Subulina octona

Family

Subulinidae

Species

Subulina octona (Bruguière, 1798)

Common name

Thumbnail awlsnail, Miniature awlsnail

Description

This species measures 14-17 mm high, with 8-9 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.
. The shellShell:
A hard, inflexible, calcareous or chitinous structure that vary in size and may either completely encasing the animal, covering some part of it or be internal.
is long and narrow with a small, ovate apertureAperture:
The major opening of a shell that the body of the animal may be retracted.
(mouth). The shellShell:
A hard, inflexible, calcareous or chitinous structure that vary in size and may either completely encasing the animal, covering some part of it or be internal.
of this species is thin, translucentTranslucent:
Allows light to pass through but prevents the ability to see distinct objects.
and glossy. The color ranges from colorless to pale yellow-brown. The body of the animal is pale yellow. This species may be confused with Allopeas gracile; however, Subulina octona is larger and has a truncated columellaColumella:
The central axis of the shell; originates at the shell apex and ends at the umbilicus.
.

Native range

Tropical America

Distribution

Pacific Islands: Hawaii

Central and South America: Mexico

Europe

Asia: Sri Lanka

Caribbean

Ecology

This species have been documented to occur in large numbers wherever it inhabits, and often occur in greenhouses.

References

Almeida and Bessa 2001Almeida and Bessa 2001:
Almeida, M.N. and E.C. Bessa. 2001. Growth and reproduction of Leptinaria unilamellata (d’Orbigny) (Mollusca: Subulinidae) in laboratory conditions. Rev. Bras. Zool. 18(4): 1107-1113.; Burch 1962Burch 1962:
Burch, J.B. 1962. How to know the eastern land snails: pictured keys for determining the land snails of the United States occurring east of the Rocky Mountains Divide. Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown Company.; Anderson 2005Anderson 2005:
Anderson, R. 2005. An annotated list of the non-marine Mollusca of Britain and Ireland. Journal of Conchology 38: 607-637.; Cowie 1997Cowie 1997:
Cowie, R.H. 1997. Catalog and bibliography of the nonindigenous nonmarine snails and slugs of the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 50.; 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.; Juricková 2006Juricková 2006:
Juricková, L. 2006. Subulina octona (Bruguière, 1798) - a new greenhouse species for the Czech Republic (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Subulinidae). Malacologica Bohemoslovaca. 5: 1-2.; Kerney et al. 1979Kerney et al. 1979:
Kerney, M.P., R.A.D. Cameron and G. Riley. 1979. A field guide to the land snails of Britain and North-west Europe. Collins, London. pp. 288.; Naggs et al. 2003Naggs et al. 2003:
Naggs, F., D.C. Raheem, P.B. Mordan, B. Grimm, K.B. Ranawana and N.P.S. Kumburegama. 2003. Ancient relicts and contemporary exotics: faunal change and survivorship in Sri Lanka’s snail fauna. Slug and Snails: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Perspectives. BCPC Symposium Proceedings 80: 103-108.; Robinson et al. 2009Robinson et al. 2009:
Robinson, D.G., Hovestadt, A., Fields, A. and Breure, A.S.H. 2009. The land Mollusca of Dominica (Lesser Antilles), with notes on some enigmatic or rare species. Zoologische Mededelingen 83: 615-650.; Rosenberg and Muratov 2006Rosenberg and Muratov 2006:
Rosenberg, G. and I.V. Muratov. 2006. Status report on the terrestrial Mollusca of Jamaica. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 155: 117-161.