Classification

Fumonelix archeri is commonly known as the Archer's Toothed Land Snail. Originally known as Mesodon archeri, renamed in 1940.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Gastropoda

Order: Stylommatophora                                   

Family: Polygyridae

Genus: Fumonelix

Species: Fumonelix archeri

(NatureServe Explorer, 2011)

Animalia: All animals are members of the Kingdom Animalia (Animal Diversity Web, 2012). All members are multicellular and lack a cell wall. There are roughly 9 to 10 million different species with many still undiscovered (Animal Diversity Web, 2012).

Mollusca: The phylum Mollusca is the second largest group and is named after the distinct soft body characteristic (Hickman et al, 2009).There are about 90,000 living species as diverse as snails, octopuses, squids, and clams, occupying a variety of habitats (Hickman et al, 2009). This phylum originated from the sea and hold great economic importance by means of food and pearl production in clams and oysters (Hickman et al, 2009).

Gastropoda: The class Gastropoda includes snails and slugs, and they usually have spiraled, coiled shells, except in some forms which have lost the shell entirely (Animal Diversity Web, 2012). They are set apart because of undergoing torsion- their visceral mass twisted 180 degrees, moving their anus to the anterior end of the body (Animal Diversity Web, 2012). Having over 40,000 species, they are by far the largest, most diverse molluscs (Animal Diversity Web, 2012).

Pulmonata: Pulmonata is a subclass of Gastropoda, identified as having an air-breathing lung and lacking gills (Hickman et al, 2009). Pulmonates can be both terrestrial and marine and can either possess or lack a shell (Hickman et al, 2009).

Stylommatophora: This class contains all terrestrial snails and slugs that belong to the subclass Pulmonata (Illinois Natural History Survey, 2011). There are two recognized clades, which are distinguished by the position of the ureter pore on the mantle (Illinois Natural History Survey, 2011).

Polygyridae: Snails belonging to the Family Polygyridae can be characterized by a reflected outer lip in adult forms (Baker, 1939). These land mollusks are mainly located in the woodlands of eastern North America (Walsh, G.E. and B.F. Coles, 2002).

Genus: Fumonelix, formerly known as Mesodon, is a genus of terrestrial, air-breathing snails that have striated shells that lack prostrate hairs (Essleman, Z. and T. Boldt, 2006).

Species: Fumonelix archeri are terrestrial, air-breathing snails that are solely located in a few counties in Tennessee in the United States of America (NatureServe Explorer, 2011).

Origin: Fumonelix most likely comes from someone's name, and archeri comes from the name Archer, as well.


Continue learning about the Fumonelix archeri, click here to find out where they live, their population, and the basic habitat of this particular snail.

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