Bulimulus tenuissimus

Bulimulus tenuissimus
Abapertural view of an adult shell of Bulimulus tenuissimus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Bulimulidae
Genus:	Bulimulus
Species:	B. tenuissimus
Binomial name
Bulimulus tenuissimus (d’Orbigny, 1835)
Synonyms
Helix tenuissima (Fér.) Orb., 1835[1]

Bulimulus tenuissimus is a species of tropical air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Bulimulinae.

Distribution

The native distribution of Bulimulus tenuissimus includes:

• Brazil – widespread in Brazil[2]

The non-indigenous distribution includes:

• North Carolina, USA[3][4]

Description

The shell is perforate, ovate-conic, very thin, pellucid, scarcely shining, obsoletely and closely decussated by growth striae and delicate spiral lines.[5] The shell is pale corneous in color, sometimes fulvous.[5] The spire is conoid.[5] The apex is rather acute.[5] The suture is simple.[5] The shell has six whorls that are slightly convex, increasing with moderate rapidity.[5] The last whorl is convex, not descending in front, somewhat attenuated at base.[5] The columella is suboblique, sometimes nearly vertical.[5]

The aperture is oval, colored like the exterior, onehalf the shell's length.[5] The peristome is simple, unexpanded, acute.[5] The right margin is regularly arcuate.[5] The columellar margin is reflexed above, nearly covering the perforation.[5]

The width of the shell is 9 mm. The height of the shell is 17-23 mm.[5][6]

Apertural view of a juvenile shell of Bulimulus tenuissimus.

Ecology

The reproductive biology of this species was studied by Silva et al. (2008):[2] These hermaphroditic snails mate and cross-fertilization normally occurs.[2] When snails are isolated self-fertilization can occur, but with the lower reproductive success.[2]

A juvenile snail reaches adulthood at 160 days on average, with a shell size of 14-16 cm, after which the snail will begin laying eggs.[6] The egg laying activity is highest in spring and summer months when there is higher heat and humidity, but eggs are produced year-around.[6]

Eggs are laid in clutches from one to 252 eggs (in captivity).[2] Snails hatch after about 20 days and over 50% of the egg clutch is expected to hatch.[2][6] Despite the snail's relatively long lifespan of up to 990 days,[2][6] the viability of eggs does not reduce as the snail ages, although egg production is lower.[6]

Bulimulus tenuissimus is a host for a trematode of the genus Postharmostomum (family Brachylaimidae).[2][7]

Strongyluris-like larvae are a parasite of Bulimulus tenuissimus.[8]

Malacophagula neotropica (family Sarcophagidae) is a parasite of Bulimulus tenuissimus.[9][10]

A firefly is a predator of Bulimulus tenuissimus.[11]

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference.[5]

1. (Fér.) Orb. (1835). Mag. de Zool. p. 11. (name only).
2. Silva, L. C.; Meireles, L. M. O.; Junqueira, F. V. O.; Bessa, E. C. A. (2008). "Development and reproduction in Bulimulus tenuissimus (Mollusca: Bulimulidae) in laboratory". Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 25 (2): 220. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752008000200009.
3. Robinson D. G. & Slapcinsky J. (2005). "Recent introductions of alien land snails into North America". American Malacological Bulletin. 20: 89–93.
4. Breure A. S. H. (11 August 2009). "Another Bulimulus introduced in USA". Bram's Snail Site, accessed 15 August 2010.
5. Pilsbry H. A. (1897-1898). Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species. Second series: Pulmonata. Volume 11. American Bulimulidae: Bulimulus, Neopetraeus, Oxychona, and South American Drymaeus. 64-65, plate 10, figure 91-92.
6. Silva, Lidiane; Meireles, Liliane; D’ávila, Sthefane; Oliveira Junqueira, Flávia; de Almeida Bessa, Elisabeth Cristina (2013). "Life history of Bulimulus tenuissimus (D'Orbigny, 1835) (Gstropoda, Pulmonata, Bulimulidae): effect of isolation in reproductive strategy and in resources allocation over their lifetime" (PDF). Molluscan Research. 33 (2): 75–79 – via Taylor & Francis.
7. Thiengo, S. C.; Amato, S. B. (1995). "Phyllocaulis variegatus (Mollusca: Veronicellidae), a new intermediate host for Brachylaima sp. (Digenea: Brachylaimatidae)". Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 90 (5): 621. doi:10.1590/S0074-02761995000500015.
8. Thiengo, S. C. (1995). "Presence of Strongyluris-like larvae (Nematoda) in some terrestrial molluscs in Brazil". Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 90 (5): 619–620. doi:10.1590/s0074-02761995000500014. PMID 8569476., HTML, PDF Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
9. Johnson, C. W. (1929). "Diptera Destroying Snails". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 36 (2): 106. doi:10.1155/1929/21785. PDF.
10. Bequaert, J. (1925). "The Arthropod Enemies of Mollusks, with Description of a New Dipterous Parasite from Brazil". Journal of Parasitology. 11 (4): 201–212. doi:10.2307/3270829. JSTOR 3270829.
11. Symondson, W. O. C. (2004). "Coleoptera (Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Lampyridae, Drilidae and Silphidae) as predators of terrestrial gastropods". In Baker, G. M. (ed.). Natural enemies of terrestrial molluscs. UK and USA: CABI Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 9780851993195.

Further reading

• Araújo J. L. B., Rezende H. E. B. & Rodrigues P. A. F. (1960). "Sobre “Bulimulus tenuissimus” (Orbigny, 1835) (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)". Revista Brasileira de Biologia 20(1): 33–42.
• Rezende H. E. B. & Lanzieri P. D. (1964). "Observações anatômicas e histológicas sobre “Bulimulus tenuissimus” (Orbigny, 1835) (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Bulimulidae)". Revista Brasileira de Biologia 24(4): 409–415.
• (in Portuguese) Silva L. C., Meireles L. O., Junqueira F. O. & Bessa B. A. (2009). "Influência da umidade do substrato sobre crescimento, produção de ovos e sobrevivência de Bulimulus tenuissimus (d’Orbigny, 1835) (Mollusca, Bulimulidae) sob condições de laboratório". Revista Brasileira de Biociências 7(2): 144–149. http://www.ufrgs.br/seerbio/ojs/index.php/rbb/article/view/999