Classification
Common Name: Edwards Plateau Liptoth
Scientific Name: Millrerelix gracilis
The common name, Edwards Plateau Liptooth comes from the region
of discovery and the nature of its structures
(Pilsbry, 1948).
Edwards Plateau, found in central Texas, is the natural habitat
of the snail (Encyclopedia of Life,
2012). Liptooth refers to the way
the shell is structured (Pilsbry, 1948). The meaning of
gracilis
in Latin is thin, slender, and slim, which also refers to the
shell (Latin Word Study Tool, 2012).
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Millerelix shell (
Image by
Dan Johnson)
Family: Polygyridae
Genus: Millerelix
Species: Millerelix gracilis
Millerelix shell (
Image by
Dan Johnson)
Eukarya: This domain includes a diverse array of organisms with
membrane-bound nuclei (Hickman et. al., 2012).
Animalia: This kingdom contains multicellular, heterotrophic
creatures, meaning they get their energy from an outside source
(Hickman et. al., 2012).
Mollusca: The phylum Mollusca features soft-bodied organisms with a
muscular foot for locomotion and/or attachment
(Hickman et. al.,
2012).
Gastropoda: The class Gastropoda or “belly foots” are characterized
by torsion-- the twisting of the body that puts the anus above the
head (Gillis, 2012). Therefore, waste is excreted outside of the
shell (Gillis, 2012). They are also are characterized by their coiled
shells (Gillis, 2012).
Stylommatophora: This classification contains mostly terrestrial
animals, sometimes lacking shells, characterized by two pairs of
tentacles (Encyclopedia of Life, 2012). They also breathe with a lung-like
sac and have been classified by Pilsbry according to their excretory
system (Encyclopedia of Life, 2012).
Polygyridae: These are air-breathing land snails that have a jagged
jaw and joined eye and pharynx retractor muscles, but lack
diverticulum and “love darts” (Encyclopedia of Life,
2012).
Genus: Millerelix
Species: Millerelix gracilis
Millerelix mooreana- close
relative of Millerelix gracilis (Image by
Dan Johnson)