March snail
| March snail | ||||||||||||
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March snail ( Zebrina detrita ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Zebrina detrita | ||||||||||||
| ( OV Müller , 1774) |
The March snail ( Zebrina detrita ), also called white tower snail , zebra snail or Kaiserstuhl snail , is a species of snail from the family of wolverines (Enidae) that lives on land . The family is counted to the subordination of the land snails (Stylommatophora).
features
The housing reaches an adult size of 12 to 25 mm in height and a diameter of 8 to 12 mm. It is elongated-conical in outline and right-handed. It has 6.5 to 7 turns. The turns are only slightly arched. There are relatively slim and relatively bulky specimens at the same height. The mouth is ear-shaped and pointed at the top. The edge of the mouth is only slightly thickened and slightly bent in the spindle area.
The surface is glossy with thick layers. There are also spiral stripes on the first turns. The basic color is usually whitish and cream-colored. Most of the specimens are provided with light, dark to reddish brown horizontal stripes, but these are arranged irregularly on the surface. The shell is quite thick and has solid walls.
The soft body is yellowish-gray to light gray in color. When the temperature drops in late autumn, the soft body becomes a little darker, in spring it becomes a little lighter again when the temperature rises.
Geographical distribution and habitat
The distribution area extends from southern and southeastern France through southern Germany and the Czech Republic to Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. There are also some smaller deposits in southern England. In Germany, the northern border is roughly at the level of the Harz Mountains. In the Alps it can rise up to 1600 m. The March snail has now also been transported to other regions of the world.
The March snail prefers sunny and dry locations on limestone soils, such as B. grasslands, vineyards and dry meadows.
Way of life
Due to the dryness of their habitats, two breeding seasons can usually be observed. The first in April / May and the second in late summer / early autumn. In southern Germany, Friederike Kunz and Angelika Kobel-Lamparski observed that the young only hatched in autumn, which indicates only one reproductive period. The copulations take place after damp weather, in spring after the first warm rainy days. Copulation takes about an hour and can take place several times. About 10 to 20 days after copulation, 16 to 68 eggs are buried in loose soil; the eggs usually come to rest individually, d. H. the individual eggs of a clutch are separated from the others by soil. The eggs are spherical, whitish and have a diameter of 2.0 to 2.4 mm. The young hatch after 27 to 36 days of development. They initially feed on decaying plant parts, the older animals also eat wilted plant parts. The animals are fully grown and sexually mature at around 2 to 2½ years of age. They can live to be five and a half years old. During longer periods of drought, the animals fall into drought. They can often be found in large numbers attached to parts of plants, branches, leaves or stems. The species is often an intermediate host for the small liver fluke ( Dicrocoelium dendriticum ).
Taxonomy and nomenclature
The species was first scientifically described by Otto Friedrich Müller as Helix detrita in 1774. There are at least five synonyms. Jungbluth and von Knorre propose the term white tower snail as a common German name, and large tower snail is also used by some authors. Other newer proposals are the zebra snail or the white wolverine snail. However, the latter two names have not yet found widespread use. Since the name tower snail is already reserved for marine snails ( tower snails = Turritellidae), the name recommended by Jungbluth and Knorre is not used here, and instead the name March snail, which is mainly used in older literature, is used. It is also one of the few popular names among land snails.
The species is divided by some authors into four subspecies, Z. detrita detrita (OF Müller), Z. detrita cilica Kobelt, Z. detrita inflata Kobelt and Z. detrita major Westerlund. However, the exact distribution areas of these subspecies are unclear.
Danger
The March snail is considered to be endangered in Germany and Austria.
supporting documents
literature
- Klaus Bogon: Land snails biology, ecology, biotope protection. 404 p., Natur Verlag, Augsburg 1990, ISBN 3-89440-002-1
- Rosina Fechter and Gerhard Falkner: molluscs. 287 pp., Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1990 (Steinbach's Nature Guide 10), ISBN 3-570-03414-3
- 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 PDF
- Michael P. Kerney, Robert AD Cameron & Jürgen H. Jungbluth: The land snails of Northern and Central Europe. 384 pp., Paul Parey, Hamburg & Berlin 1983, ISBN 3-490-17918-8
- Friederike Kunz, Angelika Kobel-Lamparski: Phenology and population structure of the land pulmonate snail Zebrina detrita (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Enidae). Malakologische Abhandlungen, 20 (2): 253-262, Dresden 2002 ISSN 0070-7260
- 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., Planet Poster Ed., Göttingen 2012, ISBN 3-933922-75-5 , ISBN 978-3-933922-75-5 (hereinafter Welter-Schultes, Identification book and corresponding page number)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Otto Friedrich Müller: Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Volume alterum. SI-XXXVI, pp. 1-214, Copenhagen & Leipzig, Heineck & Faber, 1774 Online at www.biodiversitylibrary.com (p. 101).
- ↑ Fauna Europaea
- ^ Vollrath Wiese: The land snails of Germany. 352 pp., Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2014 ISBN 978-3-494-01551-4 (p. 117)
- ↑ Welter-Schultes, Identification Book, p. 132
