tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84748926006541027372024-03-13T08:56:31.254-07:00Land Snails and Slugs of Pennsylvania and New YorkKevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-22004232778293559912013-04-21T08:29:00.002-07:002013-04-21T08:29:46.726-07:00Rocket Fuel Powered Snails?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepJqbVgihXz6s7iOx_fhDYu2V0pD6sv66dRXotpDmIYVQT-a6-0DjmmTTYETAlD6a0pvWdnfQRZHbOtr0A9arYL2FKc5L2n2wbQ031AdUO63WuWRLNQZiB9Ii7iLa87HAH-omO4xR-cg/s1600/Z_nitidus_on_G_korfii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepJqbVgihXz6s7iOx_fhDYu2V0pD6sv66dRXotpDmIYVQT-a6-0DjmmTTYETAlD6a0pvWdnfQRZHbOtr0A9arYL2FKc5L2n2wbQ031AdUO63WuWRLNQZiB9Ii7iLa87HAH-omO4xR-cg/s400/Z_nitidus_on_G_korfii.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zonitoides nitidus on Gyromitra korfii</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Long time, no post ;)<br />
<br />
In the year or so since I last posted my attention has fluttered from snails, to caterpillars, and, now, to mushrooms. I still look at snails when I come across them and find snails really fascinating, but, boy, they are just pretty damn inaccessible to a non-scientist. Not a lot of info on top of being plain hard to identify equals too frustrating to lose sleep over.<br />
<br />
I literally just decided over the winter to learn about mushrooms. I've been on a self-sustainability kick and have decided to see how much of my families food I can provide without supermarkets by growing, foraging, and hunting/fishing. So I spent a lot of the winter pouring through mushroom identification books to get my bearings on that front, hoping to slowly add species of mushrooms to my foraging list.<br />
<br />
But, now that mushrooms are starting to bloom, the two interests (snails and mushrooms) have aligned.<br />
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As the foraging year begins, the genus of mushrooms to seek is Morchella: the Morels. They are the number one spring target for edible mushrooms. Of course, they have their poisonous counterparts known as the false Morels (and, in actuality, Morels are poisonous unless cooked). While out looking for Morels I came across a Gyromitra species, one of these false Morels.<br />
<br />
I picked it to identify and, lo and behold, a Euconulus cf. fulvus was on it. I removed the snail gently (Euconulus seem to be especially crushable) and put the mushroom in a paper bag to bring home and identify. Upon arriving home, I found a hitchhiker, a Zonitoides nitidus. Now, I can't confirm the snails were feeding on the mushroom since I didn't look for feeding tracks, but I can pretty much assume these snails are there for supper. My little hithchiker happily stayed crawling all of the mushroom while I made a spore print.<br />
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Macroscopically I had a pretty good idea of what species it was based on a couple keys to the Gyromitra. But I decided I wanted to confirm identity microscopically by checking out the spores. You'll see below the spores which have prominent knobs (apiculi?) and a central oil spot with some smaller oil spots.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3rwaIZm7FMeEIh41VVZgr5DZjhCbXWf9Rxmhs1KWtzBhLY2WfKloE-l3apUXho58ppWMnVo2pyWif4-9cQ8AlN61MqKrA43d9DrkI4fePnYfM4KnRBdiCJBsqt5d7yFoO3MgotvKllE/s1600/g_korfii_spores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3rwaIZm7FMeEIh41VVZgr5DZjhCbXWf9Rxmhs1KWtzBhLY2WfKloE-l3apUXho58ppWMnVo2pyWif4-9cQ8AlN61MqKrA43d9DrkI4fePnYfM4KnRBdiCJBsqt5d7yFoO3MgotvKllE/s400/g_korfii_spores.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The circled spore shows most of the characteristics: apiculi, central oil spot, and smaller oil spots.</td></tr>
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<br />
By way of microscopy, I confirmed this mushroom as Gyromitra korfii, which may or may not be synonymous with Gyromitra fastigiata. It also may be synonymous with Gyromitra gigas, but I'm not exactly sure. Gyromitra gigas apparently is an edible mushroom. It seems only to be west of the Rockies and favors conifers. However, it still has to be cooked, and some accounts seem to want you to prepare it by parboiling to remove the toxins. G. korfii is grouped with G. gigas and may be conspecific, although all the newer books I own (and Michael Kuo's excellent site: <a href="http://mushroomexpert.com/">http://mushroomexpert.com</a>) have it separated. Further, G. gigas may be a lump of G. korfii and G. montana, distinguished mostly by minute differences of spores and region (G. korfii in east and G. montana in west).<br />
<br />
But here's the cool part: the toxins of Gyromitra. Gyromitra produce monomethylhydrazine, an ingredient in rocket fuel. According to good ole Wikipedia, this toxin is produced in Gyromitra by the hydrolysis of gyromitrin. You can read about gyromitrin and its occurrence in Gyromitra <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyromitrin">here</a>. Long story short, monomethylhydrazine is a known carcinogen and can be fatally toxic to you and me. Some species contain more than others. Gyromitra escuelenta is known to be deadly. Of course, that doesn't stop some people and apparently it's prepared and sold in Finland regularly (the toxins being removed by parboiling).<br />
<br />
This species, G. korfii, was a little harder to nail down as to it's full toxicity. It may be, but then again, maybe it's not. I seems to be of an unknown provenance in the poisonous department. But, it seems like all the Gyromitra are rocking some rocket fuel. Needless to say, this mushroom won't find itself on my plate any time soon.<br />
<br />
So back to our little snails. They are ostensibly feeding on this early species of poisonous (by way of rocket fuel) mushroom. Even if this species of Gyromitra only has a little, the snails mass is so much less than a human, they're ostensibly getting more relative exposure. So, does that mean they have immunity to what we know to be carcinogenic and/or deadly toxin? The mushroom's only coming up in the spring, right when the snails are becoming active again, is there any ill effect from this first meal of poison? They'd only be able to feed for a few months at most, until the mushroom rots away. Can snails get cancer? Obviously, I don't know. But it's kind of neat to think that these snails might just be rocket fuel powered.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/Turbo_(film)_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/Turbo_(film)_poster.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This movie, Turbo, is coming out in July 2013 about a turbo charged snail. We saw a preview of it when the family went to see The Croods. Looks fun and is relatable to this blog post ;)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-24064513975533447682011-12-04T18:49:00.000-08:002012-01-02T12:12:35.793-08:00A Few Interesting ThingsI've got a few things I wanted to post about but just never did. These are those things.<br />
<br />
<b>Frog-faced Snail</b><br />
Going up thru Tunkhannock (Wyoming County) on my way to Ithaca I stopped and grabbed some leaf litter around a seasonal water source near a seep and along the side of the road. My collection device was a gallon bag and it was filled with wet litter, pretty much all water to the top couple inches of the leaf litter. Soon all the snails in the litter climbed up to the top and were easy to collect.<br />
<br />
Eight of the snails (all same species) I couldn't even get to genus-- and it might be some form of freshwater/semiterrestrial. Here's there lowdown:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>No operculum</li>
<li>No long antennae, their eyes were just on the head</li>
<li>I saw them open their pneumostomes in air</li>
<li>No proboscis so Pomatiopsis is out.</li>
<li>About 4mm each</li>
</ol><div>Here are some pics I grabbed:</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVysKRc-lHcsnzgmRRjtcFZU2jhh49hnMJCScYjPxurwHD6FgRmOI_aa8pmMYXnn4nNzev0YajxN7_qp8ADYf_Ld93RJ2v_Wonftwg2eoMCBc5LsLgsntzjHPHODwrHyzcU_dPoYSotA/s1600/frogsnail1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVysKRc-lHcsnzgmRRjtcFZU2jhh49hnMJCScYjPxurwHD6FgRmOI_aa8pmMYXnn4nNzev0YajxN7_qp8ADYf_Ld93RJ2v_Wonftwg2eoMCBc5LsLgsntzjHPHODwrHyzcU_dPoYSotA/s400/frogsnail1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gLY2KkYAMZ2v2fUs2Ipx9X5s9jEKx1O7GbCHsvr8G0sf5b-x_lOSctPm4ZuapnQle4RfTPBQeGvO3HJkehctqUAVzXMyQeeEa4nxRoOTvKzU8mE1MlhpYuCDVBCFGf3YiZYHuLan-DY/s1600/frogsnail2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gLY2KkYAMZ2v2fUs2Ipx9X5s9jEKx1O7GbCHsvr8G0sf5b-x_lOSctPm4ZuapnQle4RfTPBQeGvO3HJkehctqUAVzXMyQeeEa4nxRoOTvKzU8mE1MlhpYuCDVBCFGf3YiZYHuLan-DY/s400/frogsnail2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The snail is seemingly in water up top because I sprinkled with water to get him to walk around. I have others without it soaked in water, but after it hid itself back up I sprayed it to coax it out. This just happens to be what I think is the best picture that shows what it looks like.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Tree Slugs</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>I can't find the photos for this one, but during the summer while I was beating branches for caterpillars I had some Philomycids come falling down. This was up at Bear Creek Natural Area near Wilkes-Barre, PA. I believe they were Megapallifera mutabilis. I just thought it was interesting because they were up at least 6 feet, likely more. Obviously there are tree slugs and snails elsewhere, but it seems like there's no mention of them higher up in trees up here in the northeast. </div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Black-footed Succineid</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>From wikipedia, </div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A dark marking on the posterior surface of the foot is distinctive.</span></blockquote>That's talking about Novisuccinea chittenangoensis, the Chittenango Ovate Ambersnail. I guess that's open for interpretation without an accompanying photo or figure. But I did find this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5WOtEp-CeyVA1gsqWIkOAh-AUwzvvht59hNvakrIt1A8MgcwCSoIc1guytfsAR7byVpFRQS35z27Tn0vQEf3Sritk_EMN1Obb40yqb2ydTYCP50PEYhQV5yxZMhdExDzrgdERuoIynY/s1600/blackfooted_succenied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5WOtEp-CeyVA1gsqWIkOAh-AUwzvvht59hNvakrIt1A8MgcwCSoIc1guytfsAR7byVpFRQS35z27Tn0vQEf3Sritk_EMN1Obb40yqb2ydTYCP50PEYhQV5yxZMhdExDzrgdERuoIynY/s400/blackfooted_succenied.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
That's a succineid on my hand that I found at Nescopeck State Park and that line played thru my mind when I found it, in Pennsylvania, in a dry field of debris. I obviously don't think it's the same species, in fact, I've pretty much given up on identifying succineids. But it's interesting, hence the title of the post. It's the only one I've ever found with a mark like that in all the succineids I've found (and I swear I find more of them than any other family so it kind of chafes me I can't identify them). There were multiple individuals easily found alongside some Ventridens species.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-11436510050597197982011-11-29T20:31:00.000-08:002011-11-29T20:57:57.113-08:00Microsnail Microphotography #1 - Reversing a LensThe technique I've landed on for photographing microsnails is reversing a prime focal length lens. After testing close-up filters I feel the quality and magnification are better by reversing a lens.<br />
<br />
Note that this math seems to only hold true for reversing a prime lens (non-zoom). Also, the reversed lens should be set to it's widest aperture and both lenses focused at infinity.<br />
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The math for how much magnification you get reversing a lens is a simple forward lens focal length/reversed lens focal length. So, if you have a 200mm lens and you reverse a 50mm you are enlarging 4 times. It's handy-to-do, uncomplicated math.<br />
<br />
Now I've got two choices as to where to reverse a lens. I own a Nikon D90 dslr camera and just purchased a Panasonic Lumix FZ150 digital camera. They are both 12 megapixels. This means the bigger sensor is less crowded for better images. Thus, the D90, being a dslr, has an edge on image quailty. Still, both produce usable images. The FZ150 I'd likely keep to ISO 100, maybe 200. The D90 I can shoot to 400, maybe 800.<br />
