Nationwide hunt for tiny Mediterranean snail

[ness]

latestnews.virginmedia.com/news/environment/2010/08/26/hunt_on_for_mediterranean_snail

There is a nationwide hunt for the tiny stow-away snail as shown and explained in the article. If anyone happens to come across one of these beauties please contact Matthew Oates, National Trust nature conservation adviser. Oh and we'd all love to hear about it too!

[coyote]

The article said the snail has no English name, but it didn't even mention its scientific name.

[wolf]

Hi,
reminds me of Papillifera papillaris (O.F. MÜLLER, 1774), Clausiliidae. Is that possible?
Kind regards: wolf

[ness]

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7572553.stm

Yes Wolf, and thank you very much for the suggested identification. That was very helpful indeed because on typing in the species name I came across an earlier news publication featuring the same photo (please see the above link).
I do remember reading this before, now I've seen it again

[Robert Nordsieck]

Hi there,

I find it quite astonishing, how this species of door snails got introduced in the UK. There are many examples of snail species introduced with food transports and the like, but I did not imaging they could also be introduced with stones and statues? I will most certainly have to insert this in my door snail page!

Thank you very much for this valuable information!

Kind regards
Robert

[ness]

I'm glad that it's helped you.

I suppose snails (and other creatures) can come in on almost anything - wood, stonework, sacks of produce, anywhere with a place to hide I suppose, and these snails are very small.

[coyote]

Snails get into the US via horticultural shipments from other countries. I suspect that's how the Otalas got into my area.

[alexandra]

I found some snails very similar to these about 18 months ago. I found a little box on the floor and for some reason picked it up and looked in it, and there were four or five of these tiny snails with 'drill like' shells. I'd never seen anything like it! I took them in and fed them moss and lettuce, but I was new to keeping snails, and didn't feel I could get them to eat, so I released them after a couple of weeks.

[ness]

Sept 17, 2010 5:31:02 GMT alexandra said:

I found some snails very similar to these about 18 months ago. I found a little box on the floor and for some reason picked it up and looked in it, and there were four or five of these tiny snails with 'drill like' shells. I'd never seen anything like it! I took them in and fed them moss and lettuce, but I was new to keeping snails, and didn't feel I could get them to eat, so I released them after a couple of weeks.

Where did you find them please (if you don't mind me asking?)

[alexandra]

Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight. What they were doing in a cardboard box on the floor in the middle of a green is anyone's guess. I nearly stepped on the box but for some unknown reason noticed it and examined it. I wonder where those snails are now..