Otala is a genus of land snails in the subfamily Helicinae of the family Helicidae.Taxonomy of the Genus Otala (2008). Uniprot.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Otala Schumacher, 1817. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=818443 on 2021-02-14
Archaeological evidence in Morocco indicates the exploitation of O. lactea by ancient Romans as a food source.Hogan, C. M. Volubilis. In: Burnham, A. (ed.) The Megalithic Portal. 2007.
Distribution This genus of snail is native to northwestern Africa and southwestern Europe.
Anatomy These snails create and shoot love darts as part of their courtship and mating behavior.
Species Species within the genus Otala include:Genus summary for Otala. AnimalBase, accessed 7 August 2009. † Otala desoudiniana (Crosse, 1862) Otala hieroglyphicula (Michaud, 1833) † Otala jobaeana (Crosse, 1861) Otala juilleti (Terver, 1839) Otala lactea (Müller, 1774) Otala occulta D. Holyoak, G. Holyoak, Gómez Moliner & Chueca, 2020 Otala orientalis (Pallary, 1918) Otala pallaryi (Kobelt, 1909) Otala punctata (Müller, 1774) Otala ramosi (Ahuir & Liñán, 2021) Otala tingitana (Paladilhe, 1875) Otala xanthodon (Anton, 1838) Species brought into synonymy Otala (Otala) alicantensis Truc, 1971 †: synonym of Schlickumia alicantensis (Truc, 1971) † Otala (Otala) bottini (Sacco, 1884) †: synonym of Schlickumia bottinii (Sacco, 1884) † (incorrect subsequent spelling; new combination) Otala canariensis Mousson, 1872: synonym of Otala lactea (Müller, 1774) Otala jacquemetana Mabille, 1883: synonym of Otala lactea (Müller, 1774) Otala vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774): synonym of Eobania vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774)
References
Pfeffer, G. (1930). Zur Kenntnis tertiärer Landschnecken. Geologisch-Paläontologische Abhandlungen, neue Folge. 17(3): 153–380. Pallary, P. (1918). Diagnoses d'une cinquantaine de mollusques terrestres nouveaux du Nord de l'Afrique. Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle d'Afrique du Nord, 9 (7): 137–152. Alger Holyoak, D.T. & Holyoak, G.A. (2017). A revision of the land-snail genera Otala and Eobania (Gastropoda, helicidae) in Morocco and Algeria. Journal of Conchology, 40 (6): 419–490. London
External links
Schumacher C.F. (1817). Essai d'un nouveau système des habitations des vers testacés. Schultz, Copenghagen. iv + 288 pp., 22 pls Albers, J. C. (1850). Die Heliceen nach natürlicher Verwandtschaft systematisch geordnet. Berlin: Enslin. 262 pp. NCBI Pallary, P. (1919). Hélicidées nouvelles du Maroc. 2e Partie. Journal de Conchyliologie. 64 (2) : 51-69, pl. 2-3. Paris