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The key, however, to enlarging these 1 to 4mm snails is sensor size. The D90 has a sensor size of 23.6mm x 15.8mm and the FZ150 has a 6.16mm x 4.62mm. So you can imagine which camera it's easier to fill with an enlarged portion of light projection.<br />
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The lens I own for the D90 is a 90mm macro. Forward it's a 1:1 lens. Useful for full frame if I'm photographing one of the larger polygyrids. With a 50mm lens reversed it's 1.8x enlargement. So let's say I want to photograph a 1.1mm Punctum minumissimum. Saying the snail is evenly round it projects a 1.98mm image onto a 23.6mm sensor. It's not very big, only 8% of the sensor height.<br />
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The FZ150 has a built-in lens ranging from 4.5mm to 108mm. This is equivalent to 24mm to 600mm in 35mm terms, but you can't use that measurement, only the real focal length. Reversing that same 50mm lens you get a 2.16x enlargement. It's not that much more than the dslr with a 90mm lens but the key is where it's being projected. Now the snail is 2.376mm on a 6.16mm sensor or 38.5% of the image height.<br />
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If I wanted to fill as much of the frame as I could with that same snail I'd just need to use the short measure to reverse engineer it. It needs to just about fill 4.62mm, so for easy math let's say I want to enlarge it to 4.4mm on the sensor (remember, it's 1.1mm), that's 95%. Good enough. Desired enlargement size/actual size is 4x magnification. Forward lens/ magnification is 27mm. I don't know of any 27mm lenses but 28mm lens are pretty common. If I were to get one my P. min. would now take up about 92% of the short measure of the image. The long side only gets about 70% but I would suppose an apical view with an even measure. That's still a lot of image on a 12 megapixel camera.<br />
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But what if I really wanted to use that D90 ? I could always use extension tubes. I've got about 58mm of extension tubes, add the 90mm lens for 148mm, reverse a 28mm lens is 5.28x enlargement. The snail is now 5.8mm out of the short measure (15.8mm) so a little over a third. I've never tried this but that seems like it would be the math. I could be wrong because of where the back of the forward lens is in. If I'm assuming I'm doing the math right, what if I added in a 2x teleconverter. It would go directly behind the forward lens but not between camera and tubes. It's now a 180mm lens and 58mm of tubes--238mm. Supposing this is all right, we're now at 8.5x magnification. Our snail is 9.35mm of projected image. I'll leave you to the math of what lenses/tubes/teleconverters/alchemy to use to try to fill the frame. Needless to say there are a ton of possibilities. But these possibilities generally add up to more of a cost that just the digicam and a prime lens or two.<br />
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As you see, it's easier to work with the small sensor for these small snails. Plus ultimately cheaper if you're starting from scratch. Another bonus is that the digital camera, although big as far as digicams go, is still lighter and compact thus more likely to go on a hike with me.<br />
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The biggest gotcha I've found with reversing a lens is that some lenses/combinations/focal lengths will be seen on the periphery of your image. I only have the 50mm lens and on the FZ150 I can use it from 76.5mm to 108mm without seeing any of the reversed lens. I'm not sure if a shorter lens would allow me to zoom out more or exacerbate the situation or keep it about the same. I'll have to give it a try if I can get my hands on a shorter lens.<br />
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One last thing. If you want to get really fancy you an just reverse the lens without a lens in front of it for various magnifications. I didn't do the math and I'm super tired but as a for instance I made a makeshift extension tube out of a Pringles can and then reversed a 50mm lens at the end of it. It would up giving me about 8x magnification (I shot this with the D90 since you can't remove the lens of the FZ150). Not bad for a 99¢ can of chips (although I find the inedible) and a lens I got on ebay for about $20. I already had a macro reverse ring to attach to a camera but you could also modify a body cap from the camera to connect it if one was so inclined.<br />
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Next headaches: Depth of Field, Lighting, Camera Shake.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-30396939117905461052011-11-23T12:08:00.000-08:002011-11-23T12:08:27.315-08:00Pupoides albilabris : White-lip DaggerFound: Under debris along the railroad tracks, Salt Point, Lansing, NY, Nov. 2001<br />
Sympatric: Gastrocopta armifera, Pupilla muscorum, Vallonia costata, Vallonia excentrica/pulchella, Hygromia striolata<br />
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Working on macrophotography for the microsnails. Right now just trying to handle magnification, that's why the lighting is less than wonderful in these photos. This little fella measures 4.45mm (shell height), still on the large size of the snails I want to photograph. These are crops taken with a reversed lens on an dslr where the snail's height took up about 50% of frame height.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUXu-Mk2uKuAUfLy1CTlPOQ_4g46UxUI_3ebV5LJwAtrngBPpHWwUhjhj7RjD6i7pJIIiiVabJYX7X0SN8JU-vzTOyMR4ETW9ykr9juBGb5FttOb_wIDkPCjmzLzfC9PhNPwhdmsRRzFk/s1600/Pupoides_albolabris_1small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUXu-Mk2uKuAUfLy1CTlPOQ_4g46UxUI_3ebV5LJwAtrngBPpHWwUhjhj7RjD6i7pJIIiiVabJYX7X0SN8JU-vzTOyMR4ETW9ykr9juBGb5FttOb_wIDkPCjmzLzfC9PhNPwhdmsRRzFk/s400/Pupoides_albolabris_1small.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiERt4RgVSVJo0sQnn4gpn83aPYZ9iS29Ly81eajrb2g8tHRkmUvfn2l_WeO3hhWQI8J2yIFOBspmyCKV4H2mD060Xdu2BqlLpnYN_N3Wuu7_Fz0lFqbtBZhaYkAqPYOVYrICdpEJzdW8/s1600/Pupoides_albolabris_2small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiERt4RgVSVJo0sQnn4gpn83aPYZ9iS29Ly81eajrb2g8tHRkmUvfn2l_WeO3hhWQI8J2yIFOBspmyCKV4H2mD060Xdu2BqlLpnYN_N3Wuu7_Fz0lFqbtBZhaYkAqPYOVYrICdpEJzdW8/s400/Pupoides_albolabris_2small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4iJUArPTQUjzWF3q1_nGbqLij9GfCoCvJEWUI6Z-XGcea0h5Sc092L9ogvFvpxaj4fV1kWruCtIDJ4AqNk-WcnmsMPcw7EJHyyx34DSmadtD-JffdFFtwRttzH6ivJvWCWMm2PtGZpo/s1600/Pupoides_albolabris_3small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4iJUArPTQUjzWF3q1_nGbqLij9GfCoCvJEWUI6Z-XGcea0h5Sc092L9ogvFvpxaj4fV1kWruCtIDJ4AqNk-WcnmsMPcw7EJHyyx34DSmadtD-JffdFFtwRttzH6ivJvWCWMm2PtGZpo/s400/Pupoides_albolabris_3small.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-49056017107460046292011-11-08T18:38:00.000-08:002011-11-08T18:38:35.617-08:00Updated Pupillid InfoBig score tonight when I happened upon this:<br />
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<a href="http://sev.lternet.edu/~jnekola/nekola%20pdf/Pupillid%20guide%20-%20color.pdf"> Pupillid land snails of eastern North America</a><br />
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by Jeffrey C. Nekola and Brian F. Coles<br />
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It's basically an updated key to the the Pupillid (Pupilidae, Gastrocoptidae, Vertiginidae) Snails. That's about as hot as it gets. Relatively speaking.<br />
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This seems to be a busy team as they also wrote a few more papers available online:<br />
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A discovery of a new Vertiginidae snail in 2007- Vertigo malleata<br />
<a href="http://sev.lternet.edu/~jnekola/nekola%20pdf/naut-121-17-28.pdf">http://sev.lternet.edu/~jnekola/nekola%20pdf/naut-121-17-28.pdf</a><br />
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A paper on acidic preferences of land snails<br />
<a href="http://sev.lternet.edu/~jnekola/nekola%20pdf/jms-76-144-156.pdf">http://sev.lternet.edu/~jnekola/nekola%20pdf/jms-76-144-156.pdf</a><br />
<br />
And one with Ulfar Bergthorsson on the Evolution of the Vertigo gouldi group using DNA testing<br />
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056614/">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056614/</a>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-28902919274468399782011-11-03T16:40:00.000-07:002011-11-03T16:40:17.148-07:00Introducing IthacaOf a pretty big disappointment to me is how much the terrestrial mollusk fauna in the Ithaca area is non-native. I guess, however, this is to be expected in a developed area-- even one that seems like it's known for it's natural areas (Ithaca is Gorges). Still, I'm spoiled by some good snailing back home in PA.<br />
<br />
Here are some of the non-native species I've encounted:<br />
<br />
Discus rotundatus<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvpzmV72cVa-b3gryrjkA1PfGfmnQ9HvmuXfjX11mjJ4J1eOE-pPFdrC0dnUz1v-SFEU3t7KrVAB1tLI0Ml-qtZn_fTfSHFOYduXd2xIHZKEOs0v9ELr7qURsS8OrMt3ZdEja12RH2GE/s1600/Discus_rotundatus_2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvpzmV72cVa-b3gryrjkA1PfGfmnQ9HvmuXfjX11mjJ4J1eOE-pPFdrC0dnUz1v-SFEU3t7KrVAB1tLI0Ml-qtZn_fTfSHFOYduXd2xIHZKEOs0v9ELr7qURsS8OrMt3ZdEja12RH2GE/s400/Discus_rotundatus_2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Aiwok: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Discus_rotundatus_2.JPG</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Probably the snail I was most pleased to see out of the non-natives only because there are so many Discus Catskillensis where I live in PA. I found some of these near the Equestrian Center in Ithaca (can't remember what it's called, some sort of orchards).<br />
<br />
<br />
Limax Maximus : Leopard Slug<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3BqEDy5fO4Np2Adtavgw97hm50vZF9VXeCKvFe95ps-e2TxTO_jMiKk5Ax5qbDLcY7nC67-A1WwqQ3oTRRVdzRy29CuR-fEN38F25-ZKqzNIPmY4C2RAxu9LhagMXLCV1JGcL88HZMI/s1600/Leopard_Slug_Somerville_MA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3BqEDy5fO4Np2Adtavgw97hm50vZF9VXeCKvFe95ps-e2TxTO_jMiKk5Ax5qbDLcY7nC67-A1WwqQ3oTRRVdzRy29CuR-fEN38F25-ZKqzNIPmY4C2RAxu9LhagMXLCV1JGcL88HZMI/s400/Leopard_Slug_Somerville_MA.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Jonathan Feinberg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leopard_Slug_Somerville_MA.jpeg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As far as the non-native slugs go, this is pretty cool the first time you see it. It's absolutely huge. Another species I've never encountered back in PA. I've found this slug in Sapsucker Woods and Monkey Run.<br />
<br />
<br />
Trochulus hispidus : Hairy Snail<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0x5UZlhyYHuXT6lJ1q2Qd1IE2EQe6q0IgXSqhT3zXq-qMUbLg3snlpe0lspREDopjcXaWDsuRgmm-hgFBS7lOe4EkZisS5J7yZ4Lu-KGAYYinixcgGwCi4Qc7AfgtknPrjYYb4gM_pyE/s1600/Trichia.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0x5UZlhyYHuXT6lJ1q2Qd1IE2EQe6q0IgXSqhT3zXq-qMUbLg3snlpe0lspREDopjcXaWDsuRgmm-hgFBS7lOe4EkZisS5J7yZ4Lu-KGAYYinixcgGwCi4Qc7AfgtknPrjYYb4gM_pyE/s400/Trichia.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by James K. Lindsey http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trichia.hispida.jpg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This could be a wrong identity on my part as Trochulus striolatus (Strawberry Snail) as juveniles of this species have periostracal structures as well. I've only found 2 alive and a ton of empties. I'll have to check inside the umbilicus of the many shells I found this week for hairs with a microscope when I go home to PA to see if I can confirm these as T. hispidus. Either way, I've seen Trochulus species at Sapsucker Woods and Salt Point.<br />
<br />
<br />
Carychium minimum : Herald Thorn<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyehKP-p8KehYw12NVpsTZIvJl8f46jLxkULDfKaSiw1ywydUttiCi-vacu7XhIb23TPqyt5XocXTg4YSinC3iMmO5I4RWkfOOsd4iH8YpGO4Z8KYVgO4wj95I53d5rlzF_fpA0v8X8Q/s1600/Carichium_minimum.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyehKP-p8KehYw12NVpsTZIvJl8f46jLxkULDfKaSiw1ywydUttiCi-vacu7XhIb23TPqyt5XocXTg4YSinC3iMmO5I4RWkfOOsd4iH8YpGO4Z8KYVgO4wj95I53d5rlzF_fpA0v8X8Q/s400/Carichium_minimum.jpeg" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by snailmail http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carichium_minimum.jpg</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I only found empties of this snail in stream drift from Buttermilk Falls. However, I read a paper about the snail being naturalized in wet areas around Beebe Lake on the Cornell campus. This is a tiny snail-- somewhere between 1.6mm and 2.2mm.<br />
<br />
