Land Snails

Photos: Succinea campestris, and S. campestris aggregation on sedges © Bill Frank

Succinea campestris Say, 1817

Family: Succineidae
Common name: Crinkled Ambersnail

Identification
Width: 7-11.5 mm
Height: 10-17 mm
Whorls: 3.5

The shell is very thin, globose (short and wide), and with a short spire. The shell color is dull opaque white, pale tan, or translucent gray with white or tan marks, axial growth wrinkles, and microscopic granulations. The aperture is wide and about ¾ of the shell length. Deep sutures lie between the whorls. The body itself is whitish (Pilsbry 1948; Burke, 2013). In the genus Succinea, the edge of the genital opening is swollen (Burch, 1962).

Dissection may be necessary to identify succineid species. The penis of S. campestris appears to be wide, but it actually consists of a thick sheath around a thin penis. The epiphallus loops back onto its base, and there is no penial appendix. The bursa copulatrix duct is long and thin (Pilsbry, 1948).

Note that Succineidae show a great deal of intraspecific variation in size and proportions, both within and between sites (Pilsbry, 1948).

Ecology
Succinea campestris is only found on ocean shorelines, where it inhabits grasses on beach dunes (Hubricht, 1985). Little is known about its ecology.

Taxonomy
Succinea inflata is a synonym.

Distribution
The species ranges along the entire US Atlantic coast from Florida and Louisiana to Maine. Northeastern populations have been found in Maine, Maryland, New Jersey (Cape May Co.), New York, Pennsylvania (York Co.), and Virginia.

Conservation
NatureServe Global Rank: G4, Secure.

Megan Paustian 10/2017