Carthusian snail

The title of this article is ambiguous. See also: Great Carthusian Snail .

Carthusian snail
Carthusian snail ( Monacha cartusiana )
Systematics
Superfamily : Helicoidea Family : Tree slugs (Hygromiidae) Subfamily : Trochulinae Tribe : Monachaini Genre : Monacha Type : Carthusian snail
Scientific name
Monacha cartusiana
( OV Müller , 1774)

The Carthusian snail ( Monacha cartusiana ) is a species of snail from the family tree snails (Hygromiidae) from the order of the land snails (Stylommatophora).

features

When fully grown, the case measures 6 to 10 mm in height and 9 to 18 mm in width. The adult size varies extremely, even within the same population. The housing is low-conical with 5.5 to 6.5 whorls. The whorls are rounded, younger stages have a clear shoulder in the upper part of the whorl. Only the immediate mouth area drops off somewhat in the adult stage compared to the spiral spiral. The edge of the mouth is slightly pressed, the edge of the mouth is sharpened and only slightly thickened on the inside. The outer mouth area is brownish or reddish in color. The thickened inner lip, located a little further in the housing, shines through the housing as a white zone (behind the reddish or brownish rim of the mouth). The navel is very narrow, often completely closed.

The top of the case is matt, glossy, whitish, yellowish to translucent. Brown spots or narrow brown zones are often formed. There are only strips of growth and the peel is relatively thin.

The soft body of the animal is predominantly light yellow with dark pigment spots. The front part is often slightly reddish, the coat is often provided with white spots. The tentacles are also yellow, or more often dark gray and translucent.

In the hermaphroditic genitalia, the free fallopian tube (oviduct) is relatively long, while the vagina is relatively short. The ratio is about 1 to 1. On the side of the vagina there is a longitudinally oriented vaginal protuberance (vaginal sac). The sperm library is comparatively large, with a thick but short stem and a large bladder. Directly below the stalk there are eight elongated processes of the glandulae mucosae in a ring around the vagina . Shortly before the penis joins the vagina, a vaginal appendix starts, which is spherical-knot-shaped and then thread-shaped directly at the base. This extension is twice as long as the vagina.

In the male genital tract, the spermatic duct is comparatively short and not very twisted. It opens into the long, moderately thick epiphallus, which abruptly merges with a nodular thickening into the very thick but short penis. A thin flagellum is formed at the confluence of the vas deferens with the epiphallus. It is significantly shorter than the epiphallus. The epiphallus is about twice as long as the penis. The penis opens into the atrium below the vaginal process. The atrium, the common passage for the sex products of the vagina and penis, is comparatively short.

Similar species

The species is practically indistinguishable from Monacha claustralis on the basis of housing features . In the reproductive system , the Carthusian snail has a vaginal sac, a protuberance on the vagina, the monacha claustralis is missing. The latter type has a long vagina (and a very short free fallopian tube). The Carthusian snail, on the other hand, has a relatively short vagina and a relatively long free fallopian tube. In addition, the epiphallus is shorter on average in this species, and the vaginal process is greatly thickened at the base and then tapers off. In Monacha claustralis , the basal part of the vaginal process is slightly thickened and only slowly decreases in diameter.

Geographical occurrence and habitat

The species was probably originally only native to western and southern Europe. In the east the distribution area extended to Asia Minor, further north over southern Russia to the Crimea . Perhaps it originally appeared in the Upper Rhine Valley. The occurrence in southern England is attributed to very early carry-over. The Arz is meanwhile widespread in Central Europe due to modern anthropogenic displacement, as the meanwhile numerous finds in Germany prove. In the meantime, however, it has not only been transported to Central Europe, but also to North America.

The species prefers open, dry or moist, but warm habitats, such as sunny hedgerow edges and grass slopes, roadsides, but also gardens, parks, vineyards and wastelands. In Switzerland the species rises up to 700 m, in Bulgaria up to 1000 m.

Way of life and reproduction

The animals live on rotting grasses such as fescue fescue ( Festuca arundinacea ), but also common plantain ( Plantago media ). The fungal mycelia, which decompose the plant material, are also absorbed. But detritus is also eaten, as shown by grains of sand in the feces. The Carthusian snail is likely to be a saprophage .

