Land Snails

Photo(s): Triodopsis tennesseensis shell image © Dan Dourson, aperture view © Bill Frank.

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Triodopsis tennesseensis (Walker and Pilsbry, 1902)

Family: Polygyridae
Common name: Budded Threetooth

Identification
Width: 19-24 mm
Height: 9-11 mm
Whorls: 5+

This large, depressed-globose shell is covered in regular, thin radial ridges. These ridges are accompanied by microscopic papillae. The aperture is trilobed and the lip is reflected as in Triodopsis tridentata, but the teeth are significantly smaller. The parietal tooth is slightly pointed and the umbilicus is large and open.

Ecology
Triodopsis tennesseensis can be found in leaf litter and under logs on wooded hillsides (Hubricht, 1985).

Taxonomy
Triodopsis tennesseensis has also been known as Polygyra tridentata tennesseensis and Triodopsis tridentata tennesseensis.

Distribution
This animal is native to the southern Appalachians, ranging from West Virginia to Alabama. In Virginia this big threetooth is found in the southwestern counties.

Conservation
NatureServe Global Rank: G4
NatureServe State Rank: S3
Virginia’s wildlife action plan: Tier IV

 

Meegan Winslow, Ken Hotopp 11/2012

Range Map (click to enlarge)