''Cernuella virgata'', also known as ''Helicella virgata'', common name, the "vineyard 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 pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Geomitridae.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Cernuella virgata (Da Costa, 1778). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=426375 on 2020-08-05 This species of snail makes and uses

love darts A love dart (also known as a gypsobelum, shooting darts, or just as darts) is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. These ...

Shell description

The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

is from 6 to 19 mm in height and 8 to 25 mm in width. The coloration of the shell is quite variable, but there is often a creamy-white background, with a variable number of pale to darker brown markings. Some shells are banded at the periphery and on the underside.

Technical description

For terms see

gastropod shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some ...

The 15 x 12–23 mm. shell has 4.5-5.5 convex whorls. The last whorl is initially angulated or rounded. The aperture is rounded with a whitish or reddish lip inside and margin is not reflected, The umbilicus is always open, 1/10-1/6 of shell diameterand sometimes slightly excentric. The colour of the periostracum is whitish or yellowish, sometimes with red hue and usually with two brown colour bands on the upper side and 3-4 narrower bands on the lower side, initially finely ribbed, weakly striated at lower whorls.

Distribution

This snail is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, including the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. This species has been recovered from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

occupation of

Volubilis Volubilis (; ar, وليلي, walīlī; ber, ⵡⵍⵉⵍⵉ, wlili) is a partly excavated Berber-Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and may have been the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania, at least from the time of Kin ...

, an archaeological site in present-day

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. ''Cernuella virgata'' is an invasive species and an agricultural pest in parts of Australia, where it arrived around 1920. In Australia it is known as the "common white snail". Another land snail which is present as an invasive in Australia, and which is sometimes confused with ''Cernuella virgata'' is the species '' Theba pisana''. It is somewhat similar in appearance, and lives under similar circumstances. ''Theba pisana'' is however a larger species with a more inflated shell, lower

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

and a nearly covered umbilicus. Comparison between shells of ''Cernuella virgata'' and '' Theba pisana'': File:Cernuella virgata Spain.jpg, ''Cernuella virgata'', showing the "open" umbilicus File:Theba pisana Spain.jpg, '' Theba pisana'' with nearly "closed" umbilicus File:Cernuella virgata 01.JPG, Five views of a shell

Behavior and human relevance

This species aestivates after climbing to the top of vegetation (or fences). This habit is problematic for farmers engaged in crop harvesting, because numerous snails are collected along with the crop. Glanum-snail-climb-fence-5763

Life cycle

The size of the egg is 1.5 mm.Heller J.: ''Life History Strategies''. in Barker G. M. (ed.):
The biology of terrestrial molluscs
'. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, . 1-146, cited page: 428.

Parasites

''Cernuella virgata'' is as intermediate host for the terrestrial

trematode Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive h ...

parasite '' Brachylaima cribbi''.

Gastronomy

''Cernuella virgata'', with '' Theba pisana'', is consumed in Spain as a "tapa" in the bars, especially in Andalusia, where snails are known as "Chichos" snails.

Synonyms

* ''Cernuella (Cernuella) virgata'' (Da Costa, 1778) · alternate representation * ''Cochlea virgata'' Da Costa, 1778 · (original name) * ''Helicella (Heliomanes) lineata'' (Olivi, 1792) · (junior synonym) * ''Helicella (Jacosta) jentteri'' Lindholm, 1926 · * ''Helicella (Xerocincta) neglecta'' M. R. Alonso, 1975 · (junior synonym) * ''Helicella (Xeromagna) submeridionalis'' M. R. Alonso, 1975 · (junior synonym) * ''Helicella virgata'' (da Costa, 1778) · (superseded generic combination) * ''Helix (Helicella) lauta'' R. T. Lowe, 1831 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix (Xerophila) amblia'' Westerlund, 1893 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix (Xerophila) lineata'' Olivi, 1792 · (superseded combination) * ''Helix aglaometa'' J. Mabille, 1882 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix alluvionum'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix aradasii'' Pirajno, 1842 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix blasi'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix canovasiana'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix castroiana'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix edetanorum'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix finitimus'' Locard, 1899 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix grannonensis'' Bourguignat in Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix hamilcaris'' Kobelt, 1877 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix lineata'' Olivi, 1792 * ''Helix lululenta'' Locard, 1899 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix luteata'' L. Pfeiffer, 1857 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix luteola var. minor'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix mendranoi'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix parva'' L. Pfeiffer, 1848 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix phryganophila'' J. Mabille, 1882 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix rufolabris'' L. Pfeiffer, 1856 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix solanoi'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix subluteata'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix tergestina'' Rossmässler, 1837 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix terrosa'' Locard, 1899 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix uberta'' Locard, 1899 · (junior synonym) * ''Helix virgata'' (da Costa, 1778) · (superseded combination) * ''Helix virgata var. alba'' J. W. Taylor, 1883 · (invalid; name preoccupied) * ''Helix virgata var. leucozona'' J. W. Taylor, 1883 · (invalid; not C. Pfeiffer, 1828) * ''Helix virgata var. major'' J. W. Taylor, 1883 · (invalid; name preoccupied) * ''Helix virgata var. minor'' J. W. Taylor, 1883 · (invalid; name preoccupied) * ''Helix xalonica'' Servain, 1880 · (junior synonym) * ''Xerophila virgata'' (Da Costa, 1778) * ''Xerophila virgata croatiae'' Kormos, 1906 · (suspected synonym)

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 * Sysoev, A. V. & Schileyko, A. A. (2009). Land snails and slugs of Russia and adjacent countries. Sofia/Moskva (Pensoft). 312 pp., 142 plates.

External links

''Cernuella virgata''
at

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Distribution {{Taxonbar, from=Q3073998 Geomitridae Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Molluscs of the Mediterranean Sea Taxa named by Emanuel Mendes da Costa Gastropods described in 1778