Pachnodus snail  (Pachnodus velutinus)

Description

The now extinct Pachnodus velutinus was one of a number of land-snail species endemic to the Seychelles islands. A diminutive species, the shell of Pachnodus velutinus was less than 1.5 centimetres wide, with five whorls, and coloured a matt, uniform beige, while, in contrast, the body was black (1). Although the shell was always very thin and poorly calcified, some specimens lacked a calcified shell layer altogether, possessing only a thin outer layer, the periostracum, made of hardened protein (3).

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