Classification

Considering the extremely large number of living organisms on the face of Earth, it is important to give very specific names to each individual species to distinguish one organism from another. Latin is used when giving a species a scientific name, because Latin is a "dead language". This is important, as the language will not change over time. This means that anyone, from anywhere, from any time can use a common language, and therefore understand the classification of an organism.

The common name for this snail is the Striped Whitelip. It was named after the bands and white reflected lip, which are both characteristic of the shell.

At each level of classification, down to the genus, each group shares certain characteristics with other members of the same group. Webbhelix multilineata belongs to many different groups:

Domain - Eukarya, which includes organisms with a true nucleus and organelles bound in a nuclear membrane (Pall-Gergely, 2011).

Kingdom - Animalia, which characteristics include being heterotrophic and multicellular. They also lack a rigid cell wall (Pall-Gergely, 2011).

Phylum - Mollusca, due to it's body plan of a mantle, visceral mass, and a head-foot (Pall Gergely, 2011).

Class - Gastropoda, where all members developed through a torsion process (Pall-Gergely, 2011).

Subclass - Pulmonata, which includes land snails that breathe with a lung (Pall-Gergely, 2011).

Order - Stylommetropha, which have two pairs of tentacles, with eyes on the anterior pair (Pall-Gergely, 2011).

Family - Polygyridae, which have an aperature with a reflected lip, and free retractable muslces (Pilsbry, 1940).

Genus - Webbhelix, due to an umbilicate and a large, gobose, and tooth-less shell (Emberton,1988).

Species - Webbhelix multilineata, because of its many bands. It is the only species belonging to this genus (Emberton, 1988).

 

Where does this snail live?
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