Millerelix forfeuillianan
Classification
Millerelix forfeuillianan:
Common name: Oakwood liptooth because of their general
habitat of the oak-hickory forest and their shell has a lip with teeth (Zipcodezoo 2012).
Domain: Eukarya
This species is part of this domain because Millerelix
forfeuillianan is a multicellular organism and has a membrane-bound nucleus (Hickman et al. 2012).
Kingdom: Animalia
Since this snail has eukaryotic cells, contains no cell walls
and obtains nutrients by ingestion
it is included in the kingdom Animalia (Hickman et al. 2012).
Phylum Mollusca
Millerelix forfeuillianan species are grouped in this
category due to their soft-body as well as containing tissues and
organs (Hickman et al. 2012). They only display a coelom (cavity)
as an embryo and still display bilateral symmetry (Hickman
et al. 2012). Mollusks have an open circulatory system,
which means they do not have capillaries but do encompass blood
vessels to push the hemolymph (contains intestinal fluid and
blood) throughout the body (Hickman et al. 2012). Some in
this phylum also have a calcium carbonate shell, which is a
characteristic this snail possesses (Hickman et al. 2012).
Class: Gastropoda
This group, also known as the “belly foots,” is the largest and
most diverse class of Mollusks (Hickman et al. 2012)! Most
in this class are herbivores like Millerelix forteuillianan and
obtain a well-developed head (Hickman et al. 2012). During
development, snails go through a transition unique to their
species known as torsion, which is a 180 degree twisting of
their visceral mass (Hickman et al. 2012). Depending on
what environment a gastropod lives in, they contain a radula
that is used for scraping of algae, fungi, seaweed etc. (Hickman
et al. 2012).
Order: Stylommatophora (Encyclopedia 2012)
The order possesses all the air-breathing land snails and
slugs (Hickman et al. 2012). This species has two pairs of
retractile tentacles along with a long pedal gland, which is
where the mucus of the snail comes from (Hickman et al. 2012).
Species were also placed in this order due to how their kidneys,
lungs and ureter are set up (Craig et al. 2004).
Family: Polygyridae (Encyclopedia 2012)
This family contains many air breathing land snails as well as
various terrestrial pulmonate mollusks (Hickman et al. 2012).
Genus: Millerelix
The species was placed in this group based on their genital
anatomy and shell characteristics (Walsh et al. 2006).
Species: Millerelix forteuillianan
The specific epithetic is derived based on the size (7-9 mm
in diameter) of the disc-shaped shell which contains three teeth
at the opening (Kansas 2012).