Helicella itala
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Helicella itala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| shell of Helicella itala | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Geomitridae |
| Genus: | Helicella |
| Species: | H. itala |
| Binomial name | |
| Helicella itala (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
 | |
| Distribution | |
| Synonyms | |
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Helicella itala is a species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Geomitridae, the hairy snails and their allies.[1]
The English common name for this species is heath snail.
- Subspecies
- Helicella itala itala (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Helicella itala pampelonensis (A. Schmidt, 1855)
The width of the egg is 1.5 mm.[2]
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.
banded form, apical side
banded form, umbilical side
white form, apical side
white form, umbilical side
_banded_form,_apical.jpg)
_banded_form,_umbilical.jpg)
_white_form,_apical.jpg)
_white_form,_umbilical.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.
