Allopeas gracile

Family

Subulinidae

Species

Allopeas gracile (Hutton, 1834)

Common name

Graceful awl snail

Description

The elongated, conicalConical:
Shell shape: shells with an elongated spire that tapers to a point and are slightly broader at the base.
shell of this snail measures approximately 12 mm high, with 7-9 whorlsWhorls:
Pleural of whorl. A whorl is a complete spiral turn/growth of the shell of a mollusc. The whorls are counted from the apex outwards.
. Vacant shells are tan in color and living specimens are yellow. This species may be confused with Subulina octona; however, Allopeas gracile is smaller and does not have a truncated columellaColumella:
The central axis of the shell; originates at the shell apex and ends at the umbilicus.
.

Native range

Pacific Islands: Hawaii

Central and South America: Mexico

Caribbean

Asia: Southeastern region

Distribution

Pacific Islands: Hawaii

Central and South America: Mexico

Caribbean

Asia: Southeastern region

Ecology

This species has been documented to occur in large numbers wherever it inhabits. These large numbers often result in outcompetition of other native species within a particular ecosystem. They often occur in greenhouses.

Synonyms

• Bulimus gracilis Hutton, 1834
• Bulimus oparanus Pfeiffer, 1846
• Bulimus junceus Gould 1846
• Stenogyra upolensis Mousson, 1865

References

Abbott 1989Abbott 1989:
Abbott, R.T. 1989. Compendium of landshells. A full-color guide to more than 2,000 of the World’s terrestrial shells. American Malacologists, Inc., Melbourne, FL and Burlington, MA. pp. 240.; Barker 2002Barker 2002:
Barker, G.M. (Ed.) 2002. Molluscs as crop pests. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. pp. 1-468.; Cowie et al. 2008Cowie et al. 2008:
Cowie, R.H., K.A. Hayes, C.T. Chuong, T.Tran and W.M. Meyer III. 2008. The horticultural industry as a vector of alien snails and slugs: widespread invasions in Hawaii. International Journal of Pest Management 54(4): 267-276.; Cowie et al. 2009