Xeropicta 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...

 of small 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...

s, pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Hygromiidae

Hygromiidae

Hygromiidae is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.-Anatomy:...

, the hairy snails and their allies.

Distribution

The distribution of the genus Xeropicta includes south-eastern Europe to Near East and north-eastern Africa.

Species in this genus have not yet become established in the USA, but they are considered to represent potentially serious threats as pests, invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 which could negatively effect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that these species be given top national quarantine

Quarantine

Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

 significance in the USA.

Description

The shell

Gastropod shell

The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...

 is always white with brown spiral bands. The shell is medium-sized to small with a subdepressed to subconoidal spire

Spire (mollusc)

A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...

. The umbilicus is open.

Reproductive system

Reproductive system

The reproductive system or genital system is a system of organs within an organism which work together for the purpose of reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are also important accessories to the reproductive system. Unlike most organ systems, the sexes...

: There is a presence of two symmetrical dart sacs and two long accessory sacs, which are always longer than the dart sacs. There are 4 branched mucus glands around the vagina and penis is with penial appendix at its base. Penis is innervated from the right cerebral ganglion.

Species

Species within the genus Xeropicta include:

• Xeropicta akrotirica Gittenberger, 1991
• Xeropicta derbentina (Krynicki, 1836)
• Xeropicta krynickii (Krynicki, 1833) - type species
• Xeropicta ledereri (Pfeiffer, 1856)
• Xeropicta mesopotamica (Mousson, 1874)
• Xeropicta smyrnocretica (Germain, 1933)
• Xeropicta vestalis (Pfeiffer, 1841)