Other species about:<br />
<br />
Cepaea nemoralis- around the Lab of Ornithology. Rose and yellow variants, as well as spiral lined. There may also be C. hortensis mixed in. That or it's some C. nemoralis juveniles reaching to about C. hortensis size and not yet developing the brown lip. I'll have to check harder next year. I tend to gloss over non-native species, not giving them the attention I do natives.<br />
Oxychilus allarius- possibly. Cayuga Heights and near Lab of Ornithology<br />
Arion species- Definitely subfuscus and possibly distinctus. Never pay much attention to ugly Arion slugs.<br />
Deroceras reticulum- another ugly alien slug, everywhere.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-3283997391007563812011-11-01T17:31:00.000-07:002011-11-01T17:31:26.621-07:00Vitrina angelicae : Eastern Glass-SnailI've said it once, and I'll say it again, the northeast region of Pennsylvania is fairly understudied (or at least under-reported) when it comes to nature, which is funny to think about, as it's located a short 2 hours from either Philadelphia or New York City. Multiply an understudied class of organisms by an understudied area and you've got a void of knowledge. This reason is why it's exciting (alright, let's talk in relativities) to be interested in snails and live, at least part-time, in Northeast PA. My sightings get to actually add to the knowledge base with new records.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to Vitrina angelicae, the Eastern Glass-Snail. Also I've seen a common name of Transparent Vitrine Snail, but that name is pretty lame. According to Pilsbry, the genus name stems from the the latin word vitrum, which translates to glass and the species name is traced to the plant, Angelica archangelica, near which it was originally found.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ovRPbDWgHHhUFivVECvxfcmXotn6FVyYvBSdvsO1ofDq-y131VW9l85pTBYNTTF_dQmNODl_ozqfoMEpGA8sXKvwpcYISNXSmiYawwD4I8jfZo50w0th8WDy72xysJSExclFsBoS3wA/s1600/Vitrina_angelicae_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ovRPbDWgHHhUFivVECvxfcmXotn6FVyYvBSdvsO1ofDq-y131VW9l85pTBYNTTF_dQmNODl_ozqfoMEpGA8sXKvwpcYISNXSmiYawwD4I8jfZo50w0th8WDy72xysJSExclFsBoS3wA/s640/Vitrina_angelicae_1.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br />
<br />
According to the records, this snail is only known to reside in Western, mostly Northwestern, Pennsylvania. Also, according to what is known, the snail is an annual species--becoming active in October and dead by the spring. You can read about it at <a href="http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/palandsnails/vi_ange.html">http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/palandsnails/vi_ange.html</a>.<br />
<br />
I also found information at <a href="http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/cbasin/molluscs/vitrinidae.html">http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/cbasin/molluscs/vitrinidae.html</a> which is an account of the related species Vitrina pellucida (the Western Glass-Snail). According to the website, Vitrina pellucida is carnivorous, and it's only difference with V. angelicae is anatomical. To test a little theory that then V. angelicae is also carnivorous I have it in a jar with what is likely prey, Cochlicopa lubrica-- which was found in proximity to the snail-- and Zonitoides arboreus.<br />
<br />
I should also mention that I have found empty shells in two locations in Luzerne County. The first the island of trees and rocks in the turnaround at Nescopeck State Park where also present were plenty of Stenotrema hirsutum, and during the summer while taking my younger daughter through the Butterfly Garden at Frances Slocum State Park. I have also found the shells in the woods adjacent to the Butterfly Garden, though not very far into them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbwwGCovOWN0CUY8_NfopMoWrVcCHx-R_nJoah7OpJUC7BDaqoG27jy-KZA-s-KXhXDmBI_8ygVizXGUAXYjlGZy__-L8tNxlzJnKUarugePwi74B_hpFy4nVbR4vJWwGCdVrIvG1vAw/s1600/Vitrina_angelicae_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbwwGCovOWN0CUY8_NfopMoWrVcCHx-R_nJoah7OpJUC7BDaqoG27jy-KZA-s-KXhXDmBI_8ygVizXGUAXYjlGZy__-L8tNxlzJnKUarugePwi74B_hpFy4nVbR4vJWwGCdVrIvG1vAw/s400/Vitrina_angelicae_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
From now on, instead of attaching an image to the snails known Pennsylvania counties I'll be just linking to my interactive known distribution map. To autoload Vitrinia angelicae go to <a href="http://kevinripka.com/pasnails/?snail=113">http://kevinripka.com/pasnails/?snail=113</a>.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-20406123108705314032011-10-25T18:34:00.000-07:002011-10-25T18:34:48.188-07:00Visualizing Pennsylvania SnailsMaking a living on the web as I do, I find it inconvenient to have to look thru pdfs for data that is ripe for interactive visualization. So I took Pearce's <i>Land Snails of Limestone Communites and Update of Land Snail Distributions in Pennsylvania</i> and added in my own records to create an interactive map of the counties.<br />
<br />
Don't know if it works in Internet Explorer, but it works in Chrome and Firefox. Seriously, it's 2011. There is no reason to use Internet Explorer. Let me get on my soapbox and say that Microsoft doesn't give a damn about user experience, web standards, or modern web practices. Use Chrome-- it's the best browser out there. Firefox is fine, too.<br />
<br />
Here's the link:<br />
<a href="http://kevinripka.com/pasnails/">http://kevinripka.com/pasnails/</a>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-23095066806957731892011-10-17T16:41:00.000-07:002011-10-19T17:48:14.903-07:00Tricky TriodopsisI've featured Triodopis species here before but I wanted to drop a quick not on identifying the congeners Tridopsis tridentata (Northern Three-tooth) and Triodopsis juxtidens (Atlantic Three-tooth). Later I'll update this article with some comparison photos but here is a mnemonic to keep in mind:<br />
<br />
<b>AT</b>lantic is <b>AT</b> or <b>A</b>bove,<br />
Northern is southern.<br />
<br />
What's being referred to here is which direction the distal edge of the palatal tooth points in relation to the upper palatal tooth-- the key to differentiation (morphologically).<br />
<br />
You can read where I gleaned this identification information at the <a href="http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/palandsnails/tr_juxt.html">Carnegie site</a>.<br />
<br />
The real reason for this article is that I need a device for myself as I think I may be confusing the two. Often. The article says that 'ridge-and-valley' is mostly Atlantic but I've called most Northern. And, earlier today, I was at Frances Slocum and think I may have seen both in close proximity and couldn't remember for the life of me which was which. But maybe there weren't both. I have to be a little more intellectually vigilant sometimes. However, Slocum is just chock full o' Triodopsis so I don't pay that much attention. It's a 'hiding in plain sight' sort of thing.<br />
<br />
I'll try to post pics soon to this article to illustrate the point.<br />
<br />
UPDATE: No photos yet but I looked through shells I've collected heretofore and they are all indeed T. tridentata. I believe the shells I collected (and live individuals I saw) on the other side of Slocum are T. juxtidens (but I'm in Ithaca right now and don't have them on me) but that could mean both species are present in the park, albeit different sides of the lake. I don't see any appreciable difference in habitat so I find it fairly interesting.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-51877519376639476882011-10-16T18:31:00.000-07:002011-10-17T16:14:15.597-07:00Two Cool Finds at Hickory Run State ParkI finally got a chance to run to Hickory State Park in Carbon County, PA over the weekend. During the course of a few hours I stopped in 4 locations along the drive to do some snailing. The first few stops had me thinking it was another common, Northeast Pennsylvania snailing day. Most prevalent were Euchemotrema fraternum (Upland Pillsnail). At each stop I must have counted 10 to 20, mostly juvenile (juveniles identified by proximity to adults). Also common were what I called Philomycus flexuolaris (I don't think they were Megapallifera mutabilis, I remember a lighter foot fringe).<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><b>Pallifera species</b><br />
<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdEx8BmjBfb-JFYkbq8er_lXjl_-dsYZjgJ6QUnaELXo7gUd-FVJ8kKgMCKAVcRGet87JdiFrvO9swm6qq3_9coFVs6KBEbo2cmss3p2aRZyXahGLJfawyJfFN1b1HaOBux_AVB3LQUk/s1600/Pallifera_sp_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdEx8BmjBfb-JFYkbq8er_lXjl_-dsYZjgJ6QUnaELXo7gUd-FVJ8kKgMCKAVcRGet87JdiFrvO9swm6qq3_9coFVs6KBEbo2cmss3p2aRZyXahGLJfawyJfFN1b1HaOBux_AVB3LQUk/s400/Pallifera_sp_2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>At the first stop my first exciting find was a Pallifera species slug. My last post (wow, way back in June...) was about Pallifera ohioensis (Redfoot Mantleslug). This slug is a different Pallifera. Now, I have to assume it's probably a Pallifera dorsalis (Pale Mantleslug) but I'm not so sure. Pilsbry speaks of a mid-dorsal line of dots, but this slug lacks that. The rest of the descriptions seems pretty close. The slug in my possession is at times gray-blue and others reddish-tan. It has whitish speckles on the mantle which become little cinnamon flecks as above the foot fringe. It measures 10mm so I assume it's immature.</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>Interestingly I was able to find a few other photos of slugs online with close to the same markings (<a href="http://snailstales.blogspot.com/2011/08/field-trip-at-powdermill-nature-reserve.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30197742@N07/3572960951/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpilla001/2709430197/">here</a>). The biggest difference with mine is the darker markings on its head and tail.<br />
<br />
UPDATE: Here it is the next day and I found a similarly marked Pallifera sp. at Frances Slocum State Park crawling on an empty Neohelix albolabris shell. Under the microscope, though, this one exhibits a faint mid-dorsal line of spots but lacks the darker markings (still dark over eye stalks). This slug is only 7mm.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Helicodiscus parallelus</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>The last stop of my day was where all the action was. Along a single fallen tree I found: more Euchemotrema fraternum, Discus catskillensis, Ventridens ligera, and possibly Zonitoides arboreus (pretty much the same snails I see all the time in my own county). But I also found what I thought was an empty Helicodiscus parallelus. I threw it in one of my little tupperwares I collect in and went home. Today, while inspecting it under the microscope I thought it looked as if there could be an animal inside. Adding a leaf of lettuce and a spritz of water I left it to sit. Later I came back to it and, sure enough, it was crawling around. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmM39FuWrK6tXVuUJeva1j_Vs5vaFtT5SgarQnVFGukiI168Am-BwybXrZw2fjaCe7-9EDr8Ub9WXd4orN0NdExFSoio2ZfFV78g99GxRUTe9mS15ElP9h2SX6bKKizdTeZylYkH-N38/s1600/Helicodiscus_parallelus_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmM39FuWrK6tXVuUJeva1j_Vs5vaFtT5SgarQnVFGukiI168Am-BwybXrZw2fjaCe7-9EDr8Ub9WXd4orN0NdExFSoio2ZfFV78g99GxRUTe9mS15ElP9h2SX6bKKizdTeZylYkH-N38/s400/Helicodiscus_parallelus_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>This little snail measures 3.25mm. The coolest thing about this is that it's a little blind snail. If you look closely at the photo you'll see that there seems to be no eyes at the top of the tentacles where you normally see them on other snails. I've found empties before in stream drift in Ithaca, but this is my first encounter with a live animal.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDd_71xcl9VfAQnkYWFmQPWFvi5nwO_bmw9kS-Pwv-ir-u7qVehJBCXAuuhtg7UB2CZqruoSnn-iK8A8R5LWHc3r5YqriXC-vwBdVnKoHd7ZU83Hkb8CS61ZJId53bca3cZ3YvhQug9Tw/s1600/hpmap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDd_71xcl9VfAQnkYWFmQPWFvi5nwO_bmw9kS-Pwv-ir-u7qVehJBCXAuuhtg7UB2CZqruoSnn-iK8A8R5LWHc3r5YqriXC-vwBdVnKoHd7ZU83Hkb8CS61ZJId53bca3cZ3YvhQug9Tw/s1600/hpmap.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><i>Land Snails of Limestone Communities and Update of Land Snail Distributions in Pennsylvania (Pearce)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Funny enough, although the snail has widespread records, it was missing from Carbon County. I added it in green in the above map.<br />
