''Zonitoides arboreus'', commonly known as the quick gloss snail, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small air-breathing

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 ...

, a terrestrial

pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includ ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Gastrodontidae Gastrodontidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Gastrodontoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase ...

Distribution

The native distribution of ''Z. arboreus'' is

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

."Species summary for ''Zonitoides arboreus''"
AnimalBase, last modified 26 January 2010, accessed 4 September 2010. It is widely distributed in all US states except

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. It is widespread and common in central

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, specifically the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

Northern Rockies The Northern Rocky Mountains, usually referred to as the Northern Rockies, are a subdivision of the Canadian Rockies comprising the northern half of the Canadian segment of the Rocky Mountains. While their northward limit is easily defined as th ...

region. As for areas within the United States that are famous, the

Wind Cave National Park Wind Cave National Park is an American national park located north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and the first cave ...

, located in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, was found to have ''Z. arboreus'' in various soil samples. The non-indigenous distribution includes: * introduced to Iceland *

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

- non-indigenous in Moravia since 2006 *

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

- non-indigenous as a "hothouse alien" *

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

- non-indigenous as a "hothouse alien" * Pratas Island,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Wu S.-P., Hwang C.-C., Huang H.-M., Chang H.-W., Lin Y.-S. & Lee P.-F. (2007). "Land Molluscan Fauna of the Dongsha Island with Twenty New Recorded Species". ''Taiwania'' 52(2): 145-151
PDF
. * New Zealand Spencer, H.G., Marshall, B.A. & Willan, R.C. (2009). ''Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca''. Pp 196-219 in Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. * and other parts of the world In most cases listed above (but not all of them), this species is found as a

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

Shell

''Zonitoides arboreus'' is a snail with a flattened-heliciform shell, approximately 5-6 mm in diameter and 2.4-3 mm high. One distinct feature of ''Z. arboreus'' is its shell aperture, which is wide and lunate (moon-shaped). The peristome, the margin of the aperture, is thin in this species. The shell is a depressed helicoid. The first turn of the nuclear

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

is both smooth and noticeably rounded. The remaining turns in the shell are well rounded as well. The sunace of the shell is significantly marked by wrinkle-like grooves and lines of growth. Many of these lines are closely spaced, microscopic striations. The spiral striations are coarser than the ones found on the upper surface of the shell.

Internal anatomy

''Zonitoides'' ''arboreus'' is composed of exterior gray colored subjacent tissue. The tentacles of the snail are also a deep gray color, while the sides of the feet are a lighter gray. Underneath the tentacles is a pinkish-flesh color and its eyes are black. The anatomy of the snail begins at the mouth, which connects with the buccal cavity by a thick, large tube. The buccal mass is enclosed in the buccal cavity. Next, the meshy

esophagus The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...

passes forward and makes a turn backwards. The deflection of this is about twice the length. The esophagus connects with the stomach, which is about three times the size of the esophagus. The intestine moves into two hepatic ducts at its anterior end. The intestine then moves forward to the anterior angle of the esophagus, and is reflected backward and flexed forward into a curve. Within the esophagus, the salivary glands are located in its anterior flexure. The salivary glands aid the snail in digesting complex

carbohydrates In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...

such as

starches Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

in its diet. The

hepatopancreas The hepatopancreas, digestive gland or midgut gland is an organ of the digestive tract of arthropods and molluscs. It provides the functions which in mammals are provided separately by the liver and pancreas, including the production of digestive ...

is packed inside the whole digestive system. The hepatopancreas aids in storing nutrients for tissue regeneration and growth as well. The

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

, a structure used for scraping off food and guiding it into the mouth, contains a central rachidian tooth, and five other lateral teeth as well as 18 marginal teeth. These teeth aid the snail in guiding its meals into its mouth for consumption and helps ease the digestion process. There is also a complex and vital

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

. The cerebral

ganglia A ganglion is a group of neuron cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system. In the somatic nervous system this includes dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia among a few others. In the autonomic nervous system there are both sympatheti ...

are large, and are connected by the cerebral commissure. The cerebral ganglia give rise to the optic, tentacular, and sensory nerves. The two buccal ganglia are small, and connect with the cerebral ganglia by the cerebral buccal commissure and with each other by the buccal commissure. Adjoining the cerebral ganglia is the parietal ganglion, which is about half the size of the right upper pleural ganglion, which lies immediately below it and connects with it. Adjoining the parietal ganglion is the pleural ganglion, which is of about the same size as the upper right pleural ganglion. The left pleural ganglion is about the same size as the right pleural ganglion, and connects with it. Completing the chain of five ganglia there is the abdominal ganglion, which is only about one-third the size of the pleural ganglion. The cerebral pleural commissure connects the cerebral ganglion with the pleural ganglion. Below the chain of five ganglia are the two rather large pedal ganglia, which are connected with the cerebral ganglia by the cerebro-pedal commissure.

