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Project Noah Nature School
Victaphanta atramentaria
A snail with a black shell about 35mm wide and 25mm high.The shell had about four whorls. The centre was a pale creamy yellow. The foot was reddish-orange in colour ( pics #4 & 5)
Damp schlerophyll forests. Spotted this snail in a damp tall eucalyptus forest. It was crossing a walking track on a rainy day - temp. about 9 deg.C.
They require deep leaf litter.
Occurrence record:
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:b...
I spotted what I thought looked like a shiny prune on the track and it turned out to be this beautiful black snail. I was so thankful that I did not step on it. It had withdrawn it's foot and would not come out for ages. All I could manage after 10 mins was pic #1. This terrestrial snail is indigenous to Australia and this species is found in South Eastern Victoria. I am so excited to have found this- nearly threatened species ! Was worth going out on this cold rainy day to a leech infested forest.
Spotted on May 4, 2012
Submitted on May 4, 2012
2 Comments
That's impressive, leuba. I've never noticed these.
This is a fantastic find. Like probably all others who grew up here I have never seen a 'native' snail. And of course it looks so different to the common garden snails. If they are at risk of disappearing it's an even better spotting.