Zonitoides excavatus
Encyclopedia
Zonitoides excavatus is a European species
of small, air-breathing land snail
, a terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Gastrodontidae
.
. The umbilicus is extremely wide and perspectivically open (like Discus rotundatus
). The shell
is weakly brown, slightly transparent, with radial streaks. The animal is dark.
The width of the shell is 5.3-6 mm. The height of the shell is 2.8-3.4 mm.
in old natural forests, sometimes also in swamps (western Ireland and western Great Britain). It lives only on non-calcareous soils. It tolerates some degree of human disturbance and replanting, but usually not in forest plantations.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of small, air-breathing land snail
Land snail
A land snail is any of the many species of snail that live on land, as opposed to those that live in salt water and fresh water. Land snails are terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells, It is not always an easy matter to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less...
, a terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Gastrodontidae
Gastrodontidae
Gastrodontidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the clade Eupulmonata ....
.
Distribution
Distribution of Zonitoides excavatus include:- British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland. In Britain it restricted to a few regions, but frequent in the zones where it occurs (CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, south of London, west Wales, southwest and northwest Ireland, central England, southwest Scotland). - Endangered in Germany (2009).
- Denmark
- Belgium
- northern France.
Description
Zonitoides excavatus is smaller than Zonitoides nitidusZonitoides nitidus
Zonitoides nitidus is a species of small, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Gastrodontidae.Zonitoides nitidus is the type species of the genus Zonitoides.-Distribution:...
. The umbilicus is extremely wide and perspectivically open (like Discus rotundatus
Discus rotundatus
Discus rotundatus is a species of small, air-breathing, land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Discidae, the disk snails.-Distribution:...
). The shell
Gastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
is weakly brown, slightly transparent, with radial streaks. The animal is dark.
The width of the shell is 5.3-6 mm. The height of the shell is 2.8-3.4 mm.
Ecology
Zonitoides excavatus lives in leaf litter zone and under dead woodDead wood
Forestry and gardening* coarse woody debris, fallen dead trees and the remains of large branches on the ground in forests.* large woody debris, logs, branches, and other wood that falls into streams and rivers....
in old natural forests, sometimes also in swamps (western Ireland and western Great Britain). It lives only on non-calcareous soils. It tolerates some degree of human disturbance and replanting, but usually not in forest plantations.