Virginia Land Snails

Photo(s): Shell of Vallonia perspectiva by Larry Watrous ©.

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Vallonia perspectiva Sterki, 1893

Family: Valloniidae
Common name: Thin-lip Vallonia

Identification
Width: 2 mm
Height: 0.7 mm
Whorls: 3.5

The shell for this species has a similar shape to others in its family, with large whorls and a very low apex. The umbilicus is very wide, allowing for a view, or perspective, of interior whorls. The radial ribs are moderately pronounced though somewhat delicate. The shell itself is thin and pale. The rounded aperture has a flared lip that, in contrast to V. parvula, is not particularly thick. Though smaller, this species resembles V. cyclophorella.

Ecology
Vallonia perspectiva is a calciphile that likes habitats with broken rock - railroad tracks for example, or talus slopes in the woods (Hubricht, 1985). Some authors suggest that most Vallonia species are introduced in eastern North America (e.g. Nekola, 2008).

Distribution
This species’ range seems to be wide but also somewhat sparse, having been identified in twenty-one states from the Dakotas south to Arizona and mountains in Mexico, and east through the mid-Atlantic states, in several of these only in one or two counties. Records are somewhat more concentrated in Virginia, appearing in the northern tip of the state as well as at a few points along the southern border.

NatureServe Global Rank: G4G5
NatureServe State Rank: S3

 

Ken Hotopp, Greg Kimber 11/2012

Range Map