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 | |
| Kingdom: | |
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| Class: | |
| (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]
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. 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.
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.