Tag Archives: Chilonopsis subplicatus

Chilonopsis subplicatus (Sowerby)

Subplicate Saint Helena Awl Snail (Chilonopsis subplicatus)

The Subplicate Saint Helena Awl Snail was described in 1844 on the basis of subfossil shells that were found in deposits on the island of Saint Helena.:

Quite distinct from any other known species and of elongate form like the section Peronaeus. The Cochlicopa terebellum of Sowerby, a slightly more slender form, is evidently merely a slight variety in which the plications at the suture, probably through the worn condition of the specimens, appear to be less developed.“ [1]

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The species might very well have survived into quite recent times and probably disappeared only after the arrival of the first human settlers in the 16th century.

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References:

[1] Edgar A. Smith: On the land-shells of St. Helena. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 258-270. 1892

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Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata, Vol. 17, African Achatinidae 1904-1905’  

(public domain)

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edited: 29.05.2021