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Cerion (gastropod)

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  • 4 chapters

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Through Endemism, Evolution and Biogeography

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Cerion has been a model organism in evolutionary biology. The genus has significantly contributed to scientific understanding of evolutionary processes in insular environments, making it a key subject in biogeographical and ecological research.

Distribution

These snails are endemic to islands of the tropical western Atlantic, including southern Florida, The Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Cayman Islands, western Virgin Islands, and Dutch Antilles. They are notable for their absence in Jamaica, the Lesser Antilles, and coastal Central and South America.

Ecology

Cerionid species inhabit nearshore terrestrial vegetation, usually within a few hundred meters of the shore but occasionally further inland, up to a kilometer away in areas influenced by salt spray. These snails thrive in dense but patchy populations, often numbering over ten thousand individuals. They are more visible in open vegetation and less so in leaf litter. The populations are generally uniform in shell size and morphology, with greater uniformity observed in more isolated populations.

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