Cecilioides acicula
| Cecilioides acicula | |
|---|---|
| Two fresh shells of Cecilioides acicula, the scale bar is in millimeters | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Ferussaciidae |
| Genus: | Cecilioides |
| Species: | C. acicula
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cecilioides acicula (O. F. Müller, 1774)[3]
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Caecilianella acicula (Müller) | |
Cecilioides acicula, also known as the blind snail or blind awlsnail, is a subterranean species of very small, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ferussaciidae.[4]
Description
Cecilioides acicula is white, eyeless, and has two pairs of tentacles.[5]
Their shell is long and narrow, with a maximum length of 5.5 mm and a maximum width of 1.2 mm.[6] Fresh shells are colorless, glassy and transparent, while less fresh shells are an opaque milky-white.
Habitat
Cecilioides acicula is a subterranean species, most commonly found in soils with a high level of calcium.[6]
Due to its subterranean habitat, this species is often found as an empty shell in places such as mole hills, ant hills, or in flood debris of rivers.
Distribution
The native range of Cecilioides acicula is Mediterranean Europe, specifically Western Europe (Great Britain and Ireland,[7] Netherlands,[8]) and Central Europe (Czech Republic,[9] Poland, Slovakia[10], Ukraine[11]).
It has also been accidentally introduced to several non-native countries:
- Latvia since 2006[12]
- Bermuda since 1861[13]
- Canada (Ontario)[14]
- The United States (Pennsylvania, Florida,[15] Maryland since 1959,[16] Virginia since 2006,[17] California, New Jersey and New Mexico.)[18]
- New Zealand[19]
- Australia[20]
References
- ^ Kappes, H. (2017). "Cecilioides acicula (Europe assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017 e.T171389A1325438. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ^ NatureServe. "Cecilioides acicula". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ^ Müller, O. F. 1774. Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Volumen alterum. - pp. I-XXVI [= 1-36], 1-214, [1-10]. Havniæ & Lipsiæ. (Heineck & Faber).
- ^ Marshall, B. (2014). "Ceciliodes acicula (O. F. Müller, 1774)". World Register of Marine Species at. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ^ Adam, W. 1960. Mollusques. Faune de Belgique, Tome 1, mollusques terrestres et dulcicoles. Bruxelles: Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. 402 pp., 4 pl.
- ^ a b M.P. Kerney and R.A.D. Cameron, 1979, A Field Guide to the Land Snails of Britain and North-west Europe. Collins, London, ISBN 0-00-219676-X
- ^ Anderson, R. (2005). "An Annotated List of the Non-Marine Mollusca of Britain and Ireland (InvertebrateIreland Online, Ulster Museum, Belfast and National Museum of Ireland, Dublin)". Retrieved 26 August 2008.
- ^ "Anemoon > Flora en Fauna > Soorteninformatie". www.anemoon.org. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
- ^ Juřičková L., Horsák M. & Beran L., 2001: Check-list of the molluscs (Mollusca) of the Czech Republic. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem., 65: 25-40.
- ^ (in Slovak) Lisický M. J. (1991). Mollusca Slovenska. [The Slovak molluscs]. VEDA vydavateľstvo Slovenskej akadémie vied, Bratislava, 344 pp.
- ^ Balashov I. & Gural-Sverlova N. 2012. An annotated checklist of the terrestrial molluscs of Ukraine. Journal of Conchology. 41 (1): 91-109.
- ^ Šteffek J., Stalažs A. & Dreijers E., 2008: Snail fauna of the oldest cemeteries from Riga (Latvia). – Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, 7: 79–80. Online serial at <http://mollusca.sav.sk> 29-September-2008.
- ^ Bieler, R. & Slapcinsky, J. 2000. A case study for development of an island fauna: recent terrestrial mollusks of Bermuda. Nemouria No. 44:1-99.
- ^ Forsyth, R.G., M.J. Oldham, & F.W. Schueler. 2008. Mollusca, Gastropoda, Ellobiidae, Carychium minimum, and Ferussaciidae, Cecilioides acicula: distribution extension and first provincial records of two introduced land snails in Ontario, Canada. Check List 4(4): 449–452. [1]
- ^ Pilsbry, H.A. 1946. Land Mollusca of North America (north of Mexico). Volume 2, part 1. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
- ^ Grimm, W. 1959. Land snails of Carroll County, Maryland. Nautilus 72:122-127.
- ^ Örstan, Aydın (2007). "A new record of Cecilioides acicula from North America (Pulmonata: Ferussaciidae). Triton, March 2007, no 15, page 38".
- ^ "Comprehensive Report Species - Cecilioides acicula". www.natureserve.org. 26 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
- ^ Barker, G.M. 1999. Naturalised terrestrial Stylommatophora (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Fauna of New Zealand. No. 38. Manaaki Whenua Press.
- ^ Bonham K (2005) Cecilioides acicula (Muller 1774) (Pulmonata: Ferussaciidae), a burrowing land snail introduced into Tasmania. Tasmanian Naturalist 127:42-44
- Spencer, H.G., Marshall, B.A. & Willan, R.C. (2009). Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca. pp 196–219 in Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.
External links
- Media related to Cecilioides acicula at Wikimedia Commons
- Cecilioides acicula at Animalbase taxonomy, short description, distribution, biology, status (threats), images
- Cecilioides acicula Fauna Europaea