A Field Guide to the Snails of Lord Howe Island

80 Family Charopidae (Pinwheel Snails) Pseudocharopa whiteleggei (Brazier, 1889) Whitelegge’s Pinwheel Snail Shell. Size: H = 7.1-8.3 mm, D = 15.6-17.7 mm. Colour: Dark reddish brown with indistinct cream-coloured zigzagging flammulations (visible in juveniles; often difficult to see in worn adult shells, which appear a uniform brown). Shape: Ear-shaped; discoidal with a flat spire; whorls flattened above and rounded below a rounded periphery; sutures impressed. Sculpture: Protoconch with radial ribs; teleoconch with prominent, closely spaced, curved radial ribs, microradial threads and microspiral cords. Aperture: Ovately lunate, breadth greater than height; upper edge strongly flattened. Umbilicus: Moderately widely open. Animal. Sole lime-green, upper part of body dark grey, fading to pale grey on tail. Head, neck and eye-tentacles dark grey. Key distinguishing features. Large ear-shaped shell with flat spire; whorl profile flattened above periphery; closely spaced ribs; lime-green sole. Habitat and occurrence. Summits and upper slopes of Mt Gower and Mt Lidgbird; Little Slope; Goat House; living in leaf litter in rainforest. Rare. Remarks. This species is currently listed as Critically Endangered in NSW and is infrequently seen, despite its relatively large size. Population sizes are probably very low but may recover once the threat of rodent predation is removed. Pseudocharopa whiteleggei overlaps in range with its congeners, but in a different habitat type. This is the largest charopid species in Australia. Pseudocharopa whiteleggei. Image A. Moussali.