Land Snails

Photos: Subulina octona is one of the most widespread snails on Earth. Lone animal © Roy Anderson ©, group on a US quarter © Bill Frank

Subulina octona (Bruguière, 1792) (non-native)

Family: Subulinidae
Common name: Miniature Awlsnail

Identification
Width: ~4.3
Height: ~17
Whorls: 9-11

The shell of Subulina octonais tall, glossy, and a translucent yellowish (Pilsbry, 1946). The aperture is relatively small and obtuse. The whorls are very rounded, and the sutures deep. In the first few whorls, the suture is crenulate. This species is larger than most others in its family, though smaller than Rumina decollata and not distinctly truncate.

Ecology
Like other subulinds, Subulina octona is a leaf-litter species, found among stones, grass, moss and other debris (Jutting, 1952; Willig, 2013). It is a lowland snail among the islands of the Indo-Australian peninsula (Jutting, 1952).

Taxonomy
Bulimus octonus is a synonym (Pilsbry, 1946).

Distribution
Subulina octona is a native of the tropical Americas, but is introduced to the West Indies, Africa, Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, and is found in greenhouses in temperate climes as well (Pilsbry, 1946; Hayes et al., 2007).

Conservation
NatureServe Explorer rank: G5, Secure. One of the most widespread snails on the planet.

 

Ken Hotopp 11/2017

Range Map (click to enlarge)