, 1930

"Powelliphanta traversi otakia", known as one of the amber snails, is a subspecies of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.

Distribution

This subspecies is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is found only near the Otaki River.

hell description

The shell coloration is distinctive, the top being closely spirally lined in dark reddish-brown upon an olive-brown to old gold ground, many of the lines wavy to intermittent, giving a speckled appearance. The base is uniformly dark sepia, broken up only near the periphery into several broad bands. The parietal callus is pale blue-grey.

The shell diameter is up to 50 mm, and the height is up to 26 mm.

Conservation status

"Powelliphanta traversi otakia" is classified by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as being "Nationally Critical".

References

* Powell A. W. B., "New Zealand Mollusca", William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/MultipageDocumentPage.aspx?id=39593 New Zealand Department of Conservation Threatened Species Classification]