Rhytidarex buddlei

Rhytidarex buddlei is a species of land snail belonging to the family Rhytididae. It is endemic to Moekawa / South West Island of Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, New Zealand, and is at risk of extinction, with only between 50-100 individuals thought to be alive.

Description

In the original description, Powell described the species as below:
The shells of the species have a diameter of between, and a height of, making the species the largest known member across the genera of Rhytidarex, Rhytida and Amborhytida. The species can be differentiated from R. johnsoni due to its size, and by having more tight wound coiling and wider umbilicus.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1948 as Rhytida buddlei. It gained its current name when Rhytidarex was raised to genus status by Frank Climo in 1977. Powell named the species after Major Geoffrey Armstrong Buddle, one of the two collectors of the holotype, in recognition of his natural history collections and observations in Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands. The holotype of the species is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Other than the holotype, no specimens of the species were found until the mid-1990s.

Ecology

The species likely takes several years to attain its adult size. While the diet and lifestyle of the species is unknown, it likely preys on invertebrates.

Distribution and habitat

R. buddlei is endemic to Moekawa / South West Island of the Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, New Zealand. Widespread across Moekawa / South West Island during the 18th century, by 2002 the species had become restricted to an area of approximately, likely due to the expansion of Meryta sinclairii on the island. The species typically lives in mixed broadleaf shrubland, found in leaf litter underneath Phormium and similar species.

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Nationally Critical". By 2002, only an estimated 50-100 individuals remained.