Land Snails

Photo(s): Shell of Catinella oklahomarum holotype. Image © Francisco Borrero for ANSP.

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Catinella oklahomarum (Webb, 1953)

Family: Succineidae
Common name: Detritus Ambersnail

Identification
Width: 4-5 mm
Height: 6-8 mm
Whorls: 2.75+

Catinella oklahomarum has a yellowish, somewhat translucent shell with a wide aperture and deep sutures. It is proportionally longer than the shell of C. hubrichti, and marked with uneven growth lines. The shell is wider than that of C. vermeta, with a proportionally shorter spire and longer aperture (Grimm, 1960).

Ecology
This snail prefers to live in small numbers under leaf litter on acid soil. It is a denizen of open pine woods near the east coast. It can also be found sparsely in hilly forests further inland (Hubricht, 1985) and is associated with greenbriar, honeysuckle, and prickly pear (Grimm, 1960).

Taxonomy
Catinella oklahomarum has also been known as Catinella pinicola, C. vagans, and Quickella oklahomarum.

Distribution
Catinella oklahomarum is apparently widespread in the southeastern United States, with the caution that succineid taxonomy is not well-understood. It ranges from Oklahoma in the west to Maryland in the northeast and Florida in the southeast. In Virginia it is reported from the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay and scattered western counties.

Conservation
NatureServe Global Rank: G5, Secure.

 

Meegan Winslow, Ken Hotopp 9/2012

Range Map