Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail vs Common Tarcrust

Aetholitis gerdesae compared with Diatrype stigma

Key Differences

• Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail is Least Concern while Common Tarcrust is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail	Common Tarcrust
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)
Order	Stylommatophora (Stylommatophora)	Xylariales (Xylariales)
Family	Camaenidae	Diatrypaceae
Genus	Aetholitis	Diatrype
Species	Aetholitis gerdesae	Diatrype stigma

Conservation Status

Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail

LC — Least Concern

Common Tarcrust

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail	Common Tarcrust
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Found in Australia.

Common Tarcrust

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail

The Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail (Aetholitis gerdesae) is a species in the genus Aetholitis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Common Tarcrust

<em>Diatrype stigma</em>, the common tarcrust, is a saprotrophic fungus in the family Diatrypaceae, found across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, as well as more broadly in Europe and temperate regions globally. It grows as a crust-like, charcoal-black stromata on the dead bark and branches of deciduous hardwoods, particularly hazel, beech, and alder. The fruiting bodies are typically flat to slightly raised, dark gray to black patches that contain numerous embedded perithecia in which ascospores are produced. This fungus plays an important ecological role as a decomposer, breaking down dead woody material and recycling nutrients in forest ecosystems. It is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List; given its broad distribution on common substrates, it is generally considered widespread. The species reproduces via wind-dispersed ascospores released from the perithecia. Diet, as a saprotrophic organism, consists of dead organic woody matter. Biological traits such as colony growth rates, spore output, and longevity remain poorly documented in standardized quantitative assessments.