Illinois Land Snails & Slugs

              This poster was made possible by:
Illinois Department of
Natural Resources
Division of Education
IllinoisWildlife
Preservation Fund
Text: Marla L. Coppolino, Graduate Research Assistant,
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, under U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service/Illinois Department of Natural
Resources State Wildlife Grant T-32-P. A quantitative
study of land snail diversity across multiple habitat types in
southern Illinois.
Funding for this poster was made possible in part by
contributions to the IllinoisWildlife Preservation Fund.
Land snails and slugs, hereafter referred to as “land snails” or “snails,” are among the
least-studied groups of animals and are commonly misunderstood to be pests or
undesirable creatures.While it is true that some snails, particularly species introduced from
other areas, can be damaging to crops or the environment, the snails native to an area play
an essential role in the functioning of its ecosystem. Numbering almost 40,000 species
worldwide, land snails are found in nearly every type of habitat, from tropical rain forests
to mountains, arctic regions and deserts. Land snails are abundant in Illinois. They are
represented by approximately 124 species, ranging in size from about 0.05 inch to
approximately 1.80 inches.
These organisms, as well as aquatic snails, are members of the Class Gastropoda, a
classification category meaning “stomach-foot.” They move on their ventral side on a large,
muscular foot. For those gastropods with a shell, their organs are located in a visceral sac that
is covered with mantle tissue, inside the shell. Gastropods are part of a larger group of
animals, theMollusks, that includes clams, mussels, limpets, chitons, scaphopods, octopuses,
squids and others.
Family Agriolimacidae
gray fieldslug Deroceras
reticulatum (Müller, 1774)
Family Arionidae
dusky arion Arion subfuscus
(Draparnaud, 1805)
Family Cochlicopidae
Appalachian pillar Cochlicopa
morseana (Doherty, 1878)
Family Discidae
tigersnail Anguispira alternata
(Say, 1816)
Iowa Pleistocene snail Discus
macclintocki (F. C. Baker, 1928)
Family Ellobiidae
ice thorn Carychium exile I.
Lea, 1842
Family Gastrodontidae
globose dome Ventridens ligera
(Say, 1821)
Family Haplotrematidae
gray-foot lancetooth Haplotrema
concavum (Say, 1821)
Family Helicinidae
cherrystone drop Hendersonia
occulta (Say, 1831)
Family Helicodiscidae
compound coil Helicodiscus
parallelus (Say, 1817)
Family Orthalicidae
whitewashed rabdotus
Rabdotus dealbatus (Say, 1821)
Family Oxychilidae
brittle button Mesomphix
friabilis (W. G. Binney, 1857)
domed supercoil Paravitrea
significans (Bland, 1866)
Family Philomycidae
Carolina mantleslug Philomycus
carolinianus (Bosc, 1802)
Family Polygyridae
broad-banded forestsnail
Allogona profunda (Say, 1821)
carinate pillsnail Euchemotrema
hubrichti (Pilsbry, 1940)
toothed globe Mesodon zaletus
(A. Binney, 1837)
striped whitelip Webbhelix
multilineata (Say, 1821)
bladetooth wedge Xolotrema
fosteri (F. C. Baker, 1921)
Family Punctidae
small spot Punctum
minutissimum (I. Lea, 1841)
Family Strobilopsidae
bronze pinecone Strobilops
aeneus Pilsbry, 1926
Family Succineidae
depressed ambersnail Oxyloma
peoriense (Wolf, 1894)
Family Valloniidae
thin-lip vallonia Vallonia
perspectiva Sterki, 1893
Family Vertiginidae
armed snaggletooth Gastrocopta
armifera (Say, 1821)
Roger's snaggletooth
Gastrocopta rogersensis Nekola
and Coles, 2001
Species are not shown in proportion to actual size.
KINGDOM ANIMALIA
PhylumMollusca
Class Gastropoda
Species List
I l l i n o i s
ice thorn
Carychium exile
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
Roger's snaggletooth
Gastrocopta rogersensis
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
broad-banded forestsnail
Allogona profunda
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
tigersnail
Anguispira alternata
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
dusky arion
Arion subfuscus
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
gray fieldslug
Deroceras reticulatum
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
Iowa Pleistocene snail
Discus macclintocki
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
brittle button
Mesomphix friabilis
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
carinate pillsnail
Euchemotrema hubrichti
Photo © 2007, Eric Johnson
gray-foot lancetooth
Haplotrema concavum
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
whitewashed rabdotus
Rabdotus dealbatus
Photo © 2009, Jochen Gerber,The Field Museum of Natural History
compound coil
Helicodiscus parallelus
Photo © 2009, Marla L.Coppolino
depressed ambersnail
Oxyloma peoriense
Photo © 2009, Jochen Gerber,The Field Museum of Natural History
toothed globe
Mesodon zaletus
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
Carolina mantleslug
Philomycus carolinianus
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
small spot
Punctum minutissimum
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
thin-lip vallonia
Vallonia perspectiva
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
globose dome
Ventridens ligera
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
striped whitelip
Webbhelix multilineata
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
bladetooth wedge
Xolotrema fosteri
Photo © 2009, Marla L.Coppolino
cherrystone drop
Hendersonia occulta
Photo © 2009, Jochen Gerber,The Field Museum of Natural History
domed supercoil
Paravitrea significans
Photo © 2009, Jochen Gerber,The Field Museum of Natural History
bronze pinecone
Strobilops aeneus
Photo © 2009, Jochen Gerber,The Field Museum of Natural History
Appalachian pillar
Cochlicopa morseana
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
armed snaggletooth
Gastrocopta armifera
Photo © 2008, Marla L.Coppolino
Glossary words defined on back of poster.