Virginia Land Snails

Photo(s): The Anguispira kochi shell is taller and smoother than many of its relatives. Image by Bill Frank ©.

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Anguispira kochi (Pfeiffer, 1821)

Family: Discidae
Common name: Banded Globe

Identification
Width: 19.5-31.0 mm
Height:  15-21 mm
Whorls: ≈6

The shell of Anguispira kochi is a robust heliciform shape, the largest in its Family (Pilsbry, 1948).  The lip is simple and the umbilicus is wide. The surface is a matte yellow with two dark brown spiral bands above.

Ecology
The habitat of Anguispira kochi is leaf litter and coarse woody debris, on river bluffs and in dry woods (Pilsbry, 1948; Hubricht, 1985). In Michigan, Goodrich (in Pilsbry, 1948) reports it is an animal of old forest, rarely found even in second-growth timber. Although it is widespread, this species is not common in the East - it is often found as a subfossil shell or in river drift.

Taxonomy
Synonyms for A. kochi are Helix solitaria, H. kochi, Patula solitaria, and Pyramidla solitaria.

Distribution
Anguispira kochi is reported from southern Michigan, west and south to Indiana and Tennessee, and east into Pennsylvania, but also in a disjunct population in the Pacific Northwest. These are the first reports of this species in Virginia, where it was collected in Scott County by John Slapcinsky and in Alleghany County by Ken Hotopp and team.

NatureServe Global Rank: G5
NatureServe State Rank: not ranked

 

Ken Hotopp 1/2013

Range Map