<div><br />
</div>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-81563060853285256782011-06-06T19:41:00.000-07:002011-06-06T19:41:55.010-07:00Pallifera ohioensis : Redfoot MantleslugHoly crap, how did I miss putting up a post in May? To be fair May is crunch time for birders and our beloved spring migration-- what with birds in their way-more-attractive-than-fall breeding plumages and all. On top of that the weather in Ithaca has finally changed over from frozen tundra to verdant tracts and, since I spend all my time on a computer at work, trekking outside takes way more precedence over blogging. In fact, I've got a whole backlog of images and thoughts to eventually catch up on.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhvptqsn5vv7ylyR_nhga2EHphiOtVO4f4re_VYV7JrcbCz27IUjuDQPTLIrvFtN8pcPBl-3na8xOyvT0p4Ts_pRvDOyGWynLrTmwQiTVvpAPsqkTMtfLMA92q0D9m5RKOAnGlW1TMkk/s1600/Pallifera_ohioensis3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhvptqsn5vv7ylyR_nhga2EHphiOtVO4f4re_VYV7JrcbCz27IUjuDQPTLIrvFtN8pcPBl-3na8xOyvT0p4Ts_pRvDOyGWynLrTmwQiTVvpAPsqkTMtfLMA92q0D9m5RKOAnGlW1TMkk/s400/Pallifera_ohioensis3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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This weekend, however, while at Ricketts Glenn State Park (still Luzerne Co., PA) I was more than pleased to find this little fellow-- what I believe to be Pallifera ohionensis (Sterki 1908), or Redfoot Mantleslug for you kids at home.<br />
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This individual was crawling about one foot up on a tree trunk that has provided me quite a bit of action. The week earlier I had found: 2 Anguispira alternata, 1 Xolotrema denotatum, and an at eye-level Euchemotrema fraternum that I noted the body was fully purple (I should mention I'm still not comfortable with the identification of Euchemotrema leai and should probably spend some time to suss the differences out, something about tighter coils, more delicate hairs, and wetter environments which this particular sighting is two steps to a creek). This day, besides the slug, was another Euchemotrema fraternum (this one with dark brownish up top and tan on bottom of body... better start paying more attention).<br />
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Looking in Hubricht it seems he lumped Pallifera ohioensis with Pallifera dorsalis (Pale Mantleslug). However, I do see P. ohioensis appearing places online so I guess it still enjoys full species status. In Pilsbry it makes mention of specimens from Douglas Lake, Cheybogan, MI that also have the rusty red and I think the subtext is that Sterki's identification is called into question. It goes on to mention, though, that Sterki had also recorded P. dorsalis and so thought the two species different-- perhaps Pilsbry sticking up for Sterki and more calling into question the Douglas Lake records with the rusty marks. Also, I have seen information floating around out there that P. dorsalis is actually a complex and includes even more species. Did someone say 'ripe for genetic study?'<br />
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As far as a description goes this animal is pale with some gray flecking (it reminds me of every cubicle I've ever worked in, a color I call "greige" because it's not quite gray but not quite beige). It has a broken darker line with some darker spots more apparent anterior, but, as you can see from the photo, it has some splotchy gray running most of the body. Extended it was thin and this guy was probably somewhere in the 15 to 20mm range, making this an immature individual (or maybe a P. dorsalis, what do I know?). Full length is 30mm according to Pilsbry (who is giving the measurements according to Sterki). Of course, beside the mantle covering the body except head, the big thing that led me to its immediate identification (thanks to having previously read the <a href="http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/palandsnails/key.html">Carnegie Museum Slug Key</a>) were the rusty red lines going down it's foot fringe. It's face is gray-blue, and, as far as slugs go, it's just cute as a button.<br />
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Here are a couple more photos:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0i8HJ83cNicl-QTBHsUqAC7sDRRzKpskla0fJgVk9PJ8MhrSPbc77fbqMjf4BWOmKqRxzY1bztW_LO-X4EqBFuB7ymyOVFSRb90rTTl1uWOVr3wnJfwFSc8HO_T07hGsyrujsDfBb9sA/s1600/Pallifera_ohioensis2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0i8HJ83cNicl-QTBHsUqAC7sDRRzKpskla0fJgVk9PJ8MhrSPbc77fbqMjf4BWOmKqRxzY1bztW_LO-X4EqBFuB7ymyOVFSRb90rTTl1uWOVr3wnJfwFSc8HO_T07hGsyrujsDfBb9sA/s400/Pallifera_ohioensis2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbs5VE7Epu_q_TPa86C4hXNnwGiVFYuhzFEMkevktIjGh7FVLFSlgROQnznGfc9age_tIM8CZGBUFCvQoQzp4AWQHan2cZgaGm7uYpyU9QzBlgWoIFqjaO8viWMy7EOEWcqqXkOo8s93Y/s1600/Pallifera_ohioensis1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbs5VE7Epu_q_TPa86C4hXNnwGiVFYuhzFEMkevktIjGh7FVLFSlgROQnznGfc9age_tIM8CZGBUFCvQoQzp4AWQHan2cZgaGm7uYpyU9QzBlgWoIFqjaO8viWMy7EOEWcqqXkOo8s93Y/s400/Pallifera_ohioensis1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6h9ucK8ZT78hHtj-n97txgq-MZS_wh2HYV_7Qd6bQQtVUDXOh-fQFALnEIvobhh9T3qEeBrYvfUHVvsnBX9MEPIcu4yUpFda3YPGb8spCLPG6PCvgRFhKl0mw7PBWAkbeNVQNU9sEmw/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-06-06+at+9.16.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6h9ucK8ZT78hHtj-n97txgq-MZS_wh2HYV_7Qd6bQQtVUDXOh-fQFALnEIvobhh9T3qEeBrYvfUHVvsnBX9MEPIcu4yUpFda3YPGb8spCLPG6PCvgRFhKl0mw7PBWAkbeNVQNU9sEmw/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-06-06+at+9.16.51+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Range maps from <i>Land Snails of Limestone Communities and Update of Land Snail Distributions in Pennsylvania (Pearce). SIghting record county (Luzerne) added in yellow.</i></span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Above you see the standard range map I use from Dr. Timothy Pearce. I continually find myself lucky to be (at least part time) in a state that actually has good, current, accessible information. You'll see that, if I'm correct on the identification, this is quite a good record. There are no records from the eastern 2/3 of the state. Here's P. dorsalis for comparison:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_ZiAekwn10e4qErcSqOewSnPMxBbpNz_Q7Jk0pdS4jxWKIRV_l6uDHrGE54FlCHYC4DWXoCscAbKm-uV0CEWsscI6urVz0qjc462FctA_3NWmvZy3A3kGxPE5Z4eqs7CS4xvlI-BIJg/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-06-06+at+9.16.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_ZiAekwn10e4qErcSqOewSnPMxBbpNz_Q7Jk0pdS4jxWKIRV_l6uDHrGE54FlCHYC4DWXoCscAbKm-uV0CEWsscI6urVz0qjc462FctA_3NWmvZy3A3kGxPE5Z4eqs7CS4xvlI-BIJg/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-06-06+at+9.16.57+PM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Note that P. dorsalis has a wider known range and even does have records for Luzerne County. If this were a breeding bird I'd question my sighting versus the range map, but, seeing as land snails are painfully understudied, it doesn't make me blink an eye. I won't be losing any sleep over calling it a Redfoot Mantleslug.</div><br />
A thing I should have paid attention to is the type of tree that I'm finding so much action on. At least, however, I know exactly where the tree is as it is right on the trail, practically on Route 118 (maybe 1/16 of a mile), and part of a two tree set. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, Ricketts Glenn State Park is an understudied jewel. As a matter-of-fact, so is a lot of Northeastern Pennsylvania.<br />
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It's amazing how I find the introduced slugs (Arions, etc.) pretty disgusting but I absolutely love our native Philomycids. I think when the mantle isn't really separated out it makes for a nicer looking creature.<br />
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Next article definitely will be "Introducing Ithaca." An exposé on all the introduced species I'm finding here. I swear I've found way more introduced species than natives here!Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-19181539435536730332011-04-25T16:22:00.000-07:002011-04-25T16:34:09.070-07:00Instead of Looking for Easter Eggs...I did quite a bit of snailing over the Easter weekend. I am fortunate enough that my home in Dallas, PA is not far from plenty of really great habitat. But, more specifically, I am close to the great old growth forest of Ricketts Glen State Park. As such, I managed to steal a couple hours both Saturday and Sunday to do a little snailing and birding at the glen.<br />
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The first day I really only worked a small patch where the road and the creek combine. While there was 'shit for birds' as I say when there isn't much bird action, there was certainly no lack of terrestrial mollusks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79QVfjwySWJlJCi4MG-WKgicRHyn61hx-CalVuaGBv9lJ7QL416vZ4tjL3Kj3m_upCJynP52nc0hZu6TYFHYM2Om7bFXy2_LatE8Wgw-pAg3v_KFRwrXIG3LgSNxU_NxSrywhBGKYI8A/s1600/Euchemotrema_fraternum_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79QVfjwySWJlJCi4MG-WKgicRHyn61hx-CalVuaGBv9lJ7QL416vZ4tjL3Kj3m_upCJynP52nc0hZu6TYFHYM2Om7bFXy2_LatE8Wgw-pAg3v_KFRwrXIG3LgSNxU_NxSrywhBGKYI8A/s400/Euchemotrema_fraternum_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadWo5cp7eUpgLldsvlovUuHK1cqfMIlFztf4q2fixcBnIJc_TBS_NVhYDvbk8HyMQEo5AFV5hhyphenhyphenBd8AJRgqR1xGyRAkCNIJwBhDpzwf4DHKkRLzXXEgLX5ReKwZxQ49fhE2qTjvWPQA8/s1600/Euchemotrema_fraternum_apertural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadWo5cp7eUpgLldsvlovUuHK1cqfMIlFztf4q2fixcBnIJc_TBS_NVhYDvbk8HyMQEo5AFV5hhyphenhyphenBd8AJRgqR1xGyRAkCNIJwBhDpzwf4DHKkRLzXXEgLX5ReKwZxQ49fhE2qTjvWPQA8/s400/Euchemotrema_fraternum_apertural.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-p9cyU6xICMKlDnIzCAvpVSQTc0XhWzqWdwixonBC4CfRxPZemxASZYLsljSVdXwTFc0-PVU8C7ytmTbLEU4yKd72BJCJHj7siHKV_6Rqt3QX2Tj4X4Ul90iifbhkIsl0Xxa6znFHYA/s1600/Euchemeotrema_fraternum_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-p9cyU6xICMKlDnIzCAvpVSQTc0XhWzqWdwixonBC4CfRxPZemxASZYLsljSVdXwTFc0-PVU8C7ytmTbLEU4yKd72BJCJHj7siHKV_6Rqt3QX2Tj4X4Ul90iifbhkIsl0Xxa6znFHYA/s400/Euchemeotrema_fraternum_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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One snail that I only found in one spot, but 6 individuals, was Euchemotrema fraternum. I interestingly read a couple days ago a reference by F. Wayne Grimm that this is actually a species complex as he wrote <a href="http://www.naturewatch.ca/Mixedwood/landsnai/lsnail8.htm">here</a> about the species in Ontario.<br />
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<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Euchemotrema fraternum</i> (Say, 1824) - A <em>complex</em> of at least three distinct forms, represented by pure populations and probable hybrids. As there are anatomical, distributional, and habitat differences, it is unwise to subsume them under "<i>fraternum</i>" and look the other way, hoping that a fascinating evolutionary problem will evaporate, leaving identifications simple. In the U.S. known from Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri eastward across the Great Lakes Basin to Alabama, North Carolina, and New England (Hubricht, 1985). In Ontario, found frequently in mesic forest situations from Algoma and Temagami southward (Oughton, 1948: 9). Breeding experiments and comprehensive anatomical comparisons are to be undertaken when resources and time permit. </span></blockquote><br />
