Land Snails

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Paravitrea bellona Hubricht, 1978

Family: Pristilomatidae
Common name: Club Supercoil

Identification
Width: ~5.8 mm
Height: ~2.1 mm
Whorls: 6.5-7

The shell of Paravitrea bellona has a low convex spire with shallow sutures (Hubricht, 1978). The aperture is simple. The umbilicus is deep and approximately 20% of the shell’s width. Sculpture of the shell is irregularly-spaced indented growth lines. The animal is blueish-gray.

Ecology
The ecology of Paravitrea bellona is poorly known. It is found in leaf litter on wooded riversides and hillside ravines (Hubricht, 1985).

Taxonomy
The shell of Paravitrea bellona is very similar to the common Appalachian species Paravitrea capsella, except that it has paired denticles visible through the bottom of immature shells, and the umbilicus is slightly smaller. Hubricht (1978) notes that the reproductive anatomy of P. bellona is closest to that of P. tiara except that it lacks a caecum on the epiphallus. The taxonomy of the genus Paravitrea is in need of review (e.g. Dourson, 2015).

Distribution
Paravitrea bellona is endemic to southern West Virginia.

Conservation
NatureServe Rank: G1, Critically Imperiled. NatureServe State Rank: West Virginia, S1.

Ken Hotopp 12/2017

Range Map (click to enlarge)