Mating takes place in September. Shortly afterwards, the relatively few but large eggs are laid. Around 15 to 20 eggs are laid per animal. The diameter of the egg is about 1.2 to 1.3 mm or 1.8 mm. Most animals probably die after they lay their eggs. The development should only take 8 to 14 days until the young hatch. The animals are one to a maximum of two years old.

Taxonomy

The species was first scientifically described in 1774 by Otto Friedrich Müller under the name Helix cartusiana . It is the type species of the genus Monacha Fitzinger, 1833. The species and genus are generally recognized. The subfamily name Monachinae based on this genus is a more recent homonym to the seal subfamily Monachinae based on the genus Monachus . The Zoological Nomenclature Commission has therefore decided to change the subfamily name based on Monacha to Monachainae. Monacha carthusiana (or Theba carthusiana ) is a spelling mistake for Monacha cartusiana that is widespread in literature .

Danger

The species is considered harmless.

literature

• Rosina Fechter and Gerhard Falkner: molluscs. 287 p., Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1990 (Steinbach's Nature Guide 10), ISBN 3-570-03414-3 , p. 220.
• Ewald Frömming: Biology of the Central European Landgastropods. 404 S., Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1954 (in the following abbreviated from Frömming, Biologie with corresponding page number).
• Jürgen H. Jungbluth and Dietrich von Knorre: Common names of land and freshwater mollusks in Germany (Gastropoda et Bivalvia). Mollusca, 26 (1): 105-156, Dresden 2008 ISSN  1864-5127
• Michael P. Kerney, RAD Cameron & Jürgen H. Jungbluth: The land snails of Northern and Central Europe. 384 pp., Paul Parey, Hamburg & Berlin 1983 ISBN 3-490-17918-8
• Francisco W. Welter-Schultes: European non-marine molluscs, a guide for species identification = identification book for European land and freshwater mollusks. A1-A3 S., 679 S., Q1-Q78 S., Göttingen, Planet Poster Ed., 2012 ISBN 3-933922-75-5 , ISBN 978-3-933922-75-5 , S. 504.
• Vollrath Wiese: Germany's land snails. 352 pp., Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2014 ISBN 978-3-494-01551-4 , p. 293/94.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Joanna R. Pieńkowska, Małgorzata Proćków, Marcin Górka, Andrzej Lesicki: Distribution of Monacha claustralis (Rossmässler, 1834) and M. cartusiana (OF Müller, 1774) (Eupulmonata: Hygromiidae) in Central European and Balkan countries: new data. Folia Malacologica 26 (2): 103-120, 2018 doi : 10.12657 / folmal.026.009
2. ↑ Karsten Lill, Karsten Grabow and Walter Winner: Monacha cartusiana (OF Müller 1774) in southeast Lower Saxony (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) . Announcements of the German Malacoological Society, 59: 19-24, Frankfurt / M. 1997 ISSN  0418-8861
3. ^ Manfred Matzke: Finds of Arion lusitanicus (Mabille) and Monacha cartusiana (OF Müller) in Halle on the Saale. Announcements of the German Malacoological Society, 53:29, Frankfurt / M. 1994 ISSN  0418-8861
4. ↑ Karsten Lill, On the distribution of Deroceras panormitanum, D. sturanyi, Candidula gigaxii and Monacha cartusiana in Lower Saxony and Bremen (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Agriolimacidae, Hygromiidae). Writings on malacoology from the House of Nature, 17: 79–86, Cismar 2001 ZDB -ID 27154-8
5. ↑ Cartusian snail on Invasive.org
6. ↑ ^{a b} Frömming, Biologie, p. 278
7. ^ AnimalBase
8. ↑ Gary M. Barker (Ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs . 558 pp., CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-85199-318-4 . see p. 428.
9. ↑ Otto Friedrich Müller: Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Volume alterum. P. I-XXXVI (= 1-36), P. 1-214, Heineck & Faber, Havniæ / Copenhagen & Lipsiæ / Leipzig. Biodiversity Heritage Library , p. 15.
10. ↑ MolluscaBase: Monacha cartusiana ( OV Müller, 1774) Version from November 11, 2017
11. ↑ OPINION 2135 (Case 3261) ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ↑ Monacha cartusiana in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2013.2. Posted by: Neubert, E., 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2014.