Oregon Forestsnail

Description:

An air breathing land snail whose shell contains a spiral pattern of 5 to 6 whorls, and is usually dark reddish‐ brown or yellow to light‐brown; it shows hints of white where it has been partially eroded. There is a prominent white lip (bottom edge of shell) that is easily seen from the ventral side (pic2).

Habitat:

Spotted while hiking on one of the trails in the farthest reaches of the northeast corner of the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. The trail passed thru a spring, which had created a wetland habitat. There were several of these snails there. The Oregon Forestsnail is found along the northwestern Pacific coast region. It ranges from western Oregon and Washington State to southwestern British Columbia. In BC, this snail is mainly found in the Fraser Valley, but is also present in lesser densities in the Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and the North Shore regions. A single population has been discovered on southern Vancouver Island. (considered endangered in Canada).

Notes:

Population size, reproductive timing and habitats, seasonal behaviors, and juvenile activity were assessed in a British Columbia population of the endangered Oregon forestsnail, Allogona townsendiana, over a period of 4 years. Adult snail population size ranged from seven to 47 snails in four × 24-m² sampling sites. The mating period peaked in March and April; adults aggregated in clusters of eight to 14 snails before mating. Pairs of snails were observed to mate for 225 min or more in close proximity to coarse woody debris and stinging nettle, Urtica dioica. Nesting peaked in April—May and resulted in a mean clutch size of 34 eggs (SD = 9). Hatching for two nests occurred at 63 and 64 d after oviposition. Within hours of hatching, juveniles began dispersing from the nest site; by 1 month most had disappeared. Snails tracked with harmonic radar became less active or aestivated from late July to early September and hibernated from early November to mid-March within leaf litter and soil. Preliminary measurements of growth rate indicate this species takes a minimum of 2 years to reach adulthood and has a typical life span of at least 5 years.