Amphidromus inversus explained

Amphidromus inversus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Camaenidae. ^[1]

Like most members of the subgenus Amphidromus, it is chirally dimorphic: within the same populations, both dextral (clockwise-coiled) and sinistral (anticlockwise-coiled) individuals co-exist. This is one of the very few cases of genetic antisymmetry known in nature. Among the subgenus Amphidromus, A. inversus stands out because since c. 2004, it has been the focus of studies aimed at understanding the evolution of chiral dimorphism. Most of these studies have taken place on the Malaysian island of Kapas.

Subspecies

• Amphidromus inversus andamensis (L. Pfeiffer, 1871)
• Amphidromus inversus annamiticus (Crosse & P. Fischer, 1863)
• Amphidromus inversus koperbergi Laidlaw & Solem, 1961

Distribution

Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand

Ecology

Schilthuizen et al. (2005) described spatial structure of population of Amphidromus inversus in Malaysia.^[2]

Further reading

• Schilthuizen . M. . Craze . P. G. . Cabanban . A. S. . Davison . A. . Stone . J. . Gittenberger . E. . Scott . B. J. . 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01370.x . Sexual selection maintains whole-body chiral dimorphism in snails . Journal of Evolutionary Biology . 20 . 5 . 1941–1949 . 2007 . 17714311. 2121153 .
• Schilthuizen . M. . Looijestijn . S. . 10.4002/040.051.0210 . The Sexology of the Chirally Dimorphic Snail SpeciesAmphidromus inversus(Gastropoda: Camaenidae) . Malacologia . 51 . 2 . 379 . 2009 .
• Sutcharit . C. . 2006. A new subspecies of Amphidromus (A.) inversus (Müller, 1774) from Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Conchology. 39. 1. 79–83.
• Web site: 19 June 2007 . Kurkentrekkers leiden tot slakken-seksschandaal . https://archive.today/20130223024220/http://www.naturalis.nl/nl/over-ons/pers/persberichten/kurkentrekkers-leiden-tot-slakken-seksschandaal/ . dead . 23 February 2013 . nl . Naturalis .

External links

• Müller, O. F. (1774). Vermium terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusorium, Helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. vol 2: I-XXXVI, 1-214, 10 unnumbered pages. Havniae et Lipsiae, apud Heineck et Faber, ex officina Molleriana
• C.; Panha, S. (2006). Taxonomic review of the tree snail Amphidromus Albers, 1850 (Pulmonata: Camaenidae) in Thailand and adjacent areas: Subgenus Amphidromus. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 72(1): 1-30

• photo of sinistral shell

Notes and References

1. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Amphidromus inversus (O. F. Müller, 1774). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1245795 on 2020-05-17
2. Schilthuizen . M. . Scott . B. J. . Cabanban . A. S. . Craze . P. G. . Population structure and coil dimorphism in a tropical land snail . 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800715. free. Heredity . 95 . 3 . 216–220 . 2005 . 16077741.