Cecilioides acicula

Taxobox
name = "Cecilioides acicula"


image_caption = Two fresh shells of "Cecilioides acicula" The scale bar is in millimeters
status = NE [IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 26 August 2008.]
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
ordo = Stylommatophora
familia = Ferussaciidae
genus = "Cecilioides"
subgenus = "Cecilioides"
species = "C. acicula"
binomial = "Cecilioides acicula"
binomial_authority = (O. F. Müller, 1774) [Müller, O. F. 1774. Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Volumen alterum. - pp. I-XXVI [= 1-36] , 1-214, [1-10] . Havniæ & Lipsiæ. (Heineck & Faber).]
synonyms = "Caecilianella acicula" (Müller)

"Cecilioides acicula", common name the Blind Snail or Blind Awlsnail, is a species of very small, air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ferussaciidae.

Description

This animal has no eyes. The shell is long and narrow, up to a maximum of 5.5 mm and a width of 1.2 mm.M.P. Kerney and R.A.D. Cameron, 1979, "A Field Guide to the Land Snails of Britain and North-west Europe". Collins, London, ISBN 0 00 219676 X] The shell is colorless, glassy and transparent when it is fresh, a somewhat opaque milky-white when it is not fresh.

Habitat

The habitat of this species is underground, quite some distance below the surface. It is more common in soils with a high level of calcium.

Because of its subterranean habitat, this species is often found only as an empty shell, in such places as mole hills, ant hills, or in flood debris of rivers.

Distribution

This species native range is Mediterranean Europe (Spain, …), Western Europe (Ireland [Anderson, R. 2005. An Annotated List of the Non-Marine Mollusca of Britain and Ireland. InvertebrateIreland Online, Ulster Museum, Belfast and National Museum of Ireland , Dublin http://www.habitas.org.uk/InvertebrateIreland/species.asp?item=4173, cited 26th August 2008.] , Netherlands [http://www.anemoon.org/anm/voorlopige-kaarten/kaarten-per-soort/landmollusken/wetenschappelijk/cecilioides-acicula "Cecilioides acicula", cited 27 August 2008] , …) and Central Europe (Czech Republic - least concern (LC) [Juřičková L., Horsák M. & Beran L., 2001: Check-list of the molluscs (Mollusca) of the Czech Republic. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem., 65: 25-40.] , Poland, Slovakia, …).

It has also been accidentally introduced to several other countries:
* Latvia since 2006 [Šteffek J., Stalažs A. & Dreijers E., 2008: [http://mollusca.sav.sk/pdf/7/7.Steffek2.pdf Snail fauna of the oldest cemeteries from Riga (Latvia)] . – Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, 7: 79–80. Online serial at 29-September-2008.]
* Bermuda since 1861 [Bieler, R. & Slapcinsky, J. 2000. A case study for development of an island fauna: recent terrestrial mollusks of Bermuda. Nemouria No. 44:1-99.]
* The USA (in Pennsylvania and in Florida [Pilsbry, H.A. 1946. Land Mollusca of North America (north of Mexico). Volume 2, part 1. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.] , in Maryland since 1959 [Grimm, W. 1959. Land snails of Carroll County, Maryland. Nautilus 72:122-127.] , in Virginia since 2006 [Aydın Örstan 2007. A new record of "Cecilioides acicula" from North America (Pulmonata: Ferussaciidae). Triton, March 2007, no 15, page 38. See also http://snailstales.blogspot.com/2007/03/cecilioides-acicula-tiny-invader-from.html] , in California, in New Jersey and in New Mexico [http://www.natureserve.org cited in 26 August 2008 [http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?sourceTemplate=tabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=species_RptComprehensive.wmt&selectedReport=RptComprehensive.wmt&summaryView=tabular_report.wmt&elKey=117280&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=117280&offPageSelectedElType=species&offPageYesNo=true&post_processes=&radiobutton=radiobutton&selectedIndexes=117280 Comprehensive Report Species - Cecilioides acicula] ] )
* New Zealand [Barker, G.M. 1999. Naturalised terrestrial Stylommatophora (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Fauna of New Zealand. No. 38. Manaaki Whenua Press.] .

References

External links

* http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/home/species?id=1286
* http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=274523