They were all under bark that was laying on the ground within 15 feet of the creek. Alongside them were a couple Discus catskillensis and a immature Polygyrid.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzfRPJKktaeT_mZTI1HBTa1cmLpo3C0OZkrhpI5W9wgPzKOpmBUC5ISh01OiAMQR2Qlr-DbdZZ5EsC0f5x7Om_SrRKnxG2VjIImYwUORCEH_w6w8dJ-ljxBrPBB22AvfXSd-SRdsU6oo/s1600/Discus_catskillensis_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzfRPJKktaeT_mZTI1HBTa1cmLpo3C0OZkrhpI5W9wgPzKOpmBUC5ISh01OiAMQR2Qlr-DbdZZ5EsC0f5x7Om_SrRKnxG2VjIImYwUORCEH_w6w8dJ-ljxBrPBB22AvfXSd-SRdsU6oo/s400/Discus_catskillensis_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm not sure why I didn't take apertural and umbilical views of any of the Discus catskillensis I found, but here is an apical view.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another snail I found quite a bit of is Triodopsis tridentata. It's probably the polygyrid I find most in my county. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXKjGLFx9SFrL_4mtys9CEQHGIqzzY-ygtnE-SjlNehIQAvDpZevbTphB9BNnCz-rninbZPYqX7eVrinGvYt-x34oQTHgrgaREns85sdfzXMmKgRs39P7tmvkjceZ3kvuEIugBXbcdFQ/s1600/Triodopsis_tridentata_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXKjGLFx9SFrL_4mtys9CEQHGIqzzY-ygtnE-SjlNehIQAvDpZevbTphB9BNnCz-rninbZPYqX7eVrinGvYt-x34oQTHgrgaREns85sdfzXMmKgRs39P7tmvkjceZ3kvuEIugBXbcdFQ/s400/Triodopsis_tridentata_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelak83w7giPHUiDawo3iogIUhT-ebEkk8whGUVevn7JaCfF-HYUxhbCKrq92DeCgGDavszXr5JJu5bEmWH4fKBEQL8EBdYqCfTuQRo2JN1yPWoe91BSZKBANIzujgdLWITbBGFzaxAzA/s1600/Triodopsis_tridentata_apertural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelak83w7giPHUiDawo3iogIUhT-ebEkk8whGUVevn7JaCfF-HYUxhbCKrq92DeCgGDavszXr5JJu5bEmWH4fKBEQL8EBdYqCfTuQRo2JN1yPWoe91BSZKBANIzujgdLWITbBGFzaxAzA/s400/Triodopsis_tridentata_apertural.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RkUoeb3EJ5dq2skyks7W6FhhnwbykANR-jRPXF818aG9alRBV4C0S3KkBaYwQO5ozW5IDszrrwYj1HhzoiS0lT2J9osXmWE3jg1hxH8AOQrlBbpHp_3AVhBZaExtQFdOSkoqAdYUYe0/s1600/Tridopsis_tridentata_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RkUoeb3EJ5dq2skyks7W6FhhnwbykANR-jRPXF818aG9alRBV4C0S3KkBaYwQO5ozW5IDszrrwYj1HhzoiS0lT2J9osXmWE3jg1hxH8AOQrlBbpHp_3AVhBZaExtQFdOSkoqAdYUYe0/s400/Tridopsis_tridentata_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One interesting individual looks as if he had to overcome some traumatic experience as you can see by the deformity of his body whorl getting close to the aperture and some breaklines:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6Ils6g4G-xRd1x6ULePE1sr7EGeISvsfF-KCEnWoYvMZL1ISKlrcIyIZYow_k96vHw4flXmpxj1NBFjhMxnyxFRtoW2uEBrx3E5WrCBUwp_x4E_4pDP9OKlnbhN-ZcihDpyCmHTOtK4/s1600/deformed_Triodopsis_triendentata_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6Ils6g4G-xRd1x6ULePE1sr7EGeISvsfF-KCEnWoYvMZL1ISKlrcIyIZYow_k96vHw4flXmpxj1NBFjhMxnyxFRtoW2uEBrx3E5WrCBUwp_x4E_4pDP9OKlnbhN-ZcihDpyCmHTOtK4/s400/deformed_Triodopsis_triendentata_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_O2q-hAQ_gUd7hhHKYigx3hk_QUMCdM6CR8YZ9oAaDdfQJABxxNEgUa295mdH4anY1lBr-tDJwvEZKKS-ZdjvMzr4giQp4L-3kgwL_GyyuXWQ3uwL0_OrevRF9i4TaC7tjPRzW_M1hM/s1600/deformed_Triodopsis_tridentata_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_O2q-hAQ_gUd7hhHKYigx3hk_QUMCdM6CR8YZ9oAaDdfQJABxxNEgUa295mdH4anY1lBr-tDJwvEZKKS-ZdjvMzr4giQp4L-3kgwL_GyyuXWQ3uwL0_OrevRF9i4TaC7tjPRzW_M1hM/s400/deformed_Triodopsis_tridentata_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another snail I found a couple of is Anguispira alternata. The 'Flaming Tigersnails' that I've noted in the park are definitely not that flaming and instead rather dull compared to a some I've seen as far as the shell goes. But their bodies are very varied with purples and pinks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXFP3PRX_aTRS8QSjSd3hOAM7YTTkPtsKLLpcFhCY8WmB8pndB5YgQKvhtmYcjAWtryW7Bt7aTvvj1MRCf7HaJ-sMCsRYhwmcP1ouXN5yOkGaNNtJzWrLGJjtBrFdCmvg1ZpIdo4Pr0w/s1600/Anguispira_alternata_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXFP3PRX_aTRS8QSjSd3hOAM7YTTkPtsKLLpcFhCY8WmB8pndB5YgQKvhtmYcjAWtryW7Bt7aTvvj1MRCf7HaJ-sMCsRYhwmcP1ouXN5yOkGaNNtJzWrLGJjtBrFdCmvg1ZpIdo4Pr0w/s400/Anguispira_alternata_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I really didn't see many empty shells but had one that struck my fancy:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZxftZOg10NG5nEi_Xce2oE2De0UICJGP0oMfygN9D7ErYB9RIS2zL6VPvswvKnyfbTgOKehb0BJjHvlkK7UbwPJAaWOm_xDY8KySSB20eDyTM6T4uC3FhUvhT0GzQsThZqbrcx-UZ0o/s1600/Xolotrema_denotatum_cf_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZxftZOg10NG5nEi_Xce2oE2De0UICJGP0oMfygN9D7ErYB9RIS2zL6VPvswvKnyfbTgOKehb0BJjHvlkK7UbwPJAaWOm_xDY8KySSB20eDyTM6T4uC3FhUvhT0GzQsThZqbrcx-UZ0o/s400/Xolotrema_denotatum_cf_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDzJBu7H6h6NWbsJpE92zHDmHsI1O7fdUSm_GvIHMKCHbElKckuVRikbr-fIJu-_032L_hxv7xgrq3cTMo-G17UQhFX8flp1Q1f7SdOtjHXMxF42lgLci72MqpSrOrYJDBaaBx1ZdTFo/s1600/Xolotrema_denotatum_cf_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDzJBu7H6h6NWbsJpE92zHDmHsI1O7fdUSm_GvIHMKCHbElKckuVRikbr-fIJu-_032L_hxv7xgrq3cTMo-G17UQhFX8flp1Q1f7SdOtjHXMxF42lgLci72MqpSrOrYJDBaaBx1ZdTFo/s400/Xolotrema_denotatum_cf_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I haven't had a chance to work a key for it but I'm leaning towards Xolotrema denotatum. However, the ones I've seen in the park are thicker than this shell. I'll have to revisit these photos at a later date but compare to below... pretty much the same except thickness. Plus this guy is light colored. Some I've seen are dark, hence the name Velvet Wedge.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next day I found some different species, as well as had some new birds for my year. I had a singing Veery, which seems like it might be a week or so early but I'm terrible with dates and it could be spot on. Also the forest had my first of year Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Blue-headed Vireos.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Speaking of Xolotrema denotatum, I think here's one that seems to have lost his velvety periostracum that gives them the common name, Velvet Wedge:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBYMXTcS941Cr_xrl46L_LB6wo1j5o4Go4T_FBaC3DhqXE7XZXYB9D8EVEt-c5wev-_Egbb9ZJQkX5u_cv49OFgVfqeXy-puwaaRCtGJM6oG8nPkmpSYg-u2kAp5_7rkXKxaMIbrhP9E/s1600/Xolotrema_denotatum_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBYMXTcS941Cr_xrl46L_LB6wo1j5o4Go4T_FBaC3DhqXE7XZXYB9D8EVEt-c5wev-_Egbb9ZJQkX5u_cv49OFgVfqeXy-puwaaRCtGJM6oG8nPkmpSYg-u2kAp5_7rkXKxaMIbrhP9E/s400/Xolotrema_denotatum_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjsnaFDeGkTtWnnoPHlRAniXNDdF7_fi2X8H5eX0X0Sv1LECL4eJQc2oBEOW4FzkhOm77GeudRDbhqYLO3Au6KkHMBI-Fe7h4q2FbdNLolmTl9xa_6VD-X4KJpECwMr1jilgKIw8wK5o/s1600/Xolotrema_denotatum_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjsnaFDeGkTtWnnoPHlRAniXNDdF7_fi2X8H5eX0X0Sv1LECL4eJQc2oBEOW4FzkhOm77GeudRDbhqYLO3Au6KkHMBI-Fe7h4q2FbdNLolmTl9xa_6VD-X4KJpECwMr1jilgKIw8wK5o/s400/Xolotrema_denotatum_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ILls5U5cy3d4JMI_qvNSueCuaU_dnAcb9i_x1jyGHHSdL9KLnf-_A3c9daHZvK6mkkvpJW8Gj7ojJhucob3tOSKq43UDowiJFRYwGQP9niLsE56cdVH2wd8YO-SQxZpYPhEhZ1n3PZs/s1600/Xolotrema_denotatum_apertural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ILls5U5cy3d4JMI_qvNSueCuaU_dnAcb9i_x1jyGHHSdL9KLnf-_A3c9daHZvK6mkkvpJW8Gj7ojJhucob3tOSKq43UDowiJFRYwGQP9niLsE56cdVH2wd8YO-SQxZpYPhEhZ1n3PZs/s400/Xolotrema_denotatum_apertural.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I only found 2 introduced species, a single Arion subfuscus and a yellow Arion slug. I've seen a couple of these all yellow Arions in the park but am not sure which species it is. The one I found Sunday was immature and crawling on a log right next to a Philomycus flexuolaris.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfzgr4dWwB6D_qMdF3fYAngq4vsJoeKd-Nkc6Y-9hfZ7DS0dJ6Cem26IqfYTYjDOpyXPF1773IjC0wt-ONOBlyd85MupqomTdXrcsK7bRjmIgQNED7kTlv1fPejRc5NuraTtuhSp0N8A/s1600/yellow_Arion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfzgr4dWwB6D_qMdF3fYAngq4vsJoeKd-Nkc6Y-9hfZ7DS0dJ6Cem26IqfYTYjDOpyXPF1773IjC0wt-ONOBlyd85MupqomTdXrcsK7bRjmIgQNED7kTlv1fPejRc5NuraTtuhSp0N8A/s400/yellow_Arion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Almost forgot, on Saturday I also found what I believe are of the Mesomphix genus, maybe Mesomphix perlaevis or inornatus, but I don't have a field microscope to check on the microsculpture, as it's my understanding you can differentiate the two species I mentioned by the presence or absence of minute papillae (<a href="http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/palandsnails/me_inor.html">see here</a>):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7D2tkYdwQdEowA3bXF0SS_KSMTfn4uxkLlFwLHD0DoRu0UOPzQmQ5SbYKfgtzqo8bT-crvJSiMajJmMw-FLC2ftK4CHXq82GDgnJtWt_IKm5hd4cpr_T2YRBBVzdz4E8pHbA0BLqrIjo/s1600/Mesomphix_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7D2tkYdwQdEowA3bXF0SS_KSMTfn4uxkLlFwLHD0DoRu0UOPzQmQ5SbYKfgtzqo8bT-crvJSiMajJmMw-FLC2ftK4CHXq82GDgnJtWt_IKm5hd4cpr_T2YRBBVzdz4E8pHbA0BLqrIjo/s400/Mesomphix_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBtaWKMflXUHFBnX7cUBWbOQDlVAVuvy95nANu3x8vC1z025wLLHOTy60GmT6d2LFVJwa9B6urkwfZ_OLfQJxEMMm05kaRzruIqs4-blh5xEaGojhYHXCqt9KSSzY95prKzojXFWfmnw/s1600/Mesomphix_apertural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBtaWKMflXUHFBnX7cUBWbOQDlVAVuvy95nANu3x8vC1z025wLLHOTy60GmT6d2LFVJwa9B6urkwfZ_OLfQJxEMMm05kaRzruIqs4-blh5xEaGojhYHXCqt9KSSzY95prKzojXFWfmnw/s400/Mesomphix_apertural.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another snail of interest, this one from Sunday, was a 9mm Ventridens species that I haven't looked at a key to see if I can identify from my photos. But this little guy was just walking around on the leaf litter near one of the falls. Of course he tucked in the second I leaned down to photograph him. But I'd hide too if something way bigger than me was checking me out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbcxLw-5_kHHojertLBf8s98HgmHS4sRcqAg2ZVgfv6mkXzxbcef8MXwgPj-3U32gZ0pLhmaZOdIXIVyBULkAuF8-AcPam1IFIqYl1Dk3U5c7bW9q-YqHqc6Dn5SZEgZLcE4MALtPPG8/s1600/ventridens_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbcxLw-5_kHHojertLBf8s98HgmHS4sRcqAg2ZVgfv6mkXzxbcef8MXwgPj-3U32gZ0pLhmaZOdIXIVyBULkAuF8-AcPam1IFIqYl1Dk3U5c7bW9q-YqHqc6Dn5SZEgZLcE4MALtPPG8/s400/ventridens_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And the flowers were out:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwp4cmP2LgcJAU93IJEuYM8rAV4GqljZs5LH8Y1eBVJMxP5Udphk-VXX1nWQRljC6QQkW35nqKP67OjDvNAeVUPzTg2k_nI6Cwm_AIOS0aSByXqFXzfZgXudjOGel2q3Uq3vLZwiXuIw/s1600/purple_flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwp4cmP2LgcJAU93IJEuYM8rAV4GqljZs5LH8Y1eBVJMxP5Udphk-VXX1nWQRljC6QQkW35nqKP67OjDvNAeVUPzTg2k_nI6Cwm_AIOS0aSByXqFXzfZgXudjOGel2q3Uq3vLZwiXuIw/s400/purple_flower.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And some mushrooms :</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2ZkLk4ApG1kCOFYhC-DfvEbjPD00lFmBJU6s3LAfp_mUzj0fxqF0i8NT-0ZOLXgmqPqooEfaW99bwSKgwWJGDjCHiunAnXI129XeUBv8J-5B5KyRq_qBd6wEj1L8qxoZstHZ-bma53A/s1600/cool_mushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2ZkLk4ApG1kCOFYhC-DfvEbjPD00lFmBJU6s3LAfp_mUzj0fxqF0i8NT-0ZOLXgmqPqooEfaW99bwSKgwWJGDjCHiunAnXI129XeUBv8J-5B5KyRq_qBd6wEj1L8qxoZstHZ-bma53A/s400/cool_mushroom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And one last cool thing I saw over the weekend, although this was at Moon Lake State Park which I just went birding and only lifted a couple rocks, finding this creature: a Smooth Green Snake (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Liochlorophis vernalis), the first one I've ever seen. But I'm not a herp guy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDf6jIDkA8zwVoHDCDUsFM66P8QB1INNEAKZGi0SThMUfY5Kom5WFvn5B27-1cSlmk74he-oB2l6mjZfQsCOTFS9LZn57b477HxTB6twVlgujwAFtTx5ftfJAkFPVtdTPoBREYq1Uz2M/s1600/smooth_green_snake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDf6jIDkA8zwVoHDCDUsFM66P8QB1INNEAKZGi0SThMUfY5Kom5WFvn5B27-1cSlmk74he-oB2l6mjZfQsCOTFS9LZn57b477HxTB6twVlgujwAFtTx5ftfJAkFPVtdTPoBREYq1Uz2M/s400/smooth_green_snake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WAIT!! How could I forget about the snail I was most excited to find? At least, I'm reasonably sure of identification, I found 3 Haplotrema concavum in various places, but 2 were in close quarters with an Anguispira alternata and Triodopsis tridentata. For those that don't know, Haplotrema concavum is a snail-eating snail, a real killer. These were at Ricketts.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CUqhP6eECiO-XPyyM5qEELpT8WDNO_82LcLQWKaUnyO_k-qJfJtCnX9trPfJa5cIvkZl2o01ImlAnxRZ5RtCpmYJavT-79Wh1Cc4U-BZnrCaUP9aKrAyVhZ2eJpOqydudCl_71jQsEE/s1600/Haplotrema_concavum_umbilical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CUqhP6eECiO-XPyyM5qEELpT8WDNO_82LcLQWKaUnyO_k-qJfJtCnX9trPfJa5cIvkZl2o01ImlAnxRZ5RtCpmYJavT-79Wh1Cc4U-BZnrCaUP9aKrAyVhZ2eJpOqydudCl_71jQsEE/s400/Haplotrema_concavum_umbilical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsr5EH9JfCZiI7u11VlEmpk3WovMB13NiOvo-dVLmWZ1UVRVUg34N_RCXhVz4FG1olk0LO3fUTZhFJRXYyHizGRi2qYynLXoPDTMj-m6JDAcR9DCYz2oQCGYgDM1lYcDj1bKxqVYE6nJs/s1600/Haplotrema_concavum_apical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsr5EH9JfCZiI7u11VlEmpk3WovMB13NiOvo-dVLmWZ1UVRVUg34N_RCXhVz4FG1olk0LO3fUTZhFJRXYyHizGRi2qYynLXoPDTMj-m6JDAcR9DCYz2oQCGYgDM1lYcDj1bKxqVYE6nJs/s400/Haplotrema_concavum_apical.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All very cool stuff! How the hell can anyone be bored when there's this much out there? And I'm only scratching the surface...</span></div>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-84859800317383734852011-04-13T19:42:00.000-07:002011-04-13T19:42:29.492-07:00Ventridens ligera lazarusAlthough I've been slow to post lately, I've been busily on the snail. Mostly, right now, I've been scouring the drift materials in the creeks close to my rented room in Ithaca. And though it doesn't do much for locality data it does give me a bumper crop to explore and identify.<div><br />
