Copse Snail

Description:

Shell usually brown with numerous pale yellowish rows of spots and usually with a brown band above the priphery, occasionaly yellowish, reddish or with greenish hue, weakly striated and with fine spiral lines on the upper side, 5-5.5 convex whorls with deep suture, last whorl slightly descending near aperture, aperture with prominent white lip inside, margin reflected, umbilicus entirely covered by the reflected columellar margin. The animal is usually black. Shell shape globular in most present-day populations, but originally believed to have been depressed in the Pleistocene, before lowlands were invaded and shells became globular, re-invading mountain regions except some isolated spots among the glaciers. Reproduction usually after copulation, but self-fertilization is also possible, in France, Britain and Germany 30-50 eggs (diameter 2.5-3.3 mm) are laid between July and September in a yellowish opaque envelope, juveniles hatch after 15-25 days, maturity is reached with full shell size after 1-2 years, occasionally later, life span around 4 years, maximum age up to 14 years.

Habitat:

NW and central Europe with Alps and Carpathians, E Pyrenees (Spain) to N Norway and Iceland, N Ireland, Kaliningrad, Estonia, Latvia, scattered to Serbia, Bulgaria and W Ukraine.

Notes:

Crazy Fact: If snails hatched more than 50 m distant from each other, they are considered isolated since they would not move more than 25 m (neighbourhood area 32-50 m), usually they move about 7-12 m in a year, mostly along water currents.