Laoma nerissa

Laoma nerissa is a species of land snail belonging to the family Punctidae. First described in 1883, the species is endemic to New Zealand.

Description

In the original description, Hutton described the species as follows:
L. nerissa has a shell measuring with a height of. The shell is trochiform, carinated, narrowly umbilicated, and has five whorls. The pustulate protoconch has 1.5–1.75 whorls and 10–12 spiral lirae. The lirae are broken up by irregular oblique axial ridges, which creates a beaded sculpture for the shells. It can be distinguished from other members of Laoma due to its two long parietal lamellae, a long palatal lamella above and parallel to the three large basal lamellae, and stronger protoconch and teleoconch sculpture and carina.

Taxonomy

The species was described by Frederick Hutton in 1883, under the name Endodonta nerissa. The holotype was collected from Remuera, Auckland by Thomas Cheeseman. In 1891, the species was moved to Phrixgnathus by Henry Suter, and in the same publication synonymised with Laoma marina. Suter believed the species was a juvenile form of L. marina. Frank Climo reinstated the species in 2019, due to shell and reproductive anatomy differences.

Distribution and habitat

L. nerissa is endemic to New Zealand, occurring between Auckland and Wellington on the North Island, and the Marlborough District and Nelson on the upper South Island.