Andrew In Australia, Austrosuccinea australis is also associated in Victoria with dune communities just behind the beach but usually not close enough to be inundated. I have also found this species around lakes frm water level up and near but not close to rivers. I have also dead specimens of Austrosuccinea spp from central australia and inland New south Wales that were found no where near any obvious water source. Succinea kuntziana from Vanuatu, I have collected under litter on low lying coral islands in areas that may well have become inundated or well soaked. Geoff >From: "Harry G. Lee" <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Conchologists List <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Succinea habitat >Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:28:09 -0400 > >Dear Aydin and Andrew, > >Succinea campestris Say, 1818,** the Crinkled Ambersnail, is an odd >succineid with a behavior a little reminiscent of Aydin's colony >reported below. To my amazement, after reviewing the literature, I've >found no report on the ecology of this xeric halophile since its >original description, in which Say wrote: > >"This shell is extremely common in many parts of the Southern States; >it abounds in the sea islands of Georgia, in the low marshy grounds >behind the sand-hills of the coast, where they are destroyed in great >numbers by the annual conflagration of the old grass. On Amelia >Island, East Florida, I found them in great plenty on the highest >sandy ground of the island. On Cumberland Island, in Mr. Shaw's >garden,** I obtained several specimens from leaves of radishes." > >In northeast Florida, I have found this species closely associated >with the backbeach dune community, where it can be seen emerging from >the duff under the Sea Oats and ascending the stalks of the plants in >response to summer freshets. The snails make a hasty migration >considering their proverbial vagility. Some individuals aestivate out >in the open, and the white shell coloration, unusual for the family >Succineidae, which, as the name implies are typically transparent >amber, probably reflects the sun to forestall desiccation. I think >there is much to be learned of their behavior, and they should be >eminently available subjects. > >** the correct date of publication is 1818; not "1817" per many >authors - recently Turgeon, Quinn, et. al. (1998). I'll post an >explanation of the asterices a little later (unless I've exceeded my >allotted rant ceiling). > >Binney, W. G. 1858. The complete writings of Thomas Say on the >conchology of the United States. H. Bailliere Co., New York. 1-252 >+ 75 plates. > >Say, T., 1818. Descriptions of land and freshwater shells of the >United States (cont'd). Journal of the Academy of Natural >Sciences 1: 276. May. [not seen; see Binney] > >Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. >Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, >G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, >and J. D. Williams, 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic >invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks, 2nd >edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 26, >Bethesda, Maryland. > > >At 11:22 AM 7/14/2007, you wrote: >>When we were in Chincoteague, Virginia, several summers ago, there were >>succineids stuck to the outside walls of the hotel we stayed at. During >>the day the snails would be in the sun. And there was no water in the >>vicinity, just grassy fields or parking lots. I took specimens but never >>figured out the species. >> >>Aydin >>snailstales.blogspot.com >> >> >>On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:28:29 +1200, Andrew Grebneff >><[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> >While I was in Nova Scotia last month I collected 4 live specimens of >> >a large species of Succinea, all in the Bay of Fundy town of >> >Wolfville. >> > >> >Two were attached to shrub leaves about 1m away from & 1m above an >> >artificial stream in the Acadia University grounds. One was lying on >> >a sidewalk well away from any stream/pond (I assume it fell from a >> >wading bird) and one was on an artichoke leaf in a garden hundreds of >> >meters away from any water apart from a 2m artificial pond. >> > >> >Succinea is supposed to be fluvolittoral (ie living above "high tide" >> >on freshwater bodies). I can't help wondering if at least some >> >species are actually independent of water? _________________________________________________________________ Advertisement: 1000s of Sexy Singles online now at Lavalife http://a.ninemsn.com.au/b.aspx?URL=http%3A%2F%2Flavalife9%2Eninemsn%2Ecom%2Eau%2Fclickthru%2Fclickthru%2Eact%3Fid%3Dninemsn%26context%3Dan99%26locale%3Den%5FAU%26a%3D29553&_t=764581033&_r=email_taglines_1000s&_m=EXT ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------