</div><div>Another thing I wanted to do was to start really getting into dissecting so that, when in doubt (*cough succineidae cough*) I could pull out the scalpel, pins, and probe and get to the bottom of things. With that in mind on Monday morning before I left for work (~7am) I dropped a Ventridens ligera (Globose Dome) into a jar of water completely without air bubbles. I went about my day, birding, work, gym, etc and about 10pm I got around to pulling him out for dissection. Sure enough I threw him down in a dissecting tray, walked away for a couple minutes and came back to him right side up. A poke and he was retracted into his shell. Stymied!</div><div><br />
</div><div>I dropped him back in water (so this is about 10:30pm on Monday). Tuesday came and went and I couldn't find time to dissect. Fast forward to a few minutes ago (Wednesday at 10pm) and I looked at the jar, saw the snail really lost most of his color, and figured he had expired. Again I pulled on my gloves and readied my makeshift laboratory (I hope the woman I rent my room from isn't reading my blog because I'm sure snail dissection isn't tops on the list of things she'd like me to be doing in this big manicured house I rent a room in). I placed him on the tray and, sure enough, he retracted in. Curious, I put him under the microscope and could see that he was respirating. This means my little Ventridens ligera (lazarus as a cute play-- I know he didn't die and come back to life, but I had assumed him dead at one point) had been submerged without oxygen for about 48 hours and has not expired. Seems like a fairly long time to be without oxygen. Me, I tend to not go more than 30 seconds at at time without it. Less if I can help it. One of the many reasons I don't swim: I heart oxygen. But apparently little Lazarus doesn't have fully the same feelings, though I'm sure he'd prefer oxygen to a slow watery death if he could communicate.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Interestingly I collected this little fellow along a railroad track that lies in a definite floodplain. It's a little setback from the Susquehanna River-- too far for the river proper to get to, even in the days before the dike, but the creek systems that pour from the mountains to the river to pass right in the spot and the area is very prone to flooding, particularly in spring. In fact, the road that is right next to this area is often closed due to flooding and on either side of the tracks are pools of water that remain year round and overflow during these periods of flood. Along the tracks I found these snails in abundance alongside an unidentified small succineidae species. Mostly they resided under woody and leafy debris. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Part of me wanted to see if I left the snail out if he would be able to recover but I dropped him back in water to dissect another day.</div>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-60221969262621964102011-03-21T19:57:00.000-07:002011-03-21T20:07:10.745-07:00Quantifying Color for Crawling CrittersI wanted my next post on this blog to be a comparative morphology of 3 individuals of Stenotrema hirsutum I have from 3 separate locations, but thinking about this subject brought me to the idea of color.<br />
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In my day job as a graphic designer I deal with color quite a bit. I've been fed color theories, color cultural meanings, etc. On top of that, when I used to be a professional photographer I became well versed in the qualities of light and how they relate to color. So color is no stranger in my world-- one of a visual arts professional.<br />
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However, the visual is pretty much what I'm most interested in, not only in my career, but in my hobbies. For instance, I am a birder as one of my main hobbies. And, although I'm well versed enough to know their sounds and able to identify solely using that sense, I never care for only hearing a bird. I always want to see it. Snails also are a visual affair for me. While many people probably have never taken the time to appreciate the very subtle beauty of land snails (sure, maybe some other shells like the fancy Cones I only learned of at the MAM meeting), I find quite a bit of visual intrigue in the the subtle gradation of shell features. Plus I find the live animals just plain cute.<br />
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Let's face it, the world, including the malacological world, revolves around the visual uptake of information. Proof is that snails aren't usually described base on their textures (at least not tactually, although texture is described visually, but I've never heard a description of the feeling one gets when touching) , their smells (well, maybe Oxychilius alliarius-- aka the Garlic Snail), or their sounds (unless you went to the MAM meeting the other day).<br />
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Before I hit too much of a tangent, the reason for this post is to question some of the whys, why-nots, and methods of thinking about color as it pertains to land snails. There are a few things that strike me about the accounts/data of snails I've been reading in Pilsbry and Burch:<br />
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<ol><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><b>The adjectives used to describe are not exact</b><i>.</i> Maybe their not as bad as walking into a paint store and seeing nonsense names like 'december mist' and 'autumn night,' but their still not very scientifically precise. Words are used like 'cinnamon-buff' and, one I still have no idea what it is, 'horn' are used. Not very quantifiable or reproducible in my mind. </li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><b>Body color descriptions aren't often given</b><i>.</i> I think it would help to have body colors included to help speciate a live animal, but often this information is non-existant. </li>
<li><b>With no exacting data on colors one can't make any postulations based on color</b><i>.</i> For instance, maybe a link between diet and body color could be made (think Flamingoes and the shrimp they eat). Or habitat and color... or whatever. I'm obviously not a scientist or versed enough in land snails to know if this might be scientifically viable, but I still find this idea stimulating. In birds there is a theory that comes to mind to show, though, that this is likely viable in some way. Unfortunately I don't have the book here in New York with me to quote directly, but, if I remember correctly, the theory says that area that are more wetter and colder have darker, larger individuals of a species while dryer, warmer have smaller, lighter colored birds of a species. And of course there is gradation of the species all in between. (I may have larger and smaller backwards, I'll have to check when I get back to Pennsylvania).</li>
</ol>So I feel there is value to a quantifiable, reproducible method for describing color in land snails. Which leads to the next question: What's the best way to describe this color.<br />
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Well, it's certainly not 'blue,' 'dark blue,' or 'summer at midnight.' It's best to turn to established color models for the nomenclature.<br />
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First, let's buzz through the amateur hour colors of a graphic designer's day. CMYK- no, it's just reflected light, made for what ink can produce. RGB- no it's an additive color model made for what's reproducible on a monitor... no help there.<br />
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The color models that really will be helpful and that most graphic designers live in the hazy periphery of are LAB and the Munsell color systems.<br />
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Munsell predates the LAB and I believe LAB is just a child of Munsell. I'll leave a wikipedia search for you if you want to find out more. But the main point here is that both are based on the colors that are seeable by the human eye. This would make these ideal methods for describing color, seeing as we'd be hard pressed to find a color not describable by these models, at least, not one we're going to be trying to describe. Side tangent- maybe there are some ultra colors we'd want to describe. Look at crows. To our natural eyes they are just big black birds. But crows actually have an incredible ultraviolet pattern which, apprently, must be seeable by other crows.<br />
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Let's go into a few methods I came up that might be viable for your average, everyday snailer to describe color, including their pros and cons.<br />
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<b>Method #1: Description By Comparison</b><br />
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The first method that could be useful is comparing a standard color set to the creature. In the graphic design world we use the Pantone color swatches often to make sure inks match up in the printed piece the colors we intended when designing. It's become a standard in the industry. Could we use that same Pantone system for this purpose? Maybe. But limitations include that these swatches only can contain what can be printed (remember, our color models go beyond what ink can do), human error, and the fact that, due to the qualities of light, we would need to make such a comparison in color corrected light so as not to skew the results of the viewer.<br />
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<b>Method #2: A Colorimeter</b><br />
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This might be the best method I can think of. While I have experience with a colorimeter for photographic purposes (when I did architectural photography primarily) I have no experience with a full on laboratory colorimeter so I can't speak of its results, how it works, etc. Even Pantone, as mentioned above, has its own colorimeter that, for about $600, you can put up to something and get a color readout. The only potential pitfall (besides price) is that it might not be able to sample extremely small snails. And I have no idea if it reads out colors that are visible by human eye and not reproducible by ink.<br />
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<b>Method #3: Photography</b><br />
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Photography is pretty accessible, especially in the digital age. I figure you'd need to take every photo with a color chart and completely correct color balance for consistency. Lighting would also need to be standardized and you would need to light for complete and utter flatness of lighting. Sampling the color from a slight highlight or slight shadow could skew results. Maybe color averages would have to become involved. Then a standardized method would be needed to take those values. Photoshop is pervasive and provides a handy method for this and actually contains pretty much both color models (Munsell is pretty much the HSB-hue saturation brightness- values). We're still up at a wall against the colors that are reproducible, though.<br />
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A couple other points I wanted to make, but I'm tired and need to go to sleep, is some standardization. For instance, for semi-transparent shells do you take the color of the empty shell or with the animal in the shell. And pitfalls include trying to quantify the color of shells that have been sitting for some time and changed colors due to environmental factors.<br />
