Species

BackHemicycla mascaensis Alonso & Ibanez, 1988

Hemicycla mascaensis Alonso & Ibanez, 1988

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum:
  • Class: Mollusca
  • Order: Gastropoda
  • Family: Helicidae
CR Critically Endangered
IUCN Red List Status:

Countries of Occurrence:
Portugal - Azores

Archipelago(s):
Canaries

Assessor/s:
Groh, K. & Alonso, M.R.

Reviewer/s:
Neubert, E., Seddon, M.B., Gómez Moliner, B.J. & Cuttelod, A.

Contributor/s:

Facilitators / Compilers/s:


Assessment Rationale:

This species is only known at a single site in the region of Masca (Teno Mountains) on Tenerife where it is under pressure from recreational activities impacting this ground-dwelling species (Moliner Gomez et al. 2001). It is therefore considered as Critically Endangered (CR) B2ab(iii).

Geographic Range:

This species is endemic to the Canary Islands, where it is only found in the region of Masca (Teno Mountains) on Tenerife, where it was recorded from an area of less than 3 x 3 km (area of occupancy is 9 km2).

Regions:
Spain - Canaries
Extent of Occurrence (EOO):
(km2)
Area of Occupancy (AOO):
9 (km2)
Elevation Lower Limit:
(m)
Elevation Upper Limit:
500 (m)
Biogeographic Realms:
Paleartic
Presence:
Extant
Origin:
Endemic Azores
Seasonality:
Resident

Population:

This large species is thought to be declining.

Habitat and Ecology

This ground-dwelling species is found in typical lowland Canary island vegetation.

Major Threat(s):

The main threats are from urbanisation and use of the region by tourists (path construction, use of mountain bikes on trails, jeep tours, picnic sites and tourist facilities)

Conservation Actions

Recommended actions in Moliner Gomez (2001) include habitat protection. It is not listed by the National Red List (Verdu and Galante 2009) nor on the Canarian List, and as such it is not legally protected.