Megalobulimus is a genus of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Megalobuliminae within the family Strophocheilidae (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).
Megalobulimus is the type genus of the subfamily Megalobuliminae.
Description (Original description) The jaw and radula of the following species differ so considerably from those of the typical Borus oblongus Müll. that I considered establishing a new subgenus, Megalobulimus, into which the giants of the Bulimidae would be classified. These could be characterized by the absence of strong transverse ribs on the jaw, a finely granular shell, reddish-brown upper whorls, a white band accompanying the suture, and a white aperture.
Distribution These species are primarily found throughout South America—especially in the Andean Amazon and eastern Brazil. Some species are widespread across the continent, while others are locally restricted.
Habitat Habitats include humid tropical forests, grasslands, and often forest litter and soil. Some species have an affinity for limestone soils and may be found in or near caves.
Species
Species within the genus Megalobulimus include: Megalobulimus abbreviatus (Bequaert, 1948) Megalobulimus albescens (Bequaert, 1948) Megalobulimus albus (Bland & Binney, 1872) Megalobulimus amandus Simone, 2012 Megalobulimus auritus (Sowerby, 1838) Megalobulimus bertae Lange-de-Morretes, 1952 Megalobulimus bronni (Pfeiffer, 1847) Megalobulimus capillaceus (Pfeiffer, 1855) Megalobulimus cardosoi (Lange-de-Morretes, 1952) Megalobulimus carrikeri (Pilsbry, 1930) Megalobulimus chionostoma (Mörch, 1852) Megalobulimus conicus (Bequaert, 1948) Megalobulimus crassus (Albers, 1850) Megalobulimus diluvianus Fontenelle & Salvador, 2023 Megalobulimus dryades Fontenelle, Simone & Cavallari, 2021 Megalobulimus elongatus (Bequaert, 1948) Megalobulimus elsae Falconeri, 1994 Megalobulimus felipponei Ihering, 1928 Megalobulimus florezi Borda & Ramírez, 2013 Megalobulimus foreli (Bequaert, 1948) Megalobulimus formicacorsii (Barattini & Ledón, 1949) Megalobulimus fragilior (Ihering, 1901) Megalobulimus garbeanus (Leme, 1964) Megalobulimus garciamoreni (K. Miller, 1878) Megalobulimus globosus (Martens, 1876) Megalobulimus granulosus (Rang, 1831) Megalobulimus gummatus (Hidalgo, 1870) Megalobulimus haemastomus (Scopoli, 1786) †Megalobulimus hauthali (Ihering, 1904) Megalobulimus hector (Pfeiffer, 1857) Megalobulimus helicoides Simone, 2018 Megalobulimus huascari (Tschudi, 1852) Megalobulimus inambarisensis Borda & Ramírez, 2016 Megalobulimus indigens (Fulton, 1914) Megalobulimus intercedens (E. von Martens, 1876) Megalobulimus intertextus (Pilsbry, 1895) Megalobulimus jaguarunensis Fontenelle, Cavallari & Simone, 2014 Megalobulimus klappenbachi (Leme, 1964) Megalobulimus lacunosus (d'Orbigny, 1835) Megalobulimus leonardosi (Lange-de-Morretes, 1952) Megalobulimus leucostoma (G. B. Sowerby I, 1835) Megalobulimus lichtensteini Albers, 1854 Megalobulimus lopesi Leme, 1989 Megalobulimus martensianus (Pilsbry, 1902) Megalobulimus mauricius Falconeri, 1995 Megalobulimus maximus (Sowerby, 1825) Megalobulimus mogianensis Simone & Leme, 1998 Megalobulimus nodai Lange-de-Morretes, 1952 Megalobulimus oblongus (Müller, 1774) Megalobulimus oliveirai (Bequaert, 1948) Megalobulimus oosomus (Pilsbry, 1895) Megalobulimus ovatus (Müller, 1774) Megalobulimus parafragilior Leme & Indrusiak, 1990 Megalobulimus paranaguensis (Pilsbry & Ihering, 1900) Megalobulimus pergranulatus (Pilsbry, 1901) Megalobulimus pintoi Lange-de-Morretes, 1952 Megalobulimus popelairianus (Nyst, 1845) Megalobulimus proclivis (Martens, 1888) Megalobulimus pygmaeus (Bequaert, 1948) Megalobulimus riopretensis Simone & Leme, 1998 Megalobulimus rolandianus Lange-de-Morretes, 1952 Megalobulimus sanctaepauli (Ihering & Pilsbry, 1900) Megalobulimus santacruzii (d'Orbigny, 1835) Megalobulimus separabilis (Fulton, 1903) Megalobulimus tayacajus Borda & Ramírez, 2016 Megalobulimus terrestris (Spix, 1827) Megalobulimus valenciennesii (Pfeiffer, 1842) Megalobulimus versatilis (Fulton, 1905) Megalobulimus vestitus (Pilsbry, 1926) † Megalobulimus wichmanni Miquel & Manceñido, 1999 Megalobulimus wohlersi Lange-de-Morretes, 1952 Megalobulimus yporanganus (Ihering & Pilsbry, 1901)
Human use Shells of terrestrial snails, mainly of the genus Megalobulimus, are found in fluvial shellmound (called sambaqui in Brazil) on the Capelinha archaeological site from Paleo-Indian culture of early Holocene.
The shell of Megalobulimus sp. (local name: "churito") is used in the traditional ethnomedicine of Northwest Argentina when babies are hyperactive and cannot sleep well, then it is advised to put a shell under a pillow.
References
Further reading Kawano T. & Moreira Leme J. L. (1994). "Chromosomes of three species of Megalobulimus (Gastropoda: Mesurethra: Megalobulimidae) from Brazil". Malacological review 27(1–2): 47–52. Borda V., Ramírez R. & Romero P. (2010). "Glándula pediosa de moluscos terrestres y sus implicancias evolutivas, con énfasis en Megalobulimus / Pediose gland in land snails and its evolutionary implications, with emphasis on Megalobulimus." Revista Peruana de Biología 17(1): . 43–52. PDF. Rodrigo Salvador, José Fontenelle, Barbara Mizumo Tomotani: Taxonomic reassessment of Megalobulimus torii (Gastropoda, Strophocheilidae); Journal of Conchology issue 3 vol. 43 p 313-320, 2019.
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