Athoracophoridae

Family of gastropods

Athoracophoridae

Two individuals of Triboniophorus graeffei
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Mollusca
Class:  | Gastropoda
Subclass:  | Heterobranchia
Order:  | Stylommatophora
Superfamily:  | Athoracophoroidea
P. Fischer, 1883[1] (1860)
Family:  | Athoracophoridae
P. Fischer, 1883[1] (1860)
Subfamilies

* Athoracophorinae P. Fischer, 1883 (1860)
* Aneitinae Gray, 1860

Athoracophoridae, common name the leaf-veined slugs, are a family of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the infraorder Stylommatophora, the stalk-eyed snails and slugs. Many of the species have an attractive pattern on their dorsal surface which resembles the veins in a leaf, hence the common name.

Athoracophoridae is the only family in the superfamily Athoracophoroidea.[2]

Leaf-veined slugs live on the various land masses and islands in the south-west Pacific area.

The scientific name Athoracophoridae is derived from prefix "a-", that means "without" and from a Greek word "θωραχοφὁρος" (thorachoforos), that means "breastplate".[1] This is a reference to the fact that the mantle in these slugs is small and not well delineated; it does not have the obvious, saddle-shaped or breast-plate-shaped appearance that it does in most other land slug groups.

## Anatomy[edit]

In the family Athoracophoridae (in subfamily Aneitinae and in subfamily Athoracophorinae), the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 36 and 45 (according to the values in this table).[3] While they belong to the pulmonate snails, they lack a true lung. The vascularized mantle cavity is reduced, and a series of blind tubules radiate from it, being surrounded blood vessels. This allows for a more compact lung structure in these generally flat animals.[4]

## Distribution[edit]

Species in this family are found in eastern Australia, New Zealand including its sub-Antarctic islands, Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia,[5] as well as on the Melanesian islands north to New Caledonia and New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

## Taxonomy[edit]

The following two subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005),[2] that follows classification after Grimpe & Hoffmann (1925):[6]

* Athoracophorinae P. Fischer, 1883 (1860) \- synonym: Janellidae Gray, 1853 (inv.) - a subantarctic subfamily[5]
* Aneitinae Gray, 1860 \- a northern subfamily[5]

The name Athoracophoridae has precedence over the name Aneitidae, because Athoracophoridae is in prevailing usage.[2]

### Genera[edit]

Genera within the family Athoracophoridae include:[7]

* Aneitea Gray, 1860
* Aneitea sarasini
* Athoracophorus Gould, 1852 - the type genus, 3 species
* Palliopodex Burton, 1963 - with the only species Palliopodex verrucosus (Simroth, 1889)
* Pseudaneitea Cockerell, 1891
* Reflectopallium Burton, 1963
* Triboniophorus Humbert, 1863

## See also[edit]

* Alaninema ngata, a nematode which is an intestinal parasite in slugs of this family

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c (in French) Fischer P. (21 February 1883). Manuel de conchlyliologie et de paléontologie conchlyliologique (5): 417-512. Savy, Paris. page 492.
2. ^ a b c Bouchet, Philippe; Rocroi, Jean-Pierre; Frýda, Jiri; Hausdorf, Bernard; Ponder, Winston; Valdés, Ángel & Warén, Anders (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". Malacologia. Hackenheim, Germany: ConchBooks. 47 (1–2): 1–397. ISBN 3-925919-72-4. ISSN 0076-2997.
3. ^ Barker G. M.: Gastropods on Land: Phylogeny, Diversity and Adaptive Morphology. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-85199-318-4. 1-146, cited pages: 139 and 142.
4. ^ Burton, W.D. (1982). "How to be sluggish". Tuatara. 25 (2): 48–63. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
5. ^ a b c Burton D. W. (1982). "How to be sluggish." Tuatara 25(2): 48-63. page 55.
6. ^ (in German) Grimpe G. & Hoffmann (1925). "Die Nacktschnecken von Neu-Caledonien, den Loyalty-Inseln und den Neuen-Hebriden." In: Sarasin F. & Roux J. (eds.) Nova Caledonia, A (Zoologie), Band 3, Heft 1-3: 337-476, plates 5-6.
7. ^ Powell A. W. B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand, ISBN 0-00-216906-1

## Further reading[edit]

* Burch J. B. (1968). "Tentacle retraction in Tracheopulmonata". Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia 1(11): 62-67.
* Burch J. B. & Patterson C. M. (1969). "Systematic position of the Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda : Euthyneura)". Malacologia 9: 259-260.
* Burton D. W. (1962). "New Zealand land slugs — Part 1". Tuatara 9(8): 87-97.
* Burton D. W. (1963). "New Zealand Land Slugs — Part 2". Tuatara 11(2): 90-96.
* Burton D. W. (1980). "Anatomical studies on Australian, New Zealand and sub-antarctic Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda : Pulmonata)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 7: 173-198.
* Burton D. W. (1981). "Pallial systems in the Athoracophoridae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 8: 391-402.
* Forcart L. (1973). "Notes on Veronicellidae and Athoracophoridae in Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago". Nautilus 87: 25-27.
* Grimpe G. & Hoffmann H. (1924). "Diagnosen neuer Athoracophoriden (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)". Zoologischer Anzeiger 58: 171-177.
* Oberzeller E. (1970). "Ergebnisse der Österreichischen Neukaledonien-Expedition 1965. Terrestrische Gastropoda II: Veronicellidae und Athoracophoridae." Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 74: 325-341. PDF.
* Plate L. H. (1898). "Beitrage zur Anatomie und Systematik der Janelliden". Zoologische Jahrbucher. Abtheilung fur Anatomie und Ontogenie der Thiere (Jena) XI: 193-269.
* Suter H. (1897). "A revision of New Zealand Athoracophoridae". Journal of Molluscan Studies 2(6): 245-257. abstract.
* Suter H. (1913). Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca. (Athoracophoridae, pp. 789-808, pl. 31, figs. 3-13.)
* Stanisic J. (1998). "Family Athoracophoridae". pp. 1109-1110. In: Beesley P. L., Ross G. J. B. & Wells A. (eds). Mollusca: The Southern Synthesis. Fauna of Australia. Melbourne, CSIRO Publishing Vol. 5, Part B, pp. vi-viii, 565-1234.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Athoracophoroidea.

* "Athoracophoridae". Australian Government.
* AMNH

Taxon identifiers

Athoracophoridae|

* Wikidata: Q146753
* Wikispecies: Athoracophoridae
* AFD: Athoracophoridae
* BOLD: 1035
* CoL: 7NG39
* EoL: 2596
* EPPO: 1ATHCF
* Fossilworks: 312854
* GBIF: 9464
* iNaturalist: 372955
* IRMNG: 110552
* ITIS: 76956
* NCBI: 73111
* NZOR: 564610e5-36e1-4e16-a77e-350bcb1601b0
* WoRMS: 816162

Athoracophoroidea|

* Wikidata: Q19789333
* Wikispecies: Athoracophoroidea
* AFD: Athoracophoroidea
* CoL: 7NGH6
* EoL: 9102665
* Fossilworks: 312853
* NCBI: 87878
* WoRMS: 714686