| Remarks: | The family Endodontidae is endemic to the Pacific basin. It is the most diverse land snail family in the Pacific. Endodontidae have been severely affected by human activities and much of the once huge diversity has now disappeared. They are mostly ground-dwelling snails and many species have the curious habit of depositing their eggs in the shell umbilicus. Both these characteristics probably make them highly susceptible to habitat degredation and predation by introduced ants (on eggs and juveniles especially). Their relatively low diversity in [Western] Samoa may be related to the presence of endemic ants, which are not known from American Samoa.
Most endodontids (and charopids—see below) possess flat, strongly ribbed shells, frequently with a number of apertural barriers. More information on endodontids throughout the Pacific can be found in volume 1 of Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands by Alan Solem (1976; listed in the bibliography towards the end of this guide). |