Crikey steveirwini
Crikey steveirwini is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Camaenidae. Crikey steveirwini is the only species in the genus Crikey.
| Crikey steveirwini | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Eupulmonata clade Stylommatophora informal group Sigmurethra |
| Superfamily: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | Crikey Stanisic, 2009[1] |
| Species: | C. steveirwini |
| Binomial name | |
| Crikey steveirwini Stanisic, 2009[1] | |
Etymology
The specific name steveirwini is in memory of Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin, who died from a stingray injury in 2006. The genus name was a favourite exclamation of Steve Irwin's, "crikey!" being an Australian minced oath.[2] The snail species was described by John Stanisic, a scientist at the Queensland Museum[2] who was later awarded Certified Environmental Practitioner of the Year 2010.
Habitat
Crikey steveirwini occurs in the north-eastern part of Queensland, Australia, in the tropical rain forests also known as the Wet Tropics.[1][3] Crikey steveirwini is an arboreal species.[1] It has been found at altitudes over 1000 meters.
Appearance
The small, rare species has a high spire and is creamy yellow with coppery brown spiral bands. It can reach 15 millimetres (0.59 in) in size.[3]
References
- Stanisic, J. (2009). "Crikey steveirwini gen. et sp. nov. from montane habitats in the Wet Tropics of northeastern Queensland, Australia (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Camaenidae)" (PDF Abstract). Zootaxa. 2206: 62–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2206.1.4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2017.
- "Crikey! Snail named after Steve Irwin". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 November 2009. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- "Steve Irwin's Treesnail". Dr John Stanisic's official website Facts About Snails. 2012-06-15. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.