Some More Pics of My Snails- Barbados, Fulica etc.

[Kevin]

Took some more pictures of some of my snails



Two of my Lissachatina Fulica



One of my Tiger Snails behind the glass of his housing

[Kevin]

One of my unidentified (upto now) Barbados Snails

[Paul]

Zachrysia provisoria

"Shell medium sized 25-30 mm wide with 4-5 whorls,thick and translucent showing the speckled mantle. Dark tan or yellowish brown in color,regular ribs are clearly visible." members.tripod.com/arnobrosi/camaenidae.html

"Shell medium-sized (25 to 30 mm width), globose in shape; four to five rapidly expanding whorls, body whorl increasing in size more than those of the spire; no umbilicus; sculptured with fairly regular, strong, retractively curved axial ribs; body whorl descends greatly near aperture; base swollen, fairly smooth and shining; apertural lip thickened within, slightly reflected; prominent protuberance or buttress on basal lip near columellar insertion; fresh specimens with rich, dark tan periostracum, sometimes with light brown axial streaks; apertural lip and columella white." creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/camaenidae.htm

"Shell medium sized (25-30 mm width), globose in shape with 4 to 5 rapidly expanding whorls; shell translucent so that the speckled black mantle shows clearly through the shell of the living animal. The shell is usually thick and strong, but in acidic environments it can be thin and fragile. Body whorl increasing in size more than those of spire; without umbilicus; sculptured with fairly regular, strong, curved axial ribs. Fresh specimens with rich dark tan covering, sometimes with light brown axial streaks. Older specimens are yellowish brown. Lip and columella white." www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/ento/snail_slugs-pa.htm

[/i][/b]

I've spent the best part of 2 hours looking at various snail pictures, locale info etc and I think my snails are Zachrysia provisoria. And I think yours are the same. Here are my reasons for thinking mine are, They:

are found in Barbados
they burrow in the substrate (wild ones live in leaf litter and dirt)
are the correct size
have the same number of whorls
have very ribbed shells, exactly as pictured and described
have a white columella etc.
have same skin texture

but most importantly....

You can see the speckled mantle through the shell, apparently that is an unmistakable feature. You can see this in the following pic:



How visible it is depends on the particular shell. On mine it is easy to see on the underside.


Now, yours do look very like mine, the ribs on the shell especially, the body colour and skin texture, the eye colour. Mine have a darker head and tail and have a thick white rim/seam to their body at the bottom, more evident at the tail end, like the curl it up ever so slightly when they move. They are the same size. So have a look through the points of identification, especially the speckled mantle. We got them at the same time, it seems plausible they were from the same dealer.

Here is some more shell pictures, don't worry about the uniform colour, mine are far from that golden but there is plenty of variation as always. But they show the shape, and features well:

[Kevin]

Reading through your post and again checking my snails, I think your right, that they are Zachrysia provisoria, thanks for helping identify them