Pseudocharopa whiteleggei


Pseudocharopa whiteleggei, also known as Whitelegge's pinwheel snail or Whitelegge's land snail, is a species of pinwheel snail that is endemic to Australia's Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. It is the largest charopid species in Australia. It is named after naturalist Thomas Whitelegge.

Description

The ear-shaped shell of mature snails is 7.1–8.3 mm in height, with a diameter of 15.6–17.7 mm, discoidal with a flat spire and impressed sutures. It is dark reddish-brown with indistinct zigzag, cream-coloured flammulations. The umbilicus is moderately wide. The ovately lunate aperture is flattened on the upper edge. The animal has a lime-green sole and dark grey upper body, neck, head and eye-tentacles.

Habitat

The snail is known mainly from the summits and upper slopes of Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower, living in rainforest leaf litter.

Conservation

The snail has been subject to predation by introduced rodents and is considered to be Critically Endangered.