Prestonella | |
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Drawing of abapertural view of a shell of Prestonella nuptialis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
(unranked): | clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura |
Superfamily: | |
Family: | |
Subfamily: | van Bruggen, Herbert & Breure, 2016[1]
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Genus: | Prestonella |
Diversity[3] | |
3 species | |
Synonyms | |
Prestonellidae van Bruggen, 1978[4] (n.a.) |
Prestonella is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Bothriembryontidae.[5]
Prestonellidae (as a not available name) was tentatively placed as a synonym of Aillyidae in the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005.[6] Prestonella is the type genus of the family Prestonellidae,[6] but Prestonellidae is not an available name, because it has no diagnosis.[6] Prestonella was considered as the only genus in the family Prestonellidae.[citation needed]
Herbert (2007)[3] has classified Prestonella in Bulimulidae sensu lato within Orthalicoidea.[3]
Herbert & Mitchell (2009)[7] have classified Prestonella, for which the phylogenetic relationships were previously unknown, in the superfamily Orthalicoidea.[7]
Breure et al. (2010)[8] moved Prestonella to Placostylidae,[8] that Breure & Romero (2012)[5] renamed to Bothriembryontidae.[5]
Prestonellinae was formally described as a new subfamily within Bothriembryontidae in 2016.[1] Prestonellinae contains three genera: Prestonella Connolly, 1929, Discoleus Breure, 1978 and Plectostylus Beck, 1837.[1] Prestonella is the type genus of the subfamily Prestonellinae.[1]
This genus is endemic to South Africa[9] and Lesotho.[10] It occurs in the southern edge of the Great Escarpment in southern Africa.[3]
Prestonella has a relict distribution in the south of the southern Africa[10] and it is the only Recent African member of Bulimulidae s.l.[11] Its distribution is highly fragmented.[11]
Prestonella lives in forest and Nama Karoo (semi-desert) biomes.[10] It is very specialized in habitat requirements and it inhabits only two types of relictual habitats: vertical-rocks above running water and moist shaded cliffs facing to the south.[11] Prestonella occurs in the elevation 838–1680 m above sea level.[10] There are two rainfall seasons in the area per year.[10] It has been found in 2011, that genetic diversity in the populations of Prestonella is lower in dryer areas.[11] Global warming would probably have serious negative impact on Prestonella species.[11]
There are three[3] species in the genus Prestonella: