Virginia Land Snails

Photo(s): Yellow Vertigo tridentata shell image by Jeff Nekola ©.

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Vertigo tridentata Wolf, 1870

Family: Vertiginidae

Indentification
Height: ~2.0 mm
Width: ~1.1 mm
Whorls: 4-5

Like Vertigo parvula, this species has a smooth shell surface, honey-yellow color, and lacks a basal lamella. It differs from V. parvula in its larger size, deeper suture, and common presence of an upper palatal lamella.

Ecology
Vertigo tridentata populations are found in graminiod thatch on calcareous prairie and bedrock glades, in well-decomposed leaf litter on shaded cliff ledges and talus, and occasionally in upland forest. Hubricht (1985) reported it crawling on mints, while Pilsbry (1948) mentioned it foraging over a meter off the ground on “weeds.” It has also been seen crawling on Sedum spp. on limestone cliff ledges in the Arkansas Ozarks (Nekola & Coles, 2010).

Distribution
Vertigo tridentata ranges across east-central North America from the Texas Gulf coast and central Minnesota east through central Tennessee and southern Ontario to western Vermont and southern Quebec.

In Virginia this species is restricted to calcareous districts in the western mountains.

NatureServe Global Rank: G5
NatureServe State Rank: S3

 

Jeff Nekola 9/2012

Range Map