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Project Noah Nature School
Cantareus aspersa
A particularly attractive snail about 22mm across with strong patterns of dark brown and cream colours.
Found on concrete steps after rain.
A very variable species - this one seems much prettier than the usual garden snails from around here. Also 'Helix aspersa' ...Hermaphroditic (reproduction is usually sexual but self-fertilisation occurs), herbivorous, introduced species from Europe to many parts of the world. This species can be an indicator of environmental contamination - the shell acts as a site for deposition of toxic heavy metals, such as lead. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:c...
Spotted on Sep 12, 2013
Submitted on Sep 16, 2013
2 Comments
Thanks for that Stephen. Just goes to show even they can look good sometimes.
Just looks like the common brown garden snail to me, i.e. Helix aspersa (=Cantareus aspersa, =Cornu aspersum)