Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 30, 2026

Candidula

Candidula is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Geomitridae, . the hairy snails and their allies.

Last revised
Jun 30, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
776 w
Citations
6
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Candidula
Two live individuals of Candidula unifasciata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Geomitridae
Genus: Candidula
Kobelt, 18711
Type species
Glischrus (Helix) candidula
Studer, 1820
Synonyms
  • Xeroalbina Monterosato, 1892
  • Xerocodia Monterosato, 1892
  • Xerotringa Monterosato, 1892
  • Xerovaga Monterosato, 1892

Candidula is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Geomitridae, .23 the hairy snails and their allies.

The genus is characterized by the presence of a big dart sac, a sac containing an arrow-like structure found on a land snail's reproductive organs.

Species

Species within the genus Candidula s.l. include:45

Species brought into synonymy
  • Candidula arganica (Servain, 1880): synonym of Zarateana arganica (Servain, 1880) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula belemensis (Servain, 1880): synonym of Xeroplexa belemensis (Servain, 1880)
  • Candidula camporroblensis (Fez, 1944): synonym of Backeljaia camporroblensis (Fez, 1944) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula corbellai Martínez-Ortí, 2011: synonym of Backeljaia corbellai (Martínez-Ortí, 2011) (original combination)
  • Candidula coudensis Holyoak & Holyoak, 2010: synonym of Xeroplexa coudensis (Holyoak & Holyoak, 2010) (original combination)
  • Candidula fiorii (Alzona & Alzona Bisacchi, 1938): synonym of Xerogyra fiorii (Alzona & Alzona Bisachii, 1938) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula gigaxii (Pfeiffer, 1847): synonym of Backeljaia gigaxii (L. Pfeiffer, 1847) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula grovesiana (Paulucci, 1881): synonym of Xerogyra grovesiana (Paulucii, 1881) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula intersecta (Poiret, 1801): synonym of Xeroplexa intersecta (Poiret, 1801) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula najerensis (Ortiz de Zárate y López, 1950): synonym of Backeljaia najerensis (Ortiz de Zárate y López, 1950) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula olisippensis (Servain, 1880): synonym of Xeroplexa olisippensis (Servain, 1880) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula rocandioi (Ortiz de Zárate y López, 1950): synonym of Zarateana rocandioi (Ortiz de Zárate y López, 1950) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula setubalensis (Pfeiffer, 1850): synonym of Xeroplexa setubalensis (L. Pfeiffer, 1850) (invalid combination)
  • Candidula spadae (Calcara, 1845): synonym of Xerogyra spadae (Calcara, 1845) (invalid combination)
  • † Candidula striataformis (Lörenthey, 1906): synonym of † Helicella striataformis (Lörenthey, 1906)
  • Candidula ultima (Mousson, 1872): synonym of Orexana ultima (Mousson, 1872) (invalid combination)

Taxonomy

Molecular phylogenetic studies revealed the polyphyly of the genus being divided into at least six genera6

The species of Candidula s.l. should be classified as follows:

References

References

  1. (in German) Kobelt W. (1871). Catalog der im europäischen Faunengebiet lebenden Binnenconchylien. Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der in Rossmässler's Sammlung enthaltenen Arten. pp. I-XVI [= 1-16], 1–150. Cassel. page 22. PDF.
  2. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Candidula Kobelt, 1871. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=426353 on 2020-07-25
  3. Razkin, Oihana; Gómez-Moliner, Benjamín Juán; Prieto, Carlos Enrique; Martínez-Ortí, Alberto; Arrébola, José Ramón; Muñoz, Benito; Chueca, Luis Javier; Madeira, María José (February 2015). "Molecular phylogeny of the western Palaearctic Helicoidea (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 83: 99–117. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.11.014. PMID 25485783.
  4. Welter Schultes F.(2009). "Genus summary for Candidula". AnimalBase, Accessed 14 November 2014.
  5. "COL". COL. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  6. Chueca, Luis J.; Gómez-Moliner, Benjamín J.; Madeira, María José; Pfenninger, Markus (January 2018). "Molecular phylogeny of Candidula (Geomitridae) land snails inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers reveals the polyphyly of the genus". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 118: 357–368. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.10.022. PMID 29107619.
  • Bank, R. A. (2017). Classification of the Recent terrestrial Gastropoda of the World. Last update: July 16, 2017.
External links