Reproduction and life cycle

The quick gloss snail goes through a sexual reproductive cycle that starts at the

ovotestis An ovotestis is a gonad with both testicular and ovarian aspects. In humans, ovotestes are an infrequent anatomical variation associated with gonadal dysgenesis. The only mammals where ovotestes are not symptomatic of an intersex variation are mole ...

, a gonad that shares qualities of both

testes A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoster ...

and

ovaries The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. T ...

. This occurs when ovarian tissue and testicular tissue are shared. The ovotestis is a lead-shaped organ that is adjacent to the liver. Attached to the ovotestis is a hermaphroditic duct that is narrow and leads to the accessory gland. The accessory gland aids in the facilitation of sperm transfer. This gland is attached to the albumen gland, an exocrine gland found in snails, which leads to the oviduct. The oviduct is a larger organ that aids in the passage of an egg from the ovotestis. The oviduct is positioned in the vagina posteriorly. The vas deferens of the snail is a cord that is attached to the oviduct and moves into the penis sac. Adjacent to this, is the dart sac, which contains two coronal glands.The vesicula seminalis is a small organ joined to the vagina at about the anterior third by a very long duct. The cloaca is a short thick-walled tube. The dart sac retractor muscle connects the dart sac with the duct of the seminal vesicle at the base of the penis.

Behavior

The mobility and migration characteristics of ''Z. arboreus'' is rather distinctive, because the species is not a colonial breeder, non-migrant, locally migrant, or long distance migrant. The species is unable to migrate to other areas because of barriers which include large bodies of water, or if the body of water is permanently frozen. Another barrier to migration is dry, xeric areas with less than six inches of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. This is because moisture is important for respiration for the species.

Ecology

The habitats frequented by ''Z. arboreus'' include forest and woodland areas. The nematode ''

Parelaphostrongylus tenuis ''Parelaphostrongylus tenuis'' (also known as meningeal worm or brainworm) is a neurotropic nematode parasite common to white-tailed deer, ''Odocoileus virginianus'', which causes damage to the central nervous system. Moose (''Alces alces'') ...

'' is a parasite of ''Z. arboreus''.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

"Brainworm"
accessed 14 December 2010.

Invasiveness and control

The quick gloss snail is often found in greenhouses and natural habitats. Its ability to survive some level of

desiccation Desiccation () is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. ...

allows the species to continue to live in the habitat even after attempting to dry out the species. The species becomes primarily invasive for orchid plants, but also can cause harm to vegetation. This species can also be found in rotting wood and leaf litter. As for the species' ability to move about, ''Z. arboreus'' is rather quick compared to other snail species. To locate this species, the defining features are their eye tentacles, which are widely separated with black, bulbous eyes. This species affects fruit and vegetables that are sold in the United States. Since these products are traded internationally and thus benefit the economy, the invasion of ''Z. arboreus'' will interfere with their processes. Currently, the treatment to eliminate this species is

methyl bromide Bromomethane, commonly known as methyl bromide, is an organobromine compound with formula C H3 Br. This colorless, odorless, nonflammable gas is produced both industrially and biologically. It has a tetrahedral shape and it is a recognized ozon ...

fumigation Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful micro-organisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (s ...

, however this treatment has proven to cause major health and environmental concerns. Irradiation treatment has been introduced as a potential treatment since irradiation hinders this snail from reaching its adult stage. By preventing ''Z. arboreus'' from reaching adulthood, irradiation can prevent successful reproduction of snails.

References

External links

* http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/cbasin/molluscs/zonitidae.html * https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.117100/Zonitoides_arboreus {{Taxonbar, from=Q1520828 Gastrodontidae Gastropods described in 1816 Gastropods of Lord Howe Island