Flax snail
| Placostylus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A shell of the subspecies Placostylus ambagiosus priscus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): |
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Orthalicoidea |
| Family: | Bothriembryontidae |
| Subfamily: | Placostylinae |
| Genus: |
Placostylus Beck, 1837 |
clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora
informal group Sigmurethra
Placostylus, or flax snails, are a genus of very large, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Bothriembryontidae.
The shells of the snails in this genus can be as large as 4.5 inches (11 cm) in maximum dimension.
Many species within this genus are now extinct.
Placostylus is the type genus of the family Placostylidae. It was placed within Placostylidae.
Breure et al. (2010) moved Prestonella and Bothriembryon to Placostylidae. Subsequently Breure & Romero (2012) confirmed previous results from 2010 and they renamed Placostylidae to Bothriembryontidae.
This genus of snails occurs in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Lord Howe Island, and Northland in New Zealand. There are three species in New Zealand and no susbspecies.
Species within this genus include:
subgenus Basileostylus Haas, 1935
subgenus Maoristylus Haas, 1935
...
Wikipedia