Hygromia cinctella
| Hygromia cinctella | |
|---|---|
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| A live individual of Hygromia cinctella, withdrawn into its shell | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Eupulmonata clade Stylommatophora informal group Sigmurethra |
| Superfamily: | Helicoidea |
| Family: | Hygromiidae |
| Genus: | Hygromia |
| Species: | H. cinctella |
| Binomial name | |
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Hygromia cinctella (Draparnaud, 1801) |
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Hygromia cinctella, known commonly as the girdled snail, is a small European species of air-breathing land snail, native to the Mediterranean region, that belongs to the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Hygromiidae.
For terms see gastropod shell Hygromia cinctella possesses a 6–7 × 10–12 mm dextral shell composed of 5–6 whorls with shallow sutures that form a high conical top and a flattened underside. The last whorl is sharply keeled. The keel has a characteristic white edge, which 'girdles' the shell, giving the snail its common name. The aperture is simple without a lip inside. The umbilicus is very narrow and almost covered by the reflected columellar margin. The shell colour is variable, from whitish grey to horny brown, often with dark spots, slightly translucent, finely and rather regularly striated. The animal is light greyish or with a yellowish hue, often with darker greyish or brownish head and tentacles.
Underside of Girdled snail showing the sealed umbilicum
Active Girdled snail
Girdled snail showing white edge of the shell, keel and pyramidal shape.
Variation: In Sicily, colour morphs include green and yellow and reddish, also with colour bands.
This snail is native to various European countries around the Mediterranean, including south-east France, southern Switzerland, north-west Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia. It has been introduced and is becoming rapidly established in Great Britain, Austria, Czech Republic,Hungary,Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. It has also been recorded in Ireland.
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