The World of Snails

There are around 90 species of terrestrial snail in the British Isles, with considerable variety in terms of habitat, size and appearance. They populate forests, mountains, wetlands, rocks, walls, grassland, sand dunes, gardens and parks. The smallest species, Punctum pygmaeum is only 1mm wide, while the largest, Helix pomatia, can be over 40mm wide. Most British species are smaller than 10mm, un-noticed by most people. Around 20% of species are introduced, including some of the largest such as Helix aspersa and Helix pomatia. H. aspersa has been especially successful, populating gardens and parks all over the country, and being by far the most familiar snail to people. A more recent introduction, Hygromia cinctella, is spreading rapidly across England and Wales. Despite many species being badly affected by human activity, there has not been an extinction of a native British species in the last 5,000 years.

For more information, I recommend the book Land Snails in the British Isles by Robert Cameron.

British snails as pets

It is possible to keep some British snail species as pets - there are only four I would recommend: Helix pomatia, Helix aspersa, Cepaea nemoralis and Cepaea hortensis. Any others are too small or have needs that are too specific to be recreated in captivity. See the section on Giant African Land Snail care, which can broadly apply to these species, except that the tank will not need to be as hot, and of course they require less space and food. If you found them eating a certain plant, provide it for them when they're in captivity. The advantage of keeping these snails as pets is that you can always return them to the wild when you do not wish to look after them anymore.

Helix aspersa (Müller, 1774) (also called Cryptomphalus aspersa, Cantareus aspersus (Giusti, 1995) or Cornu aspersum (Falkner, 1997)):

   [picture on left: David Monniaux; right: Erik Veldhuis]

Shell width is about 30mm. The Shell is light yellow-brown in colour, usually with extensive darker banding and blotching. Shell pattern, colour and size can be very variable. The umbilicus is completely sealed. The surface of the shell has a wrinkled texture. The flesh can be grey, grey-green, brown, or almost black. This snail is by far the most familiar to people - it is the archetypal garden snail. They eat a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and leaves. Lifespan is up to 5 years. When threatened, the snail creates many bubbles from its mantle to confuse predators. They can adapt to a wide range of conditions and are found in gardens, parks, fields, woodlands, dunes and vineyards. Helix aspersa are distributed across Europe and the Mediterranean and have been introduced to North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand - they are the most widespread snail species.

Cepaea nemoralis (Linnaeus, 1758):

  

This species is very common and widespread. The adult shell is 20-24mm wide. The lip of the shell and area around the aperture is brown or black. The shell colour is very variable - it can be yellow, brown, pink, red, orange, beige, pale purple. Many shells have brown/black stripes, up to 5, which can merge together. The shell colour/pattern is dependent upon habitat and climate. The body also varies in colour, from pale yellow through to black.

 underside

They live in gardens, parks, meadows, fields, woodland and sand dunes and eat a wide variety of vegetation and fruit. They are Britain's largest native species. C. nemoralis has been introduced to North America amongst other places.

[picture on top left: Monika Korzeniec; right: A. Abrahami]

Cepaea hortensis (Müller, 1774):

 

This species is very similar to Cepaea nemoralis, but the shell is smaller (about 20mm wide) and more circular in shape. The main difference is that the lip colour is white. Like C. nemoralis, they can be very polymorphic, but are usually yellow or yellow with brown/black stripes (which can merge together). Flesh colour also varies but is usually pale yellow or beige. Lives in many habitats and is also present in North America.

Arianta arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758):

  [pictures: Francisco Welter Schultes]

Shell is usually brown and mottled, often with a single spiral band. Shell width is about 20mm. The spire is usually more conical than that of Cepaea. The flesh is usually dark. Widespread in woodlands and damp places. Eats vegetation.

Cernuella virgata (da Costa, 1778):

  [picture: Francisco Welter Schultes]

This species is very variable, in terms of size and colouration. The shell width ranges from 7 to 18mm. Shell colour is white with brown/black stripes and blotches and has fine radial growth lines. A common snail on sand dunes, grassland and roadside verges. Flesh is pale.