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Well, I've prattled on a bit about this subject and have no answers. I've yet to even do so much as a google search on the subject but liked the idea of thinking it out myself. Further questions remain as to proven/useful methods and viable use of the data to both scientists and enthusiasts such as myself. Really, as I started to think out the table of characteristics of my 3 Stenotrema hirsutum I became hung up on the thought of how to best describe the shell and body colors in a scientifically accurate and reproducible manner. Of course, I'll probably still describe my S. hirsutum in the same manner as Pilsbry with colors like 'cinnamon-buff' and 'clay.' Stay tuned for that article.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-40461755789622392002011-02-17T19:19:00.000-08:002011-02-17T19:41:11.260-08:00Punctum minutissimum : Small Spot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPfRHEw4H5zJyyzlsCXDvbkRFjMoxVOEldxkpnz04xVWVT7bzvFlHd4F35i_b_Js_ffcjXaOf0SSVfzNVjtocQujSxVAkygTrJk0-RkpUejmllNA6HtlQSSNxEKnz1WP4lPnmXphibPQ/s1600/punctum1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPfRHEw4H5zJyyzlsCXDvbkRFjMoxVOEldxkpnz04xVWVT7bzvFlHd4F35i_b_Js_ffcjXaOf0SSVfzNVjtocQujSxVAkygTrJk0-RkpUejmllNA6HtlQSSNxEKnz1WP4lPnmXphibPQ/s400/punctum1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Right before I left Pennsylvania I decided to grab some photos of micro snails I found in the soil sample from before the snowfall. The soil sample came from the mountain bike path side of Frances Slocum State Park and yielded about 20 or so micro snail individuals. The above snail, is Punctum minutissimum, commonly called Small Spot.<br />
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This little fellow photographed measures a mere 1.09mm. If remember correctly, the umbilicus measures 0.28ish mm, but I am definitely sure that the umbilicus is contained about 3.8 times in the diameter (that math adds up). Everything pretty much jives with Pilsbry's opening paragraph about this creature:<br />
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<blockquote>The shell is very minute, depressed conoid, umbilicate, the umbilicus contained about 3.7 times in the diameter; thin, of corneous or very light brown tint, somewhat translucent, shining. Initial 1 1/2 whorls smooth, the rest sculptured with close, somewhat unequal very delicate striae in the direction of the growth lines...</blockquote><br />
The only other known Punctidae known in the state of PA is Punctum vitreum. Size seems to overlap, but P. minutissimum is slightly smaller. A key difference seems to be that P. vitreum has the widest ribs of the Punctidae (dlia.org landsnail.pdf which I'm pissed because they took their snail pages offline, I should have crawled the site and saved it, but the pdf is still available if you can find it and it has pretty much all the info anyway). Another interesting tidbit from Pilsbry:<br />
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<blockquote> Under the binocular, P. minutissimum looks as if it were molded out of bronze , but P. vitreum appears as if it was cut from yellowish crystal.</blockquote>On a personal note, I'm still having a tough time with micro snails. My microscope is 40x and so I really can't get fine sculpture when looking through. But snapping a photo helps as I can zoom in a little more. Another problem is just handling them-- as evidenced by the photos in this post. I have to come up with systems to better handle my micro snails. I've already lost some interesting snails, for instance, crushing a shell which was either a Columella species or immature Ventricosa or Gastrocopta species. Very disappointed by that one. For someone who's very coordinated when it comes to things like sports and dancing, I turn into a proverbial bull in a china shop when micro snails are involved.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLmygxs0Z4SK16VpbKxDmkAv3quDtIzDawc4gmO0Dx3rTxO812NU72PHzZptoKtRRmGXnxkednOCQe2o_j2xKQhv2bnI53aJ_iK4Ol4GnPJJsZDyi16w6oV4r1tcZGh-KXidkKFO7Hr8/s1600/punctum2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLmygxs0Z4SK16VpbKxDmkAv3quDtIzDawc4gmO0Dx3rTxO812NU72PHzZptoKtRRmGXnxkednOCQe2o_j2xKQhv2bnI53aJ_iK4Ol4GnPJJsZDyi16w6oV4r1tcZGh-KXidkKFO7Hr8/s400/punctum2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4kICrqVezeJVINXBMTzX6wq5rz9spoidvmLSd9Aj8Tr_lrJDVLioM8zkLR9pCxc9QD5Ug9gVE-QwhJwt89hRd4GPpbTEZBXUtkkMBUAhU3AZYLWzETDLyU-L7mWpSPHM2Fu5YRLBfNY/s1600/pmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4kICrqVezeJVINXBMTzX6wq5rz9spoidvmLSd9Aj8Tr_lrJDVLioM8zkLR9pCxc9QD5Ug9gVE-QwhJwt89hRd4GPpbTEZBXUtkkMBUAhU3AZYLWzETDLyU-L7mWpSPHM2Fu5YRLBfNY/s400/pmap.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Range maps from <i>Land Snails of Limestone Communities and Update of Land Snail Distributions in Pennsylvania</i> (Pearce) with my Luzerne county added to range (in orange). Formerly unknown to Luzerne County.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-3681822346698901952011-02-03T18:09:00.000-08:002011-02-03T18:25:51.455-08:00The Future of My SnailingThe one thing I like about snailing Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is that it is an understudied area. All my findings seem very valuable in my eyes because there really aren't a lot of records from the county. In fact, as I leaf through Pilsbry, my county seems very rarely represented in mentions about species, even those that are known to occur in surrounding counties. My county is left blank in many of the Hubricht maps. It's kind of like my own way of feeling like a pioneer. I'm in mostly uncharted territory.<br />
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However, in a week I begin my new job at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology as Interactive Web Designer for the Citizen Science Department. In such an area, where scientists abound, is it already well scoured? Will it be harder to find shells because there are more collectors? Is my beginner's knowledge and elbow grease much less valuable in the situation? Maybe, who knows. I won't know until I get up there and can start sniffing around for these answers.<br />
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But a more positive way of thinking about it is that I may be able to find someone to apprentice. Let's face it, right now, I'm practically an island when it comes to snailing. I really have nothing but some books well older than me (and in some respects outdated due to changes in taxonomy, etc) to try to parse and hope I'm correct. It might be nice to have someone to correct my mistakes in real time and offer insight. At the very least I'll have the Cornell library and can hopefully find all the articles that I've wanted but have yet been able to procure.<br />
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I'll still actually be in Luzerne County most weekends. However, I don't foresee a ton of time to devote to birding/snailing when I'm here. Of course, I'm sure I'll be able to steal a little time here and there.<br />
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A couple asides:<br />
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Besides the Anguispira I seem to have a litter of Zonitoides nitidus!<br />
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Also, I'm pleased that I've resumed work on my land snail iPhone app. I'm still researching all the species (which I've expanded to all of the northeast- from PA to ME). I'm also including snails that are known to the norther counties of MD, DE, and WV as they seem like they are at least hypothetical to the range.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-4357097940280550802011-01-26T20:14:00.000-08:002011-01-27T17:42:05.756-08:00It's a Boy! (and a girl)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdv_TYXnRgjJfXUWvtB42UQt31znpddMBqZI29t_gAFdahln0V9SUQC3G2TCuVShQZE4PhLA-MGHt1_wjQswyifSUyd0eQas8kaYGurV5QPilaAxP1OFKJQSG6SUQhNCfHgjgtlKMbXg/s1600/babiesSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdv_TYXnRgjJfXUWvtB42UQt31znpddMBqZI29t_gAFdahln0V9SUQC3G2TCuVShQZE4PhLA-MGHt1_wjQswyifSUyd0eQas8kaYGurV5QPilaAxP1OFKJQSG6SUQhNCfHgjgtlKMbXg/s400/babiesSmall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Okay, so snails (well most land snails) are hermaphroditic— I can't really pick out a color for the walls—but what you're seeing above are freshly hatched snails. I found a large clutch of eggs when I was cleaning out my terrarium to combat mites and so removed them to a couple separate petri dishes. It seems the petri dish that stayed dryer is first to have hatches, with one individual hatching a day ago and the rest following suit a day later.<br />
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There are only a handful of possibilities for what these little snails will become based on what is in the terrarium. It holds the following species: Stenotrema hirsutum(1), Ventridens ligera (3, maybe 4 but one really doesn't "measure up"), Xolotrema denotata(2 but I doubt have reached sexual maturity as I found them a few months ago still without identifiable characteristics), Novisuccinea ovalis(1), Anguispira alternata(1), Triodopsis tridenata (1, but very new to the tank, can't remember if came before eggs), and, my top contender for what these babies are, Neohelix dentifera(1).<br />
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UPDATE: As you can see by the laconic comment below, these snails are likely the Anguispira alternata. I was so focused on how big I thought the eggs were that it had to be the largest snail in my tank but you can see how these little guys look like they grow into ribbed adults and have color blotches a la Anguispira alternata. Learning experience!! I would never make such a bad call birding, fixating on one criterion. Proof positive that inexperience is definitely a detriment. The only solution: work my ass off to get experience.<br />
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As time goes on, I'll find the answer. An interesting characteristic is that the snails have two transverse bands of dark color towards the end of their body whorl. And, for scale, I should mention that they average about 2.35mm in width.<br />
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Currently I also have another polygyrid waiting to grow into identification that has periostracal structures, so I've got a lot to look forward to. Yes, I'm a total nerd. But I'm a sexy nerd.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-53514750725215361392011-01-11T18:06:00.000-08:002011-01-13T04:18:11.129-08:00More Photography of Stenotrema hirsutumI needed to take some time off of web and app development tonight so I decided I'd do a little photo shoot. I chose to photograph a Stenotrema hirsutum I found at Nescopeck. The problem with Stenotrema, as I see it, is that you can't fully tell if the shell is empty. I left it with a couple shells I had in a little petri dish and when I went back into my office I found it hanging from the top of the lid. Empty shells don't generally do that.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Anyway, as an aside, I'll mention here that I launched my new website <a href="http://www.tekbirdr.com/">tekbirdr.com</a>. It's for app development and digital media publishing of nature subjects. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiuC8BvjRNo6Mqgbfz2k5XRJj5k0DxwIr-mKo51JgPXoU0TMTyoeV_oX50vr_jmWjhLC87RRDbzXrm48KW_U7G9rEuKQfVNDfGgOh-niA7UjCVv7W3-9o6InRmvv8rhK17zDY_dHPBzQ/s1600/Stenotrema_hirsutum4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiuC8BvjRNo6Mqgbfz2k5XRJj5k0DxwIr-mKo51JgPXoU0TMTyoeV_oX50vr_jmWjhLC87RRDbzXrm48KW_U7G9rEuKQfVNDfGgOh-niA7UjCVv7W3-9o6InRmvv8rhK17zDY_dHPBzQ/s400/Stenotrema_hirsutum4a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Above is my favorite photo from the ones I took. An interesting thing to note is that this S. hirsutum, along with a second, which I found at Nescopeck are a darker brown than the one I found at Frances Slocum (other side of the county). Also the body color is more gray on the other snail. Maybe these are two different species and one isn't S. hirsutum at all, let's face it, I'm still a neophyte. But they both are the same size and whorls and pretty much seem the same. I'll put more effort into comparing both live individuals at a later date. For reference there is a photo of the other S. hirsutum <a href="http://leaflittercritters.blogspot.com/2010/12/couple-photos-stenotrema-hirsutum.html">here</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPrX7udQEk8YVNcgGOhqoO3Cg2E_x0HWmnB9HAFni6JRKyfmMcVSB1Q0XuzI8p7UIiu7h3F1PdSOAoxh3isTCkc8d8TQ4XGmvpefBNBXDoa8G3_Rb-Qhu4P8n8eWdkwc2PjhWsmqT8sg/s1600/Stenotrema_hirsutum.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPrX7udQEk8YVNcgGOhqoO3Cg2E_x0HWmnB9HAFni6JRKyfmMcVSB1Q0XuzI8p7UIiu7h3F1PdSOAoxh3isTCkc8d8TQ4XGmvpefBNBXDoa8G3_Rb-Qhu4P8n8eWdkwc2PjhWsmqT8sg/s200/Stenotrema_hirsutum.png" width="200" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>I also drew the snail's ventral view. I really should make a comparative drawing of the Frances Slocum individual and look for any differences, but, honestly, I'm just feeling tired and lazy from working so much and not sleeping well this week. I'll do it some other day and post a comparison. But, as I look at my drawing while I type, I pretty much remember the same characteristics.</div><div><br />
