White-lipped snail

The white-lipped snail or garden banded snail, scientific name Cepaea hortensis, is a medium-sized species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helicidae. It is a close relative of the Grove Snail.

White-lipped snail
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Superorder: Eupulmonata
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Helicidae
Genus: Cepaea
Species:
C. hortensis
Binomial name
Cepaea hortensis

Shell description
Four views of a shell of Cepaea hortensis
Cepaea hortensis

The white-lipped snail is very slightly smaller than the grove snail, the shell being usually about 2.5 cm (1 in) in maximum dimension. Like the grove snail (brown-lipped snail), it has considerable variability in shell colour and banding, although the shell of the white-lipped snail is perhaps most commonly yellow, with or without brown banding. The principal distinguishing feature of this species is a white lip at the aperture of the shell in adult specimens, although very rarely the brown-lipped grove snail can have a white lip, and vice versa.[2]

Distribution

The native distribution of this species is Western Europe and Central Europe.[3] The range of the white-lipped snail extends closer to the Arctic in Northern Europe than the range of the grove snail. The white-lipped snail has been introduced to northeastern parts of the USA, but has not established itself as successfully as the brown-lipped snail.

Habitat

The two species share many of the same habitats, such as woods, dunes and grassland, but the white-lipped snail tolerates wetter and colder areas than the brown-lipped snail can.

Life cycle

This species of snail creates and uses love darts during mating.

The size of the egg is 2 mm.[4]

References
  1. Müller, O. F. 1774. Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Volumen alterum. - pp. I-XXVI [= 1-36], 1-214, [1-10]. Havniae & Lipsiae. (Heineck & Faber).
  2. Simon Whipps, July 2009; last updated July 2009. Life & Environment, University of the West of Scotland; BIODIVERSITY REFERENCE - Cepaea nemoralis and Cepaea hortensis
  3. Kerney M.P. & Cameron R. A. D., 1979. “A field guide to the land snails of Britain and northwestern Europe’’, Collins, London. ISBN 0-00-219676-X
  4. Heller J. 2001: Life History Strategies. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-85199-318-4. 1-146, cited page: 428.
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