Trichia striolata (Pfeiffer, 1828):

Shell width of about 12mm. Shell colour usually dark brown, but pale ones are not uncommon. The shell is quite flat. Flesh is usually black. Very common in gardens and parks. Eats plants.

Oxychilus cellarius (Müller, 1774):

Shell width of 9-12mm. Spire is very flattened. Shell colour is pale and transparent. The body is pale blue-grey. The species is very common in gardens, hedges, woodland and waste ground. There are four Oxychilus species in the British Isles, all very similar.

Oxychilus alliarius (Miller, 1822):

Shell width of 6-8mm. Spire slightly raised. Shell pale brown or greenish. Body colour dark blue-grey. Emits garlic odour when irritated. Widespread in many habitats.

Discus rotundatus (Müller, 1774):

  [pictures: Francisco Welter Schultes]

Shell width of up to 7mm, with tightly coiled whorls. Shell is very flattened. Shell colour usually dark brown with reddish radial stripes/blotches. Deep radial ribs. Very common, especially in woods and hedges.

Hygromia cinctella (Draparnaud, 1801):

Shell width of about 12mm. Shell colour brown/yellow and slightly translucent. Keeled periphery with white band. Spire relatively conical. The body is grey. A very successful introduced species, spreading rapidly across the country and now widely distributed in southern England. Found in hedges and gardens.

Succinea putris (Linneaus, 1758):

  [picture: Michal Manas]

Shell height of 10-17mm, with three rapidly expanding whorls and shallow sutures. The shell is translucent and amber in colour. Body colour is pale grey and translucent. Common in fens, marshes and reed-beds.

This species is affected by a parasitic flatworm which invades the snail’s tentacles. The tentacles become swollen, green-white, and pulsate (see picture above). This display attracts birds which eat the snail, and the flatworm continues its life cycle inside the bird.

Order Sorbeoconcha

        Family Pomatiasidae

                 Pomatias elegans (Müller, 1774)

Order Architaenioglossa

        Family Aciculidae

                 Acicula fusca (Montagu, 1803)

Order Pulmonata

        Family Ellobiidae

                 Carychium tridentatum (Risso, 1826)

                 Carychium minimum (Müller, 1774)

                 Ovatella myosotis (Draparnaud, 1805)

                 Leucophytia bidentata (Montagu, 1805)

        Family Succineidae

                 Succinea putris (Linneaus, 1758)

                 Succinea oblonga (Draparnaud, 1801)

                 Oxyloma pfeifferi (Rossmässler, 1835)

                 Oxyloma sarsii (Esmark, 1886)

                 Catinella arenaria (Bouchard-Chantereaux, 1837)

        Family Cochlicopidae

                 Cochlicopa lubrica (Müller, 1774)

                 Cochlicopa lubricella (Porro, 1838)

                 Azeca goodalli (Férussac, 1821)

        Family Pyramidulidae

                 Pyramidula rupestris (Draparnaud, 1801)

        Family Vertiginidae

                 Columella edentula (Draparnaud, 1805)

                 Columella aspera (Waldén, 1966)

                 Truncatellina cylindrica (Férrusac, 1807)

                 Truncatellina callicratis (Scacchi, 1833)

                 Vertigo pygmaea (Draparnaud, 1801)

                 Vertigo pusilla (Müller, 1774)

                 Vertigo antivertigo (Draparnaud, 1801)

                 Vertigo substriata (Jeffreys, 1833)

                 Vertigo modesta (Say, 1824)

                 Vertigo lilljeborgi (Westerlund, 1871)

                 Vertigo genesii (Gredler, 1856)

                 Vertigo moulinsiana (Dupuy, 1849)

                 Vertigo geyeri (Lindholm, 1925)

                 Vertigo alpestris (Alder, 1838)

