The decollate snail, scientific name ''Rumina decollata'', is a medium-sized

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

land snail, 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 ...

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

pulmonate gastropod

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

Achatinidae Achatinidae (New Latin, from Greek "''agate''") is a family of medium to large sized tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks from Africa. Well known species include ''Achatina achatina'' the Giant African Snail, and ''Liss ...

. It is a European species that has been introduced in a number of areas worldwide.

Taxa inquirenda

* ''Rumina decollata var. dentata'' Pallary, 1922 * ''Rumina decollata var. fusca'' Pallary, 1899 * ''Rumina decollata var. striatula'' Pallary, 1920

Distribution

This species is native to the

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 ...

excluding south-east Mediterranean. It is introduced in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

since

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

.Mienis H. K. (2003). "A new colony of ''Rumina saharica'' discovered in Israel". ''Tentacle'
11
11-12. It has been introduced into North America, including

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

and Glendale, Arizona, and other areas

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

as a

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also i ...

agent, in hopes of controlling populations of the brown garden snail. It is found in

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 i ...

, as a "hothouse alien"

Shell description

The shell of the decollate snail is long and roughly cone-shaped. It grows to approximately 40mm-45mm in length and a width of 14 mm, and upon reaching mature size, grinds or chips off the end of its own shell by moving its body roughly against hard surfaces, so that the shell takes on a ''decollate'' shape, tapering to a blunt end.

Life habits

Sexual maturity occurs at approximately 10 months. An adult is capable of laying 500 eggs in its lifetime. The eggs are deposited singly in the soil and hatch within 10-45 days. ''Rumina decollata'' is a voracious predator, and will readily feed upon common garden snails and slugs and their eggs. The snail eats plant matter as well, but this generalist predator is indiscriminate in its feeding and has been implicated in the decimation of native gastropods (including non-pest species) and beneficial annelids. Decollate snails are tolerant of dry and cold conditions, during which they burrow deep into the soil. They are most active during the night and during rainfall.

References

* Herbert, D.G. (2010). The introduced terrestrial Mollusca of South Africa. SANBI Biodiversity Series, 15: vi + 108 pp. Pretoria.

External links

''Rumina decollata''
on the UF / IFAS — ''Featured Creatures website''.
A photo of decollates feeding on ''Helix'' (ivy)

Crosse H. (1873). Diagnoses molluscorum novorum. Journal de Conchyliologie. 21(2): 136-144.

Coquand H. (1862). Géologie et Paléontologie de la région sud de la Provence de Constantine. Mémoires de la Société d'Emulation de la Provence. 2: 5-342.

Bieler, R. & Slapcinsky, J. (2000). A case study for the development of an island fauna: Recent terrestrial mollusks of Bermuda. Nemouria. 44: 1-99.

Sparacio, I., Surdo, S., Viviano, R., Liberto, F. & Reitano, A. (2021). Land molluscs from the Isola delle Femmine Nature Reserve (north-western Sicily, Italy) (Gastropoda Architaenioglossa Pulmonata). Biodiversity Journal. 12 (3): 589–624

ohnson, C. W. (1900). Some notes on Rumina decollata Linn. The Nautilus. 13(10): 117.

Smith, H. H. (1912). Rumina decollata in Mobile and New Orleans. The Nautilus. 26(1): 4-6

Ferriss, J. H. (1914). Rumina decollata in Texas. The Nautilus. 28(1): 11
{{Taxonbar, from=Q834936 Achatinidae Biota of the Mediterranean Sea Biological pest control agents Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus