Testacella Explained

Testacella is genus of small to medium-large, predatory, air-breathing, land slugs.^[1]

They are terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the family Testacellidae, the shelled slugs. They are not often seen because they live underground.

Testacella is the only genus in the family, in other words it is a monotypic family. Testacella is the type genus of the family Testacellidae.

Distribution

Species within this genus of slugs live in north Africa, southern and western Europe, and Britain.^[2]

Species

Species within the genus Testacella include:

• Subgenus Testacella Draparnaud, 1801
• Subgenus Testacelloides A. J. Wagner, 1914^{[3] [4]}
• † Testacella asinium Serres, 1827
• Testacella bisulcata Risso, 1826^[5]
• Testacella bracciai Nardi & Bodon, 2011
• † Testacella bruntoniana Serres, 1851
• † Testacella deshayesii Michaud, 1855
• Testacella fischeriana Bourguignat, 1862
• Testacella gestroi Issel, 1873^[5]
• Testacella haliotidea Lamarck, 1801 - the shelled slug, the type species of the genus^[5]
• † Testacella lartetii Dupuy, 1850
• Testacella maugei Férussac, 1819^[5]
• † Testacella pedemontana Sacco, 1886
• † Testacella pontileviensis de Morgan, 1920
• † Testacella puisseguri Schlickum, 1967
• Testacella riedeli Giusti, Manganelli & Schembri, 1995^[5]
• † Testacella sandbergeri Wenz, 1914
• † Testacella schuetti Schlickum, 1967
• Testacella scutulum Sowerby I, 1821^[5]
• † Testacella zellii Klein, 1853

Nomen dubium:

• Testacella antillarum Grateloup, 1855

Synonyms:

• Testacella anomala Torres Minquez, 1924: synonym of Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801
• Testacella barcinonensis Pollonera, 1888: synonym of Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801
• Testacella catalonica Pollonera, 1888: synonym of Testacella scutulum G. B. Sowerby I, 1821 (original name)
• Testacella dikrangensis Godwin-Austen, 1876: synonym of Girasia dikrangensis (Godwin-Austen, 1876) (original combination)
• Testacella dubia Pollonera, 1888: synonym of Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801
• Testacella esserana Fagot, 1892: synonym of Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801
• Testacella europaea de Roissy, 1805: synonym of Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801
• Testacella galliae Oken, 1816: synonym of Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801
• Testacella guadeloupensis Lesson, 1838: synonym of Omalonyx unguis (d'Orbigny, 1836) (junior synonym)
• † Testacella larteti Dupuy, 1850 : synonym of † Testacella lartetii Dupuy, 1850 (incorrect subsequent spelling)
• Testacella matheronii Potiez & Michaud, 1838: synonym of Omalonyx unguis (d'Orbigny, 1836) (junior synonym)
• Testacella subtrigona Pollonera, 1888: synonym of Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801(original name)
• Testacella vagans F. W. Hutton, 1882: synonym of Testacella maugei Férussac, 1819

Description

These slugs have a very small, ear-shaped shell, which is situated far back on their bodies.

In the family Testacellidae, the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 31 and 35 (according to the values in this table).^[6]

Habitat

These slugs are rarely observed, but they tend to live in gardens and farms where there is rich soil and a lot of earthworms.

Life habits

These slugs live underground and hunt earthworms. They are usually only seen when they are forced up to the surface because the soil has become completely saturated with rain.

External links

• Lamarck, J. B. (1801). Système des animaux sans vertèbres, ou tableau général des classes, des ordres et des genres de ces animaux; Présentant leurs caractères essentiels et leur distribution, d'apres la considération de leurs rapports naturels et de leur organisation, et suivant l'arrangement établi dans les galeries du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, parmi leurs dépouilles conservées; Précédé du discours d'ouverture du Cours de Zoologie, donné dans le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle l'an 8 de la République. Published by the author and Deterville, Paris: viii + 432 pp
• "Testacella Species"
• "Have You Seen A Shelled Slug Called Testacella!"
• "A predatory (shell) slug (Testacella haliotidea)"

Notes and References

1. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Testacella Lamarck, 1801. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=818595 on 2022-09-13
2. http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/home/family?id=42 "Family summary for Testacellidae"
3. [Antoni Józef Wagner|Wagner A. J.]
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20121014211645/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=431041 "Testacelloides A.J. Wagner, 1914"
5. http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/list/species?taxongenus=324 "Species in genus Testacella"
6. Barker G. M.: Gastropods on Land: Phylogeny, Diversity and Adaptive Morphology. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, . 1-146, cited pages: 139 and 142.