Cantareus apertus,[2] commonly known as the green garden snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helicidae, the typical snails.
| Cantareus apertus | |
|---|---|
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| Cantareus apertus in Gavdos, Greece | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Helicidae |
| Genus: | Cantareus |
| Species: | C. apertus
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| Binomial name | |
| Cantareus apertus | |
| Synonyms | |
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Distribution
editCantareus apertus is native to Europe primarily near the Mediterranean Sea, and also North Africa.
Distribution of Cantareus apertus include:
- France west of Rhone estuary[3] It is protected in France, must not be collected for commercial purposes.[3]
- Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea[3]
- Italy, Italian peninsula to Liguria and Romagna[3]
- Ionian islands
- Malta
- Central Greece[3]
- Aegean Islands[3]
- Cyprus (only one locality)[3]
- Mediterranean north Africa[3]
In Salento it is known as municeḍḍe and in Sicily as attuppateḍḍu.
It has also been introduced to other areas:
- It has become established in California and Louisiana.[citation needed]
- Western Australia – nonindigenous[4]
This species is already established in the United States, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.[5]
Description
editThe shell has periostracum which is olive green in colour.[3] The last whorl is much larger than the others.[3] The width of the shell is 22–28 mm.; the height of the shell is also 22–28 mm.[3]
Ecology
editCantareus apertus inhabits Mediterranean shrublands, near cultivated fields, gardens.[3] In Gavdos (Greece) also in woodland spreading on recently abandoned cultivated fields, more rarely in natural habitats.[3]
In Crete this species is active for 3–4 months after the first rainfalls in October. It aestivates buried relatively deep in the soil.[3] In hot, dry weather, it burrows three to six inches[citation needed] into the ground and becomes dormant until rain softens the soil. A white convex epiphragm is created for aestivation.[3]
This species of snail makes and uses love darts.
References
editThis article incorporates public domain text from the reference.[3]
- ^ Born I. (1778). Index rerum naturalium Musei Caesarei Vindobonensis. Pars I.ma. Testacea. Verzeichniß der natürlichen Seltenheiten des k. k. Naturalien Cabinets zu Wien. Erster Theil. Schalthiere. pp. [1–40], 1–458, [1–82]. Vindobonae.
- ^ For those who regard Cornu as available and who classify Helix apertus and Helix aspersa in the same genus and do not like to use Helix for them, the name should be Cornu apertum, but this combination has very rarely been used.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Species summary for Helix apertus". AnimalBase, last modified 24 January 2010, accessed 13 October 2010.
- ^ 2. Helix apertus (Born)
- ^ Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". American Malacological Bulletin 27: 113–132. PDF Archived 16 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
External links
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Media related to Cantareus apertus at Wikimedia Commons
