''Quickella'' is a monotypic genus of

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells (those without shells are known as ...

in the family

Succineidae Succineidae are a family of small to medium-sized, air-breathing land snails (and slugs), terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Succineoidea.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Succineidae Beck, 1837. Accessed thr ...

, the amber snails. It is known commonly as the sandbowl snail. The only species is ''Quickella arenaria''. ;Synonyms: * ''Quickella (Mediappendix)'' Pilsbry, 1948: synonym of '' Mediappendix'' Pilsbry, 1948 * ''Quickella rehderi'' Pilsbry, 1948: synonym of '' Mediappendix rehderi'' (Pilsbry, 1948) (original combination)

Description

The shell is 5 to 8 millimeters widea and red-brown in colour. It is fragile, short, turreted, and conical with large body whorl, three whorls and an almost circular aperture. The aperture is about 50% of the shell height, the spire is very short and the whorls are convex with deep sutures. Surface moderately shiny with relatively coarse growth lines. In life the dark digestive gland shows through the spire making it seem very dark compared to the body whorl. The animal is dark grey to black. The shell is very similar to ''

Succinella oblonga ''Succinella oblonga'' is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Succineidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Succinella oblonga (Draparnaud, 1801). Accessed through: World Register ...

''. Identification requires dissection. The genitalia differ in these respects: "Penis short with a black spot at vas deferens and retractor insertion, vas deferens inserts directly into penis, epiphallus absent, penis without envelope (''S. oblonga'' has a long penis with epiphallus and a long vas deferens)."''Quickella arenaria''.
AnimalBase.

Habitat

This snail lives in wet hollows among

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

. In the British Isles these areas are known as "dune slacks", and when in pristine condition, these hollows provide a specialized habitat for an unusual group of fauna and flora, which includes this species.Also on shallow flooded sandy or muddy and calcareous soils. In Switzerland, it occurs up to an altitude of 2200 meters above sea level.

Distribution

The range is suboceanic boreo-temperate (Ccnfined to western Europe and distributed mainly near coasts from France to south-east Sweden). There are outliers inland in mountain areas of central Scandinavia and east Switzerland. This species occurs in areas including: * The British Isles: Great Britain, Ireland. It is listed in

List of endangered species in the British Isles This is a list of United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan species. Some suffer because of loss of habitat, but many are in decline following the introduction of foreign species, which out-compete the native species or carry disease. See also th ...

. It is endangered in Great Britain. This species is fully protected in the United Kingdom under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 since 1981.Protection for wild animals on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
Accessed 7 August 2009. * Western Europe: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland * Central Europe: Germany, Poland, Slovakia * Northern Europe: Norway, Sweden. ''Catinella (Quickella) arenaria'' is scattered and rare due to its

relict distribution In biogeography and paleontology, a relict is a population or taxon of organisms that was more widespread or more diverse in the past. A relictual population is a population currently inhabiting a restricted area whose range was far wider during a ...

, initially it was widespread at the end of the glacial period, and decreased after forest growth.

References

* Provoost, S.; Bonte, D. (Ed.) (2004). ''Animated dunes: a view of biodiversity at the Flemish coast'' evende duinen: een overzicht van de biodiversiteit aan de Vlaamse kust Mededelingen van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud, 22. Instituut voor Natuurbehoud: Brussel, Belgium. . 416, ill., appendices pp.

External links

Images.
ARKive {{Authority control Succineidae Gastropods described in 1837