Stenotrema stenotrema

Stenotrema stenotrema
An inland slitmouth found in Bullitt County, Kentucky
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Polygyridae
Genus:	Stenotrema
Species:	S. stenotrema
Binomial name
Stenotrema stenotrema (L. Pfeiffer, 1842)
Synonyms
Helix stenotrema L. Pfeiffer, 1842 (unaccepted) Polygyra stenotrema L. Pfeiffer, 1842 (unaccepted) Stenotrema convexa Rafinesque, 1819 (nomen nudum)

Stenotrema stenotrema, also known as the inland slitmouth, is a species of pulmonate land snail in the family Polygridae.

Physical appearance

Inland slitmouths possess medium-sized, depressed globose shells, ranging from reddish-brown to light brown in color. It is strongly rounded, with little evidence of a keel and a low, cone-shaped spire. There are 5 to 6 whorls. Like other members of the Stenotrema genus, the shell's surface is covered in fine, short hairs. The aperture is narrow and transverse, with a defined, curved parietal tooth and notched basal lip. Inland slitmouths tend to range from 7.5-11.0 mm (0.3-0.43 in) in width and 5.5-8.0 mm (0.22-0.32 in) in height. ^{[1] [2]}

The inland slitmouth is most visually similar to Stenotrema hirsutum and Stenotrema brevipila . ^[1]

Ecology

The inland slitmouth has one of the largest ranges of any Stenotrema species, spanning from Texas in the west to Virginia in the east, and from Louisiana in the south to Illinois to the north. It is only ranked in six states, being listed as vulnerable in Illinois and Missouri, apparently secure in Virginia, and secure in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. It is globally listed as secure. ^[3]

Inland siltmouths are found in a variety of different habitats, such as forests, bluffs, ravines, pastures, roadsides, and clearings. However, they are most commonly found in leaf litter along wooded hillsides in lower elevation mixed hardwood forests. ^{[4] [5]} They have frequently been recorded in national forests, wilderness areas, and other protected lands such as Land Between the Lakes, Sipsey Wilderness Area, and Bankhead National Forest. ^{[6] [7]} The species has also been found in caves throughout Franklin, Marion, Pickett, and Van Buren counties in Tennessee. ^[8]

References

1. Clench, W. J. & Banks, G. S. (1932). Descriptions of some land snails of southwestern North Carolina. The Nautilus. 46(1): 14-18, pl. 2, figs. 1-7.
2. "Stenotrema stenotrema". Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
3. "Stenotrema stenotrema". NatureServe Explorer 2.0. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
4. Hubricht, Leslie (1985). The distributions of the native land mollusks of the Eastern United States. Field Museum of Natural History.
5. Dourson, D.C. 2013. Land snails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and southern Appalachians. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 336 pp.
6. Dourson, D. and K. Feeman. 2006. A survey of terrestrial Mollusca in selected areas of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science, 67(1): 9-18.
7. Waggoner, J., S.A. Clark, K.E. Perez, and C. Lydeard. 2006. A survey of terrestrial gastropods of the Sipsey Wilderness (Bankead National Forest), Alabama. Southheastern Naturalist, 5(1): 57-68.
8. Lewis, J.J. 2005c. Bioinventory of Caves of the Cumberland Escarpment Area of Tennessee. Final Report to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency & The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee. Lewis & Associates LLC, 158 pp.