Elasmias apertum

Family

Tornatellinidae

Species

Elasmias apertum (Pease, 1864)

Common name

None reported

Description

This snail is very small, approximately 4.5 mm in length and 2.5 mm in diameter, with a total of 3-4.5 whorlsWhorls:
Pleural of whorl. A whorl is a complete spiral turn/growth of the shell of a mollusc. The whorls are counted from the apex outwards.
. The shellShell:
A hard, inflexible, calcareous or chitinous structure that vary in size and may either completely encasing the animal, covering some part of it or be internal.
is globose-ovate in shape. The snail has a pale brown color and may appear glossy. In some specimens a slight discoloration of the apexApex:
The tip of the spire of a shell.
of the spireSpire:
All the coils (whorls) of a shell above the body whorl.
may be observed. The body of the animal is pale with dark tentaclesTentacles:
Sensory projections on the head end of a mollusc. There are generally two pairs; upper (posterior) and smaller, lower (anterior). The upper pair bears the eyes. In many snails the eyes are located at the tips of this structure; however, in Basommatophoran snail species, the eyes are located at the base of the tentacles.
. The footFoot:
The muscular organ on the undersurface of the body of a mollusc upon which the animal rests or uses to crawl.
of the animal is almost as long as the shellShell:
A hard, inflexible, calcareous or chitinous structure that vary in size and may either completely encasing the animal, covering some part of it or be internal.
.

Native range

Polynesia

Distribution

Indian Ocean islands

Pacific Islands

Australia

Ecology

This species is generally found on foliage, as they are tree dwellers.

Synonyms

• Tornatellina aperta Pease, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1864, p.673; 1871, p.473.

References

Pilsbry and Cooke 1915; Sloem 1964