Vitrina pellucida is species

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 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 Vitrinidae

Vitrinidae

Vitrinidae is a family of small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Limacoidea ....

, the glass snails.

Distribution

This species is known to occur in a number of countries and islands in Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

 and Central Europe

Central Europe

Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...

, including:

• Czech Republic
• Bulgaria
• Czech Republic
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Slovakia
• Great Britain
• Ireland
• and other areas

Shell description

The shell is subglobose, somewhat smooth, pellucid and greenish hyaline in colour. The shell has 3 whorls that enlarge rapidly and are somewhat convex. The body whorl is wide and a little flattened below. The suture is wrinkled. The aperture is lunately rounded.

The width of the shell is 6 mm, the height is 3.5 mm.

Ecology

Predators: This snail is eaten by hedgehog

Hedgehog

A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...

s

Food: This species eats liverworts (Jungermanniaceae

Jungermanniaceae

Jungermanniaceae is the namesake family of leafy liverworts. It is a group of small plants that are widely distributed. Several genera formerly included within the family are now classified in the Myliaceae or Solenostomataceae....

) and decayed leaves. It will also eat dead earthworms and horse manure.

Habitat: These snails live in moist and shady places, but are not usually observed until late in the autumn.

Eggs: Their eggs are deposited in small heaps, and have a membraneous covering.

Parasites of Vitrina pellucida include:

• Elaphostrongylus
  Elaphostrongylus
  Elaphostrongylus is a genus of parasitic nematodes in the family Protostrongylidae.- Species :* Elaphostrongylus cervi Cameron, 1931* Elaphostrongylus panticola Lubinov, 1945* Elaphostrongylus rangiferi Mitskevich, 1958- Life cycle :...
  
  spp.

External links

• http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/home/species?id=1243