Land Snails

Photo(s): Vitrinizonites latissimus © John Slapcinsky.

Click photo(s) to enlarge.

Vitrinizonites latissimus (J. Lewis, 1875)

Family: Zonitidae
Common name: Glassy Grapeskin

Identification
Width: 16.2-19.5 mm
Height: 6.0-9.2 mm
Whorls: 3

This is the only snail in Virginia that might be called a semi-slug. Its shell is thin and fragile, with few whorls, and the animal cannot completely withdraw its body. The shell color is brownish to greenish. The animal is gray with lighter flecks, palest along the foot edge.

Ecology
Vitrinizonites latissimus is a southern Appalachian Mountain endemic, occurring in mesic forests above 300 meters (Pilsbry, 1946). It is widespread at higher elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains. It is found in mixed hardwood forests but also upon more acid soils in rhododendron thickets (Dourson, 2010).

Taxonomy
A synonym for V. latissimus is Vitrina latissima.

Distribution
This species occurs from eastern Kentucky and western Virginia to northern Georgia and Alabama (Hubricht, 1985). Specimens are reported in Virginia only from four southwestern counties.

NatureServe Global Rank: G4
NatureServe State Rank: S2?
Virginia’s wildlife action plan: Tier IV

 

Ken Hotopp 2/2013

Range Map (click to enlarge)