Origin of Name

The scientific name of this terrestrial snail is Daedalochila peninsulae.  It also currently goes by the common name of St. Johns Liptooth.

Knowledge of the Latin and Greek roots of an organisms name can aid in the understanding of the characteristics of the organism. Daedalochila peninsulae can be broken down into the words roots "Daedal", "Chila", "Paene", and "Insula".

"Daedal"=intricate, skillful, and ingenious (Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary 2008), and describes the structure of the shell. 
"Chila"=lip (Bellamy 1986), and refers to the unique structure of the snail's aperture.
"Paene", meaning almost, and "Insula", meaning island (Merriam-Webster 2012), combine to form "almost island", describing the peninsular Habitat where this snail was discovered.

The common name, St. John's Liptooth, can be broken down to reveal its meaning as well. St. John's is used because of a location of discovery, St. Johns County, Florida.
"Liptooth" is used to describe the unique structure of the aperture of this snail. "Liptooth" is used similarly here as "Chila" is in its scientific name; they each refer to the organisms unique aperture.

Classification

Domain: Eukarya
     -classified by having membrane bound organelles and genetic material contained in a nucleus

Kingdom: Animalia
     -classified by being heterotrophic and multicellular

Phylum: Mollusca
     -classified by having a soft coelomate body with a muscular foot, visceral mass, and a mantle

Class: Gastropoda
     -classified by having one shell made of calcium carbonate, and showing coiling and torsion

Order: Stylommatophora
     -classified by having a long pedal gland under the membrane and retractable tentacles (Reference.com 2012)

Family: Polygyridae
     -classified by a lack of a dark apparatus, aka love dart (BayScience Foundation 2012). Also, the muscles which allow the eyes and pharynx to be retraced are joined in a single band and the jaws are ribbed (BayScience Foundation 2012).

Genus: Daedalochila (common name: Liptooth)
     -
classified by being "small" snails (only about one-half inch), with apertures that have small openings.

Species: Daedalochila peninsulae (common name: St. John's Liptooth)
     -
classified by having an extended parietal callus and basal lip tooth, which helps form the "Liptooth". In addition, it has been photographed as a caramel brown colored shell that is 7-8mm in diameter with a short spire (jaxshells.org 2010).

Classification was aided by the information provided by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

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