Allodiscus spiritus is a species of land snail belonging to the family Charopidae. It is endemic to New Zealand, found on the Aupōuri Peninsula, Northland, typically in leaf litter of broadleaf trees and kānuka.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
The holotype of the species measures in height and in diameter, with some individuals reaching a diameter of up to . The protoconch has 1.15-1.25 convex whorls, and is translucent yellowish to reddish brown. The teleoconch has up to 3.3 broadly convex whorls, and is translucent with a pale buff or white, with irregular red-brown marks. Juveniles have narrowly umbilicate shells, while adults are anomphalous. A. spiritus can be distinguished from most other members of Allodiscus due to having 100-104 primary radials on the penultimate.
While Powell suggested that A. spiritus can be distinguished visually from A. dimorphus, both species have varying colours and colour patterns, and can only be conclusively distinguished due to geographic location and genetic differences.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1952. The holotype was collected from Waterfall Gully near Piwhane / Spirits Bay on the northern coast of the Aupōuri Peninsula, Northland, New Zealand on 29 January 1950, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Powell suggests that A. spiritus may have developed as a distinct species when the North Cape area was an island separated from New Zealand, which occurred during the Pliocene.
Distribution and habitat
The species is endemic to New Zealand, found on the Aupōuri Peninsula, Northland. The species is found in ground litter of broadleaf trees or kānuka and broadleaf shrublands and forests, up to an elevation of above sea-level. The holotype was found in association with Astelia plants, under decaying leaves.
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