German hairy snail

Taxobox
name = "Pseudotrichia rubiginosa"


regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
ordo = Stylommatophora
familia = Hygromiidae
genus = "Pseudotrichia"
species = "Pseudotrichia rubiginosa"The German hairy snail ("Pseudotrichia rubiginosa") is a species of aquatic snail that grows hairs through its shell.

The snail occurs in many places throughout Europe. In In England, it is found along the River Thames in London where it has a habitat at Isleworth Ait. It is also found in Oxfordshire and by the River Medway in Kent. It grows hairs through its shell to allow it to sweat off moisture so that the slime it produces becomes stickier, allowing the mollusc to adhere better to the plants upon which it feeds. The German hairy snail is thought to have come to Britain during the last Ice Age when Britain was still connected to mainland Europe.

References

* [http://www.thameswater.co.uk/UK/region/en_gb/content/News/News_001322.jsp?SECT=Section_Homepage_000431Thames "Water Island Sanctuary For Sweaty, Hairy Snails Becomes London's Latest Local Nature Reserve", 22 Feb 07]