Amborhytida forsythi

Amborhytida forsythi is a species of land snail belonging to the family Rhytididae. First described in 1952, the species is endemic to the Northland Region of New Zealand, likely evolving on mainland Northland when other members of Amborhytida lived on former islands that existed during the Pliocene epoch.

Description

In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
The species measures by, and has a 17+1+17 dental formula. It can be distinguished from A. dunniae due to differences in carination and dentition.

Taxonomy

The species was described by A. W. B. Powell in 1952 as Rhytida forsythi. Powell named the species after D. G. Forsyth, who first noticed differences between A. forsythi and A. dunniae. It was moved to the subgenus Rhytida by Frank Climo in 1974, Amborhytida was raised to genus level in 1999.
The holotype was collected by Powell himself on 20 January 1950 from the Taipa River in Northland, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
The species likely separated from A. duplicata between 1.9 and 6.6 million years ago, with A. forsythi likely evolving on mainland Northland.

Distribution and habitat

The species is endemic to the Northland Region, New Zealand, in areas such as the Mangōnui Peninsula, the Maungataniwha Range, Herekino Forest and the Waipoua Forest. It tends to be found in volcanic or Late Cretaceous soil.