Giant snail
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Giant snail ( Zonites algirus (Linné, 1758)) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Zonites algirus | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The giant gloss snail ( Zonites algirus ) is a land snail from the family of the giant gloss snail (Zonitidae); this is placed in the subordination of land snails (Stylommatophora). The giant gloss snail is one of the largest members of the family.
features
The housings are flattened-flat cone-shaped and reach a diameter of up to 5.5 cm in the adult stage. The navel is wide and open. In the youth stages, the walkways are keeled, the last walkway is rounded. The upper side shows granular growth strips, the underside is shiny with coarse growth strips. The color varies from light yellow to dark brown.
Occurrence, way of life and distribution
The giant snail lives in forests, semi-open terrain, vineyards, under stones, hedges, bushes dug into the ground. The animals feed on organic detritus. The species was originally restricted to the Peloponnese, Kithira, Lesbos and the west coast of Asia Minor near Pergamon. The giant gloss snail was probably brought to the coasts of southern France, Liguria and Apulia (Italy) in ancient times. It may have already died out in Liguria. A small deposit was recently found on a small island in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul.
Systematics
Zonites algirus is the type species of the genus Zonites Montfort, 1810.
Individual evidence
- ^ AnimalBase
- ↑ Aydin Örstan: Rediscovery of Zonites algirus in Istanbul, Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East, 29: 75-78, Heidelberg 2003 ISSN 0939-7140
literature
- Rosina Fechter and Gerhard Falkner: molluscs. 287 pp., Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1990 (Steinbach's Nature Guide 10), ISBN 3-570-03414-3