Otala lactea
Black mouth - field screw ( Otala lactea )
The black mouth - field screw ( Otala lactea ) is a terrestrial snail from the family of helicid ( Helicidae ).
Features
The housing is flat - conical to flattened conical. It measures 15 to 21 × 30 to 40 mm. The 4.5 to 5 turns take too slow. The last turn falls towards the mouth of the spiral plane sharply. The mouth is enlarged, the aperture rim is folded and strongly broadened. The aperture rim and the inner mouth are dark brown in color and shiny. The lower edge is thickened knot - up tooth-like. The outside is very variable colored, but usually brown, gray -brown or pale brown in color. It often carries four darker spiral bands. The navel is closed and covered by the mouth edge.
The soft body of the animal is grayish yellow, the front part is a little darker. The upper tentacles are long and gray, the lower tentacles relatively short and yellowish. The Love Arrow has four edges, which in turn broadens the outside.
Geographical occurrence, habitat and behavior
The black mouth - field snail occurs in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and Morocco. She lives there in rocky scrubland, but also in open areas such as rock heathens and rocky steppes. Meanwhile, the species has also spread to North America, Bermuda, Cuba and South Eastern Australia.
According to E. Frömming ate animals that were kept in captivity, however, prefer fresh plant material. In summer, the animals go into a several month long summer rest. For this, the mouth is closed with a Epiphragma.