Bourciera Explained

Bourciera is a genus of neotropical terrestrial gastropod mollusks or land snails in the family Helicinidae. All species in the genus have an operculum.

In 1907, an attempt was made to rename the genus Pseudhelicina, sometimes corrected to Pseudohelicina, on the basis of the fact that Bourciera was also the name of a genus of birds, but according to MolluscaBase this replacement was unnecessary and Bourciera is still used.^[1] H. Burrington Baker considered Bourciera among the most primitive of terrestrial mollusks.^[2]

Distribution

The genus was initially described from Ecuador based on specimens collected by Jules Bourcier, after whom it was named. It is also known to occur in Peru.^[3]

Species

Species within the genus Bourciera include:

• Bourciera fraseri Pfeiffer 1859^[4]
• Bourciera helicinaeformis Pfeiffer 1853^[5]
• Bourciera striatula Miller 1879^[6]
• Bourciera viridissima Miller 1879^[7]

Notes and References

1. Sykes, E. R. (1907). The name Bourcieria. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London. 7(6): 312.
2. Baker, H. Burrington. (1925).Anatomy of Hendersonia: A Primitive Helicinid Mollusk Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 77:273-303
3. Ramírez R., Paredes C., Arenas J. (2003). Moluscos del Perú. Revista de Biología Tropical.: 51(supplement 3): 225-284.
4. [Louis Pfeiffer|Pfeiffer L.]
5. [Louis Pfeiffer|Pfeiffer L.]
6. Miller, Konrad (1879). Die Binnenmollusken von Ecuador. Malakozoologische Blätter 26[(n. s.)]1: 117-203
7. Miller, Konrad (1879). Die Binnenmollusken von Ecuador. Malakozoologische Blätter 26[(n. s.)]1: 117-203