I concur that this is Oxychilus draparnaldi.  Not withstanding the shell characteristics, the dark animal coloration with grayish coloration on the foot is identical to specimens that I have collected from other locations. Many California records for O. draparnaldi from San Francisco to San Diego dating back a half century or more have been published.

At 07:46 AM 4/27/2002, you wrote:
Dear Aydin and Conch-L,
   You have asked a fair question. My first, unhelpful response is that the
snail doesn't look like Haplotrema, and does look like Oxychilus.
   To be more helpful, let's see. I am looking at the pictures on
http://members.telocity.com/~jlmw1815/snails and comparing them to Kerney &
Cameron (1979 "Land Snails of Britain and North-west Europe", p. 123-124 and
plates 9 & 10 (Oxychilus)), and Pilsbry (1946, "Land Mollusca of North
America" pp 202-230 (Haplotrema)). I see

(1) glossy surface: like Oxychilus, unlike Haplotrema
(2) smooth surface with few, relatively widely spaced "growth" wrinkles:
like Oxychilus, unlike Haplotrema
(3) brownish shell color: like Oxychilus, unlike most Haplotrema, which
usually have at least a hint of a yellow-green tint
(4) body color dark bluish: like Oxychilus draparnaudi, unlike all the
Haplotrema I can think of, which have very pale, almost white bodies
(5) last whorl expands very rapidly (being about twice the width of the
previous whorl: like Oxychilus draparnaudi, also like many Haplotrema
species, but definitely unlike Helminthoglypta species. It is also unlike
most Helminthoglypta in being so flat.

   Because the shell appears to have about 5 whorls, it is probably
fully-grown or nearly so.
   The photos do not show the underside. If the shell is indeed Oxychilus
draparnaudi, the umbilicus should be relatively small, only about 1/8 of the
shell diameter. On the other hand, if the shell is Haplotrema, the umbilicus
would be much larger, being a quarter to a third the shell diameter.
   Of course, for a reliable identification, the specimen should be sent to
an expert for identification. Guesses can be made from examining photgraphs,
but study of photographs cannot compare to study of the real thing.
   Best wishes,   -Tim-

Date:    Fri, 26 Apr 2002 09:11:51 -0400
From:    "Orstan, Aydin"
Subject: Re: Carnivorous land snails

Tim,
How did you tell it wasn't Haplotrema? Adult Haplotrema concavum have a
slightly thickened lip. I thought the snail in the picture could be a
subadult with a still thin lip (or an Oxychilus).

Aydin


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