Land Snails

Photo(s): Live Mesomphix cupreus © Bill Frank, and shell © Dan Dourson.
Illustration © Kathy Schmidt from her series "Land Snails of New York State."

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Mesomphix cupreus (Rafinesque, 1831)

Family: Zonitidae
Common name: Copper Button

Identification
Width: 22 -25 mm
Height: 12 - 15 mm
Whorls: 4+

The shell of Mesomphix cupreus is large, glossy, and robust. Its color is golden-brown to deep brown, and it typically has a very dark aperture edge. The shell microsculpture lacks papillae and instead may have a fine sandpaper texture, sometimes with spiral grooves (striae). The umbilicus is relatively large for its genus. Similar shells of large immature polygyrids are more transparent (in live animals), have fine radial ridges, and lack the dark lip edge.  Virginia specimens tend to be larger than those from farther north.

Ecology
This species is a denizen of damp forest leaf litter, sometimes near logs, in mature upland forests. Walton (in Pilsbry, 1948) reports it feeding upon other land snails.

Taxonomy
Synonyms for M. cupreus are: Helix fuliginosa, Mesomphix cupreus politus, Omphalina cuprea, O. fuliginosa, Zonites cupreus form sinistrorsus, and Zonites fuliginosus.

Distribution
The range of M. cupreus extends from western New England, New York, and Michigan, south to Tennessee and North Carolina. In the Mid-Atlantic it is not found near the coast. In Virginia it is found in the western mountains and hills.

Conservation
NatureServe Global Rank: G5, Secure

 

Ken Hotopp, Greg Kimber 7/2012

Range Map (click to enlarge)