Vertigo alpestris

Alps whorl snail

The Alps whorl snail ( Vertigo alpestris ), and Alpine - whorl snail is a snail of the family of the diaper snails ( Vertiginidae ) from the subordination of terrestrial snails ( gastropod ).

Features

The housing of the Alps whorl snail is 1,8 to 2 mm high and 1.1 mm wide ( 1.6 to 2.15 × 0.9 to 1.1 mm: Welter - Schultes ). It is cylindrical, with five well-arched coils, which are deducted from a deep seam of each other. The last whorl is somewhat flattened laterally, thereby slightly shouldered. The mouth is somewhat higher than it is wide and in the oval outline with flats at the top and the outside. The opening edge is slightly thickened, and only weakly bent towards the outside. In the opening project into three to four lamellae -like teeth, a parietal a columellarer and palatal or two teeth. You are almost perpendicular from the orifice wall. The casing is light yellowish - brown and translucent. The surface is glossy and covered with very fine and regular growth lines and appeared to be silky smooth.

Similar Species

The case is similar to the case of the commons whorl snail ( Vertigo pygmaea ). However, this type has a strong, dyke -like neck ridge that is missing the housing of the Alps whorl snail. In the communities whorl snail the mouth is armed with four to seven teeth, which are connected in the palatal region at the base by a callus with each other.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The distribution area of the Alps whorl snail is nordic - alpine, ie Scandinavia north of the Alps to North Asia ( Siberia), the Alps, the Carpathians and the Central Mountains. In the British Isles the occurrence is restricted to Wales, Northern England and Scotland. In addition, there are some isolated occurrences in the lowlands. In the south there are isolated occurrences in the mountains of Bulgaria and the Crimea. Another isolated occurrence is located on the islands off Newfoundland. In the Swiss Alps, it rises to 2,400 meters above sea level.

The habitat of the Alps whorl snail are screes with a lot of leaf litter and plant material, light, dry forests and limestone cliffs in the high mountains. In the lowlands it comes in light forests on calcareous soils before. In the high mountains, it is also found in open, sunny rocks, sparse dry forests, vegetated screes and moss. In England and Wales, she lives almost exclusively and in old stone ramparts and walls.

Taxonomy

The species has previously been published by Joshua Alder as Vertigo alpestris first time. However, he writes the way to the " Baron de Ferussac " whose specimens are to come from the Alps. Alder had only specimens from England and made ​​available to the copies of Ferussac he writes that they were not published previously by his knowledge. The taxon must therefore be attributed solely to Joshua Alder. The Fauna Europaea recorded three synonyms:

  • Pupa leontina Gredler, 1856
  • Pupa shuttleworthiana L. Pfeiffer, 1847
  • Pupa tatrica Hazay, 1885

Some authors subdivide the taxon into two subspecies:

  • Vertigo alpestris alpestris, the Nominatunterart and
  • Vertigo alpestris uturyotoensis Kuroda & Hukuda, 1944

Endangering

In Germany the species is threatened with extinction ( hazard category 1).

Stylommatophora Pupilloidea Genus Vertigo (gastropod) Digital Object Identifier
51486
de