Lobosculum
Encyclopedia
Lobosculum is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 (or a subgenus under Polygyra
Polygyra
Polygyra is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Polygyridae.The IUCN listed taxa, Polygyra hippocrepis and Polygyra peregrina, are now usually named Daedalochila hippocrepis and Millerelix peregrina.Polygyra contains the following species and...

) of small air-breathing land snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

s, 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 mollusks in the family Polygyridae
Polygyridae
Polygyridae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.The Polygyridae make up a significant proportion of the land snail fauna of eastern North America, and are also found in western North America, northern Central America, and...

.

Shell description

These are among the smallest snails in the Polygyridae, with shell diameters of about 4 to 6 mm (approximately 1/5 inch). The shells of this species usually have a velvety surface, as a consequence of numerous hair-like extensions of the surface covering of the shell, the periostracum
Periostracum
The periostracum is a thin organic coating or "skin" which is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including mollusks and brachiopods. Among mollusks it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in bivalves and gastropods, but it is also found in cephalopods such as the...

.

Distribution

The known distribution of this species is limited to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

: along the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, as well as Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, and the Mississippi valley from Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 to Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

.

Species

This genus includes the following species and subspecies:
  • Lobosculum pustula
    Lobosculum pustula
    Lobosculum pustula is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Polygyridae....

    (Férussac, 1822)
  • Lobosculum pustuloides (Bland, 1858)
  • Lobosculum leporinum (Gould, 1848)
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