Delouagapia
Delouagapia is a genus of land snails belonging to the family Rhytididae. Both members of the genus are endemic to New Zealand, with D. cordelia found in forested areas of Northland, and D. tasmani in Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the genus as below:
The genus can be differentiated from Delos due to having more radular teeth per row, and by the members' distinctive colour patterns. Climo noted that the genus differed from Delos due to being more tightly coiled, by having a greenish background colouration to the shells of the animals, and the presence of brown blotches or zig-zags on the shells.
Taxonomy
The genus was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1952, as a subgenus of Delos, and naming Gerontia cordelia as the type species. In 1959, Alan Solem synonymised the taxon with Delos; and in 1977, Frank Climo restored Delouagapia, raising it to genus level. The genus was monotypic until 1999, when D. tasmani was described.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is endemic to New Zealand. D. cordelia is known to occur in Northland, and while it was first recorded as occurring in Titirangi in Auckland, no observations have been made since. D. cordelia is arboreal, found in association with Astelia epiphytes growing on Vitex lucens. D. tasmani is endemic to Oromaki / North East Island in Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, found in Meryta sinclairii-dominated forest in leaf litter under stones.
Species within the genus Delouagapia include:Delouagapia cordelia