Friday, January 11, 2013

Mystery Snail

I originally intended to write this post about the wonderful new snail I found yesterday, detailing its species, characteristics, etc. Unfortunately I haven't been able to identify it. So I'm going to have to settle for a physical description of the shell and snail, and a few conjectures as to its taxonomy.

First off, the shell is about 1.3 mm long (half the length of my fingernail). It could best be described as elongate-tapering in shape, not heliciform like the others I've shown you (e.g. Triodopsis, Ventridens). Also, the surface of the shell is translucent, glossy, and finely striated. It has about 4-5 whorls and is reddish-brown in color. Lastly, the snail's body is a dark-blue color.
(See http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/cbasin/molluscs/introduction4.html)

Time to explore...
Apparently he wasn't too pleased by the look of my hand and decided his shell was safer. I must say, I was a little offended!

In terms of taxonomy, I've been going round in circles trying to pinpoint the family. Obviously this is a micromollusk, a very tiny terrestrial snail. So far, the "thorn" snails of the genus Carychium (family Ellobiidae) are the best fit as far as size (measuring 1 mm +), but the color doesn't match. The "glossy pillar" snails of the genus Cochlicopa resemble this one in the color of the shell and of the body, but they're too big (measuring 5.2-7 mm). I also compared this specimen to the "whorl" snails of the family Vertiginidae (genus Columella, "column" snails), which can measure 2.1 mm and longer. But I can't find the genus in which both the color and the size match up.

If you can identify this snail, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate the information.

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