Helix aperta
Grunzschnecke ( Cantareus apertus )
The Grunzschnecke ( Cantareus apertus, Helix aperta ) is a species of snail from the family of helicid ( Helicidae ). If the animal is irritated, there is by quickly pressing out air from the mantle cavity during retraction into the housing creaking or grunting sounds by itself; hence the name Grunzschnecke.
Features
The housing is spherical. It has about four turns, the last turn is heavily bloated. It measures 22 to 28 x 22 to 28 mm and has no navel on. The mouth is relatively large, wide and rounded, the aperture rim easy blunted lip-like, rarely slightly thickened, but not handled. At the mouth wall sits a weak callus. The periostracum is yellowish - green, olive green, green -brown to light brown, but not banded or patterned. The shell is relatively thin, with slight wrinkles parallel to the growth lines. The Grunzschnecke observed a summer rest, making for a thick Epiphragma with which the mouth is closed.
The foot is relatively large with two broad dark brown stripes. The body is dark gray, the neck and the sensor bar black gray. The love arrow shows four edges.
Geographic occurrence and habitat
The Grunzschnecke comes in southern France west of the Rhone estuary, in Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily, the Italian peninsula from Liguria to the Emilia Romagna, Puglia, particularly in Salento, the Ionian Islands, Central Greece, the Aegean Islands, Cyprus and North Africa along the front of the Mediterranean coast. Meanwhile, it has been also spread to other regions of the world, eg Australia and New Zealand.
It inhabits vineyards, field margins, gardens, checked cultivated land, roadsides and maquis. It occurs from sea level to about 500 m above sea level, rarely higher.
Way of life
The Grunzschnecke usually lives buried deep in the ground and comes to feed on the surface. The animal is site- faithful, mostly the same burrow is visited again and again. It feeds mainly well of fresh herbaceous plants.
In studies on samples of the Grunzschnecke of Tunisia, it was found that the reproductive behavior was triggered by Kurztagverhältnisse, and was inhibited by Langtagverhältnisse. Under Kurztagverhältnissen, 20 ° temperature, high humidity and enough food two generations were produced within 10 months. Under culture conditions were laid up to 40 eggs per clutch. The diameter of the egg is 2.3 to 3 mm. The young hatch under the above ideal conditions after 12 days as a small miniature adults. The breeding success was 80 to 90%.
Grunzschnecken keep summer calm between about April and September, they spend this time in a burrow. They close their house by a Kalkdeckel.
Attitude as a pet
The Grunzschnecke is sometimes abducted in lettuce or cabbage from their home country to the north. There, they can, like other gastropods ( eg snails ), are kept as a pet. Salad, vegetables ( such as carrots and cucumbers, also sweet potatoes ) and lichen -covered branches are readily accepted as food. In addition Grunzschnecken lime require ( egg shells or Sepiaschulp ) to build their house.
Hazards, protective and adverse effect
The Grunzschnecke has become rare collection activities for edible purposes in many areas of their original distribution area. Therefore, the collection is prohibited for commercial purposes in France. In other regions, especially where it has been introduced, eg Australia and New Zealand, it occasionally occurs as a pest of crops.