Helicella itala

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Helicella itala
Helicella itala 01.JPG
shell of Helicella itala
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora
informal group Sigmurethra
Superfamily:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
H. itala
Binomial name
Helicella itala
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Helicella (Helicella) itala(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Helix italaLinnaeus, 1758 (original combination)

Helicella itala is a species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Geomitridae, the hairy snails and their allies. [1]

Contents

The English common name for this species is Heath snail.

Subspecies

Life cycle

The width of the egg is 1.5 mm. [2]

Drawing of a love dart of Helicella itala. Helicella itala dart.jpg
Drawing of a love dart of Helicella itala.

This species of snail makes and uses love darts during mating.

Description

The 12–20 mm. shell is broad and very depressed with an open coil forming a convex, low spire. The umbilicus is very wide. The whorls are slightly convex, and have shallow sutures. The aperture is elliptical and lacks an internal rib. The surface (periostracum) is white or pale yellow-brown. The shell often (but not always) has dark brown or yellow-brown spiral bands, and the surface has fine irregular growth ridges.

Distribution

Distribution Helicella-itala-map-eur-nm-moll.jpg
Distribution

The common Heath snail is a West Palearctic species which is found in the British Isles, France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Poland.

Habitat

The animals live on dry, exposed habitats, such as roadsides and railway embankments, vegetated sand dunes as well as rock boulders and short grassland. They live up to 2000 m above sea level in the Alps and Pyrenees.

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References

  1. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Helicella itala (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=426387 on 2021-02-01
  2. Heller J.: Life History Strategies. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs . CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN   0-85199-318-4. 1-146, cited page: 428.