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Zoogenetes harpa (Say, 1824)
Boreal Top
Family: Valloniidae
Species account author: Robert Forsyth.
Introduction to the Land Snails of BC

Photograph

© Robert Forsyth     (Photo ID #13094)

Map

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Distribution of Zoogenetes harpa in British Columbia in British Columbia

Species Information

Diagnosis: A conic-ovate, poorly calcified shell having more-or-less prominent lamellar axial ribs.

Shell: minute (maximum shell height, to about 3.3 mm), conic-ovate, thin-shelled, weakly calcified. Whorls about 4, well-rounded. Suture deeply indented. Spire conical. Protoconch with microscopic spiral striae. Teleoconch with more-or-less evenly spaced lamellar axial ribs and fine axial striae. Umbilicus perforate, chink-like. Aperture rounded. Peristome incomplete, thin and simple. Apertural dentition: none. Shell silky, brown.

Animal: Edges of foot prominently crenulated; labial lobes large; sensory tentacles nearly obsolete (Pilsbry 1895 [1893–1895]). Body grey, ocular tentacles darker, foot pale, and mantle dark grey speckled with white (Forsyth 2004b).

Biology


Ovoviviparous; at birth, the young as large as the aperture of the adult shell (Pilsbry 1895 [1893–1895]).

Habitat


Generally in mesic forests, around the edges of marshes and lakes. Living in leaf litter, on vegetation, and under dead wood and rocks. Frequently in somewhat disturbed sites (e.g., along roads, in brushy utility corridors).

Distribution


Global range: Northern Europe, with isolated occurrences in the Alps of southern Switzerland (Kerney and Cameron 1979, Turner et al. 1998), north-western Russia, Great Caucasus mountains, and east to the Amur region, Sikhote-Alin, Maritime Province, Kamchatka, and the Kurile and Commander islands (Kantor et al. 2009). In North America, throughout much of Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska to Labrador, south to Massachusetts, Michigan, and at higher elevations south to Colorado (Pilsbry 1948).

BC Range: Sporadic; northern central Interior and north; also south along the Rockies and Foothills (Forsyth 2004b, 2005a, b).

Ecozones: Montane Cordillera, Boreal Cordillera, Boreal Plains, Taiga Plains, Pacific Maritime (?).

Notes


Etymology

Genus name derived from Greek, "zoion", animal, and "genesis", "origin" or "birth", signifying ovoviviparous reproduction. The gender is masculine. Species epithet is Latin, meaning a harp.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeS5YellowNot Listed



BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Helix harpa Say 1824

Additional Range and Status Information Links

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