Beckianum beckianum
Encyclopedia
Beckianum beckianum is a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of air-breathing land snail
Land snail
A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...

, a terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...

 pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Subulinidae
Subulinidae
Subulinidae is a family of small tropical air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Achatinoidea.- Anatomy :...

.

Subspecies

Subspecies of Beckianum beckianum include:
  • Beckianum beckianum beckianum (L. Pfeiffer, 1846)
  • Beckianum beckianum gabbianum (Angas
    George French Angas
    George French Angas , was an English explorer, naturalist and painter.He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the eldest son of George Fife Angas, prominent in the establishment of the new colony of South Australia. Despite showing remarkable talent in drawing, he was placed in a London...

    , 1879)

Distribution

Beckianum beckianum is believed to be native to the Caribbean Basin
Caribbean Basin
The Caribbean Basin is generally defined as the area running from Florida westward along the Gulf coast, then south along the Mexican coast through Central America and then eastward across the northern coast of South America. This region includes the islands of the archipelago of the West Indies...

.

The distribution of Beckianum beckianum includes the West Indies and Central America.

  • USA - introduced:
    • Miami-Dade County, Florida
      Miami-Dade County, Florida
      Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

       - it was has been reported since 2003
    • Broward County, Florida
      Broward County, Florida
      -2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

       - it was has been reported since 2003

  • Cuba - probably introduced


Lesser Antilles: - introduced
  • This species was introduced with horticultural shipments to the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1900s.


This snail can occasionally be spread via trade of cut flowers and beans (Phaseolus
Phaseolus
Phaseolus is a genus in the family Fabaceae of about fifty plant species, all native to the Americas.At least four of the species have been domesticated since pre-Columbian times for their beans. Most prominent among these is the common bean, P...

sp.).

Ecology

Beckianum beckianum is considered to be a detritivore
Detritivore
Detritivores, also known as detritophages or detritus feeders or detritus eaters or saprophages, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus . By doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles...

 (eats detritus
Detritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...

) and/or phytophagous (eats plants).
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