Pomatias elegans
| Pomatias elegans | |
|---|---|
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| A live and active individual of Pomatias elegans; note how the back of the shell rests on the operculum on the upper surface of the tail | |
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| Live but retracted individual showing shell and operculum with its eccentric nucleus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Littorinoidea |
| Family: | Pomatiidae |
| Subfamily: | Pomatiinae |
| Genus: | Pomatias |
| Species: | P. elegans |
| Binomial name | |
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Pomatias elegans (O. F. Müller, 1774) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Cyclostoma elegans |
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Cyclostoma elegans
Pomatias elegans, common name the round-mouthed snail, is a species of small land snail with an operculum, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Pomatiidae within the superfamily Littorinoidea, the winkles and their allies.
This species is sometimes called a "land winkle".
This species is very common in Southern Europe. Its overall distribution extends as far east as Istanbul and across the Bosphorus from there. It is uncommon in Britain and central Europe. Its distribution in North Africa is poorly documented.
This snail lives only in areas where there are high levels of calcium carbonate such as on limestone or chalk rock, and where there is loose and friable soil. This snail is also sometimes found in coastal sand dunes where the sand has many shell fragments mixed in.
The shell of this species is thick-walled, ovoid and slightly conical. It is composed of 4 ½ - 5 convex spires with the last one as the largest one. The surface of the shell is reticulated with dark spots and discontinued bands of beige and violet colours. The thick and chalky operculum has an eccentric calcified nucleus, and bears a spiral sculpture. The length of the shells varies between 12.5 mm and 15.8 mm and its diameter between 7 mm and 11.5 mm.
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Wikipedia