I agree with the identification. The animal coloration is quite convincing.
I have a healthy O. draparnaudi colony here in my garden but unfortunately
we do not have many other species to compare with.
By the way: I am writing a short note in the local naturalist journal about
this Reykjavik colony which was recently rediscovered. In this note I
would like to make the claim that this is the northernmost O. draparnaudi
colony on Earth, 64°08īN. Is there any evidence to the contrary?
Are there any comments on the draparnaudi vs. draparnaldi issue? It is
named after Draparnaud, isn't it?
With best regards,
Pall Einarsson,
Reykjavik, Iceland
At 13:36 27.4.2002 -0400, you wrote:
>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
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
>mail2web - Check your email from the web at
>http://mail2web.com/ .
>
>
|
