Otala
Genus of gastropods

Otala is a genus of land snails in the subfamily Helicinae of the family Helicidae.
Archaeological evidence in Morocco indicates the exploitation of O. lactea by ancient Romans as a food source.
01Distribution
02Anatomy
These snails create and shoot love darts as part of their courtship and mating behavior.
03Species
Species within the genus Otala include:
- † Otala desoudiniana (Crosse, 1862)
- Otala hieroglyphicula (Michaud, 1833)
- † Otala jobaeana (Crosse, 1861)
- Otala juilleti (Terver, 1839)
- Otala lactea (Müller, 1774)
- Otala occulta D. Holyoak, G. Holyoak, Gómez Moliner & Chueca, 2020
- Otala orientalis (Pallary, 1918)
- Otala pallaryi (Kobelt, 1909)
- Otala punctata (Müller, 1774)
- Otala ramosi (Ahuir & Liñán, 2021)
- Otala tingitana (Paladilhe, 1875)
- Otala xanthodon (Anton, 1838)
- Species brought into synonymy
- Otala (Otala) alicantensis Truc, 1971 †: synonym of Schlickumia alicantensis (Truc, 1971) †
- Otala (Otala) bottini (Sacco, 1884) †: synonym of Schlickumia bottinii (Sacco, 1884) † (incorrect subsequent spelling; new combination)
- Otala canariensis Mousson, 1872: synonym of Otala lactea (Müller, 1774)
- Otala jacquemetana Mabille, 1883: synonym of Otala lactea (Müller, 1774)
- Otala vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774): synonym of Eobania vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Otala”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Otala punctata2.jpg by Xvazquez, CC BY-SA 3.0
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