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Cerion
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| Cerion | |
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| Cerion chrysalis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia
informal group Pulmonata |
| Superfamily: | Orthalicoidea |
| Family: | Cerionidae |
| Genus: | Cerion |
Cerion is a genus of medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropods in the family Cerionidae, sometimes known as the peanut snails.
This is a highly diverse genus with more than 600 described species. It is endemic to the Caribbean region.
The name Cerion is from the Greek word Kerion, signifying honeycomb, and is given to these shells because the form of the spire resembles that of a bee-hive; hence they were at once time known as bee-hive shells.[1]
The fossil record of Cerion extends to the early Miocene of Florida and possibly to the Upper Cretaceous of Montana, although records older than of Pleistocene age are very rare[2].
[edit] Species
Species within the genus Cerion include:
- Cerion anodonta
- Cerion barroi
- Cerion capraia
- Cerion casablancae
- Cerion chrysalis
- Cerion chrysaloides
- Cerion columbiana
- Cerion crassilabris
- Cerion evolva
- Cerion fasciata
- Cerion floridanum
- Cerion grisea
- Cerion incanum
- Cerion nanus
- Cerion obesum
- Cerion persuasa
- Cerion pilsbryi
- Cerion pupilla
- Cerion regina
- Cerion regula
- Cerion restricta
- Cerion saccharimeta
- Cerion sallei
- Cerion striatellum
- Cerion stupida
- Cerion vaccinum
- Cerion uva
- Cerion yumaensis
[edit] References
- ^ Frank Collins Baker: Shells of land and water; a familiar introduction to the study of the mollusks. (1903), Chicago, A.W. Mumford, page 48.
- ^ Cerion: a web-based resource for Cerion research and identification
[edit] Further reading
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