                 Vertigo angustior (Jeffeys, 1830)

        Family Chondrinidae

                 Abida secale (Draparnaud, 1801)

        Family Pupillidae

                 Leiostyla anglica (Wood, 1828)

                 Lauria cylindracea (da Costa, 1776)

                 Lauria sempronii (Charpentier, 1837)

                 Pupilla muscorum (Linnaeus, 1758)

        Family Valloniidae

                 Vallonia costata (Müller, 1774)

                 Vallonia pulchella (Müller, 1774)

                 Vallonia excentrica (Sterki, 1892)

                 Acanthinula aculeata (Müller, 1774)

                 Spermodea lamellata (Jeffreys, 1830)

        Family Enidae:

                 Ena obscura (Draparnaud, 1801)

                 Ena montana (Müller, 1774)

        Family Discidae

                 Discus rotundatus (Müller, 1774)

                 Helicodiscus singleyanus (Pilsbry, 1890)

        Family Punctidae:

                 Punctum pygmaeum (Draparnaud, 1801)

                 Toltecia pusilla (Lowe, 1831)

        Family Vitrinidae

                 Vitrina pellucida (Müller, 1774)

                 Semilimax pyrenaicus (Férussac, 1821)

                 Phenacolimax major (Férussac, 1807)

        Family Zonitidae

                 Zonitoides nitidus (Müller, 1774)

                 Zonitoides excavatus (Alder, 1830)

                 Aegopinella pura (Alder, 1830)

                 Aegopinella nitidula (Draparnaud, 1805)

                 Vitrea subrimata (Reinhardt, 1871)

                 Vitrea crystallina (Müller, 1774)

                 Vitrea contracta (Westerlund, 1871)

                 Nesovitrea hammonis (Ström, 1765)

                 Oxychilus cellarius (Müller, 1774)

                 Oxychilus draparnaudi (Beck, 1837)

                 Oxychilus alliarius (Miller, 1822)

                 Oxychilus helveticus (Blum, 1881)

        Family Euconulidae

                 Euconulus fulvus (Müller, 1774)

                 Euconulus alderi (Gray, 1840)

        Family Ferussaciidae:

                 Celiloides acicula (Müller, 1774)

        Family Clausiliidae:

                 Balea perversa (Linneaus, 1758)

                 Balea biplicata (Montagu, 1803)

                 Macrogastra rolphii (Turton, 1826)

                 Cochlodina laminata (Montagu, 1803)

                 Clausilia dubia (Draparnaud, 1805)

                 Clausilia bidentata (Ström, 1765)

        Superfamily Helicoidea

                 Helix aspersa (Müller, 1774)

                 Helix pomatia (Linneaus, 1758)

                 Cepaea nemoralis (Linnaeus, 1758)

                 Cepaea hortensis (Müller, 1774)

                 Arianta arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)

                 Trichia striolata (Pfeiffer, 1828)

                 Trichia hispida (Linneaus, 1758)

                 Theba pisana (Müller, 1774)

                 Cernuella virgata (da Costa, 1778)

                 Cochlicella acuta (Müller, 1774)

                 Cochlicella barbara (Linnaeus, 1758)

                 Monacha cantiana (Montagu, 1803)

                 Monacha cartusiana (Müller, 1774)

                 Hygromia cinctella (Draparnaud, 1801)

                 Hygromia limbata (Draparnaud, 1805)

                 Ponentina subvirescens (Bellamy, 1839)

                 Helicodonta obvoluta (Müller, 1774)

                 Helicigona lapicida (Linnaeus, 1758)

                 Candidula intersecta (Poiret, 1801)

                 Candidula gigaxii (Pfeiffer, 1850)

                 Helicella itala (Linneaus, 1758)

                 Ashfordia granulata (Alder, 1830)

                 Trochoidea elegans (Gmelin, 1791)

                 Perforatella subrufescens (Miller, 1822)

                 Perforatella rubinigosa (Schmidt, 1853)