Powelliphanta "Matiri"

Taxobox
name = "Powelliphanta" "Matiri"


image_caption = A "Powelliphanta" of unknown species.
image_width = 250
status =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
ordo = Pulmonata
familia = Rhytididae
genus = "Powelliphanta"
species = Not yet described

This is a yet-unnamed "Powelliphanta" species, provisionally known as "Powelliphanta" "Matiri". 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.

Distribution

The species is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It is found only on peaks at the southern end of the Kahurangi National Park in the north west of the South Island, at altitudes of between 600 and 1,500 m.

hell description

The species has a rounded bulbous appearance. The shell is generally a plain, dark olive-green colour, with the base glossy, but the upper surface is faintly matt due to fine striae.

The shell diameter is up to 42 mm, and height up to 21 mm.

Conservation status

This unnamed species is classified as "Range Restricted" by the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

Predators and other threats

Threats to their survival come from pigs, hares, goats, and red deer.

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]
* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsrp49b.pdf Department of Conservation Recovery Plans]