Land Snails

Photo(s): The shell of Stenotrema barbatum © Larry Watrous.

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Stenotrema barbatum (G.H. Clapp, 1904)

Family: Polygyridae
Common name: Bristled Slitmouth

Identification
Width: 8-11 mm
Height: 5.5-7.0 mm tall
Whorls: 5+

Tiny processes or “hairs” cover the shell of Stenotrema barbatum, which has a very narrow aperture. In side view its parietal lamella or “tooth” is quite evident, and the final whorl of its shell is angled high on the side, giving it the ap­pearance of having “shoulders.” Its hairs are relatively coarse and its shell a bit larger than some of its close relatives. Like other slitmouths it has a covered umbilicus.

Ecology
Stenotrema barbatum can be found under logs and leaf litter. In most areas it frequents wooded areas near or on floodplains; in West Virginia and Pennsylvania it prefers more upland sites (Hubricht, 1985).

Taxonomy
Stenotrema barbatum has also been known as Stenotrema barbata, S. hirsutum barbatum, and Polygyra (Stenotrema) barbata.

Distribution
This is typically a Midwestern and mid-Atlantic forest species, ranging from Minnesota and Kansas to the north and west, to Alabama, the Carolinas, and Massachusetts in the east. In Virginia it is found in scattered locations on the coast and south-central counties.

NatureServe Global Rank: G5
NatureServe State Rank: S3S4

 

Ken Hotopp, Meegan Winslow 11/2012

Range Map (click to enlarge)