Hygromia cinctella

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Hygromia cinctella, the girdled snail, is a small air-breathing land snail found in Europe. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. It belongs to the family Hygromiidae.

Description
The snail has a dextral shell about 6–7 mm tall and 10–12 mm across, made of 5–6 whorls with shallow sutures that give the shell a high, conical top and a flat bottom. The last whorl has a sharp keel with a white edge that goes around the shell, giving the snail its “girdled” look. The opening (aperture) is simple, and the umbilicus (the hollow center of the shell) is very narrow. Shell color varies from whitish grey to brown, often with dark spots, sometimes slightly translucent and finely striped. The body is light grey or yellowish, usually with a darker greyish or brownish head and tentacles. In Sicily, there are color forms that are green, yellow, or reddish, sometimes with bands.

Habitat and distribution
Hygromia cinctella is native to the Mediterranean region and parts of southern Europe, including south-eastern France, southern Switzerland, north-west Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia. It has been introduced and is becoming established in Great Britain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. It has also been found in Ireland. In Britain it was long mistaken for a related species, Hygromia limbata, but has since been recognized. It now has a scattered range extending north as far as Scotland (the first Scottish record was in Glasgow in 2008). In Britain the snail favors human-associated habitats such as gardens, hedgerows, and waste ground. In Ireland, it has been found at a couple of sites and seems to persist there.

Behavior and ecology
Hygromia cinctella often occurs in large groups and can be active at night when the conditions are humid, especially on paths and flagstones. It may rest high on walls, in leaf litter, or under logs. The species can be active in cold weather and tolerates very cold winters, so its recent spread is more likely helped by human transport than by climate change. Like many snails, it uses love darts during mating.