Classification
Daedalochila leporina (Polygyra leporina) (Gould, 1848)
Meaning in Latin: Polygyra - many whorls
lepa -
lip
Common name: Gulf Coast Liptooth
Domain Eukarya: Daedalochila leporina is in the domain Eukarya because it is made up of cells organized into tissues that make up organs (Hickman et al., 2009). The domain also includes organisms that also have cycles of reproduction and recombination (Hickman et al., 2009).
Kingdom Animalia: This organism is classified under the kingdom Animalia because it is multi-cellular and heterotrophic (Hickman et al., 2009).
Phylum Mollusca: To be classified under the phylum Mollusca means an organism possesses a coelom, is tripoblastic, has bilateral symmetry, and it's basic body plan consists of a mantle, a visceral mass, and a muscular foot (Hickman et al., 2009). Also, mollusks have a soft body protected by a hard shell (Hickman et al., 2009).
Class Gastropoda: Daedalochila leporina has an open circulatory system and has torsion, a process that results in the rotation of the visceral mass and mantle on the foot, which puts this organism in the class Gastropoda (Hickman et al., 2009).
Order Stylommatophora: This organism has lungs to breathe, not gills, which classifies the snail under the order of Stylommatophora (Ponder et al., 2008). Also, the organism has a long pedal gland placed beneath a membrane and two pairs of retractile tentacles, with terminal eyes on the cephalic pair (Ponder et al., 2008).
Family Polygyridae: To be classified under the family Polygyridae, in all species the shell of the adult specimen has a reflected outer lip and nearly all species have a rather indistinct groove on each side of the body extending from the edge of the shell to the head (Baker, 1939).
Genus Polygyra: This organism is classified under the genus Polygyra because the species have the characteristics found in those of the family Polygyridae (Baker, 1939).
Species Daedalochila leporina: This species has a wide shell that is umbilicated, or centrally depressed and has an aperture with a tooth on the parietal callus (Tryon, 1867). The shell has a pale brown appearance, with short hairs and the width of the shell is between 5-6.5 mm, and the height is between 2.8-3.7 mm (Tryon, 1867).