</div>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-37871549245015436972011-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:002011-01-06T13:25:13.110-08:00A Big Mystery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWgLxHa2CLM5A5VZKlYEp7IUa0PGKXsbOjwxl83m1AYPONaRrFf_GtdiOP1kvaXlyD3H4ab1s5not9ohyxh5cbXvg5fkeFHFYpnLPn5OgB-51CxaHQXUN4L3VeSXgJoD4HmVdhbXYebA/s1600/wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWgLxHa2CLM5A5VZKlYEp7IUa0PGKXsbOjwxl83m1AYPONaRrFf_GtdiOP1kvaXlyD3H4ab1s5not9ohyxh5cbXvg5fkeFHFYpnLPn5OgB-51CxaHQXUN4L3VeSXgJoD4HmVdhbXYebA/s400/wm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Through some good fortune the large storm that dumped snow over much of the east coast stayed to our east and left us with relatively snow free ground. So during the holiday break I went to Nescopeck State Park to do a little combo snailing/birding. Birding was absolutely dead. I had hoped for winter finches like Redpolls and Siskin, but arrived to find the feeders empty, as was much of the park. With bird life at nil, I turned my attention fully to snails.<br />
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Overall I was very pleased with my snailing. I found my very first Vitrina angelicae (Eastern Glass-Snail) shell sitting in a pile of leaves on top of a flat rock. I also found some Triodopsis tridentata and a couple Stenotrema hirsutum. Another interesting find was a 6 whorled heliciform shell that doesn't match up with anything in my database (the one I built for my iphone app), so I'll have to look into more.<br />
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Most importantly I was pretty excited to find what is my largest land snail yet. The above picture is of that snail. The shell was in/under a log that looked like it had a hole for some rodent. My best guess is that this fellow became dinner. But luckily, there seems to be enough information left in the shell to make an identification.<br />
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First, obviously, we can say it's heliciform (72 matches). The width measure 28.4mm (11 matches) and it is imperforate (6 matches) with a reflected lip(5 matches). No teeth are present(this has 3 options- no teeth, teeth and teeth sometimes present- it always pulls the sometimes matches plus the yes or no depending on input). Plugging that into my app, I came up with 3 suspects: Mesodon zaletus, Neohelix albolabris, and Webbhelix multilineata.<br />
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From there it's time to take to Pilsbry but not before first taking a look in the microscope for any microsculpture I could glean (unfortuneately I haven't 100% finished to database for things like striae, puncta, etc.) . But there is what seems to be some crucial evidence-- indented radial striae.<br />
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Regarding microsculpture and the aforementioned snails according to Pilsbry:<br />
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Mesodon zaletus:<br />
<blockquote>Later whorls with sculpture of fine oblique striae and microscopic spiral lines, which are typically rather weak or subobsolete, but sometimes distinct.</blockquote>Neohelix albolabris:<br />
<blockquote>Later whorls with sculpture of fine oblique striae and minute, crowded, incised spiral lines.</blockquote>Webbhelix multilineata:<br />
<blockquote>... the rest with fine sculpture of oblique striae, rather weak spiral engraved lines in their intervals.</blockquote><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZKvkyaqb0Qjbcf5Z8qKaWvm02cx-woEHn3RFjkhKahU5KZk2YTiaubLjyoPpFEj-G4VqoVwj7xiU3v4iGpyZFnHX3O_nHnn6nefHrhMb7tG_jLEaVFCB2Ry5Uo961fhQaXStPtxYixg/s1600/wmsurface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZKvkyaqb0Qjbcf5Z8qKaWvm02cx-woEHn3RFjkhKahU5KZk2YTiaubLjyoPpFEj-G4VqoVwj7xiU3v4iGpyZFnHX3O_nHnn6nefHrhMb7tG_jLEaVFCB2Ry5Uo961fhQaXStPtxYixg/s400/wmsurface.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the microsculpture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
There seems to be no mention of the spiral lines being indented with Mesodon zaletus. Webbhelix multilineata usually has color bands (although Pilsbry mentions a mutation known as Webbhelix multilineata mut. alba that is bandless and can occur with the banded shell populations). However, I believe the description of 'crowded, incised spiral lines' sees to hit the mark.<br />
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So, I believe this mystery solved. It is the snail Neohelix albolabris (common name, Whitelip).Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-57771560987398444312010-12-29T18:55:00.000-08:002010-12-29T19:35:37.752-08:00Seeking info<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If anyone who reads or happens on this blog I'm putting out notice that I'm seeking a pdf or photocopy of the following:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patterson, C. M. 1971. Taxonomic studies of the land snail family Succineidae. <em>Malacological Review</em>, 4: 131-202.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hubrricht's 1958 taxonomic description of Triodopsis picea </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UPDATE: Vagvolgi lumps Triodopsis picea and Triodopsis fraudulenta fraudulenta (or Triodopsis tridenta fraudulenta) together into Triodopsis fraudulenta in his 1968 <i>Systematics and evolution of the genus Triodopsis </i>so maybe there is no real Triodopsis picea... I don't know.</span><br />
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</span>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-73155306238030669362010-12-26T18:29:00.000-08:002010-12-26T18:31:11.068-08:00Zonitoides nitidus : Black Gloss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9tCRNS1ezFCYQsQAML5GIw04EpfkIWEkOYY-APLTpp7JGXBLzqHlPOy-W-tzJ410PfPrAjt1RWPzAnS-ffDCpmrZFspVrIvfzPJfufc8HpTFo4N1nFCrMEoIBt8KZjl1p-X6U7fSnVc/s1600/Zonitoides_nitidus1small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9tCRNS1ezFCYQsQAML5GIw04EpfkIWEkOYY-APLTpp7JGXBLzqHlPOy-W-tzJ410PfPrAjt1RWPzAnS-ffDCpmrZFspVrIvfzPJfufc8HpTFo4N1nFCrMEoIBt8KZjl1p-X6U7fSnVc/s400/Zonitoides_nitidus1small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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This snail is Zonitoides nitidus, common name Black Gloss. I found truckloads of these individuals at Kirby Park. According to Pilsbry:<br />
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<blockquote>This species is common and generally distributed in the Canadian Zone, more local, though abundant when found, in the Northern part of the Alleghanian fauna, Transition Zone... Z. nitidus is generally found near water or in marshy places, never in upland woods where Z. arboreus lives. In late autumn they sometimes occur in great numbers under dead wood in wet places, where they have assembled for hibernation.</blockquote><br />
That generally describes my area here in Northeastern Pennsylvania and where I found them: in the Susquehanna River floodplain. Also when I found these individuals-- late September through October.<br />
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The animal is a dark blue-gray and has pinkish flecks, most abundant on its sole, less so elsewhere. Another interesting characteristic is that through the shell- near the aperture- you can see an orange-ish organ which I thought to be maybe a heart, but apparently is a lung. This must be what Pilsbry means by "Lung: aerating surface deeply pigmented." Click on the photo to enlarge and see what I mean.<br />
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This snail, like its close relative Z. arboreus, is in the family Gastrodontidae, but the genera is named to harken to the family which these snails can resemble, Zonitidae. In fact, at first I believed these snails to be of the introduced genera Oxychilus, mostly because Kirby Park is a former garden which could have easily transported introduced species. In fact, the most abundant land mollusk I've noted in the park is Deroceras reticulum, an introduced slug of the Agriolimidae family.<br />
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The measurements of this individual photographed are:<br />
Width: 6.35mm<br />
Height: 2.95mm<br />
Umbilicus: Umbilicate, 1.2mm, Can see all the way to the last whorl<br />
Shell: Somewhat transparent, about 5 whorls, amber tinted<br />
Body: Dark blue-gray (slate) with pinkish flecks mostly at sole. Eyes are short and stout.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8q846t4tqaj2dGxlmmC3RVI2F2XFXTFtYz5ZOog9hU9wKOZ_kfe3Ktf8gmqcC2HOjpL0OeZszFvJVMZ63PsWVsn0E4zg7P_8A9SMckvl2YSzNcF7rPGH8bpmiN9w29PWoUu5APxtvvM/s1600/Zonitoides_nitidus2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8q846t4tqaj2dGxlmmC3RVI2F2XFXTFtYz5ZOog9hU9wKOZ_kfe3Ktf8gmqcC2HOjpL0OeZszFvJVMZ63PsWVsn0E4zg7P_8A9SMckvl2YSzNcF7rPGH8bpmiN9w29PWoUu5APxtvvM/s400/Zonitoides_nitidus2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjry_wf14-EgwLBdI7kei9bz3cohqWL7tDggBjIlP_8heQdGgKWpZDHQt8m2vZNh7xIJAqCF5SoudIuHN3yDdAfAHE6Ma-1XzG0kIIGMY4512hCSQYQOkmV8gHbhRVG7yYgaexThKTQPZk/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-12-26+at+9.26.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjry_wf14-EgwLBdI7kei9bz3cohqWL7tDggBjIlP_8heQdGgKWpZDHQt8m2vZNh7xIJAqCF5SoudIuHN3yDdAfAHE6Ma-1XzG0kIIGMY4512hCSQYQOkmV8gHbhRVG7yYgaexThKTQPZk/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-12-26+at+9.26.48+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Range map from <i>Land Snails of Limestone Communities and Update of Land Snail Distributions in Pennsylvania</i> (Pearce)</span></td></tr>
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</div>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-47942734365057548422010-12-16T13:34:00.000-08:002010-12-16T13:34:37.754-08:00A Couple Photos: Stenotrema hirsutum & Triodopsis tridentata<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2bai0qDX-zhcN6_fYrAL2z0XlEkBxb6_iRvI3qgY0dyeZ3pi7mw0-zAF7l1DOsOp-pzm8RmviYap2kl6dUNat9rsX1HhqZ-qGvfWUkwhIIEDEz4XY-_iG_Krf-A4YNQfMtSXLL_RxPk/s1600/Stenotrema_hirsutum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2bai0qDX-zhcN6_fYrAL2z0XlEkBxb6_iRvI3qgY0dyeZ3pi7mw0-zAF7l1DOsOp-pzm8RmviYap2kl6dUNat9rsX1HhqZ-qGvfWUkwhIIEDEz4XY-_iG_Krf-A4YNQfMtSXLL_RxPk/s400/Stenotrema_hirsutum.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stenotrema hirsutum</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLlyNiK5bYZyX8hAGE95T6CPd5x_sfBnNnA4smZ-5wTYpKGZYSLuvQCKyl3X1EQIlP3kEWeO-wGJ2z4ezjg2fMnvqc3SnFnBRGGEgjlap_BKLTE4G9sw-K052fmHWWfe4Mu7sRh-tBjo/s1600/Triodopsis_tridentata_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLlyNiK5bYZyX8hAGE95T6CPd5x_sfBnNnA4smZ-5wTYpKGZYSLuvQCKyl3X1EQIlP3kEWeO-wGJ2z4ezjg2fMnvqc3SnFnBRGGEgjlap_BKLTE4G9sw-K052fmHWWfe4Mu7sRh-tBjo/s400/Triodopsis_tridentata_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Triodopsis tridentata</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-67468228701910521962010-12-15T20:38:00.000-08:002010-12-27T06:57:15.410-08:00UpdatesDefinitely my Triodopsis is Triodopsis tridentata. I have to find time to update this blog with many new photos and thoughts on snails. But I'm not because I'm working on an awesome snail iPhone app to help me with identifications. For now I'm only going to create a database with the known PA snails. But eventually I'd like to add all eastern snails, then all North America. It's pretty awesome. It also will double as a specimen log. It'll take a while, however, to research the database. The app doesn't really get me to an identification, but narrows it down as much as possible based on some key elements.<br />
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Here's a screen shot of the app:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKmvbqo2ldKChIV9DALpIZQ4TIbhHYYv6PP3X9TdU_IBZsw_D_-N-1WnP7Wq9fJYPyph55dNIkjxOcii11W0ApucRgjUbtV7Ah6U3CftOMCS6WpVb3OzZJ5oPYAn4TlEi64xQmB-rNZ8/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKmvbqo2ldKChIV9DALpIZQ4TIbhHYYv6PP3X9TdU_IBZsw_D_-N-1WnP7Wq9fJYPyph55dNIkjxOcii11W0ApucRgjUbtV7Ah6U3CftOMCS6WpVb3OzZJ5oPYAn4TlEi64xQmB-rNZ8/s400/photo.JPG" width="277" /></a></div>Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-91930006946286370272010-12-09T12:18:00.000-08:002010-12-09T12:18:37.778-08:00My lob not a lob?I have to find time to post my photos of it, but I was all excited about how easy I believed it was for the identification of Triodopsis tridentata. However, just now while googling around I found a photo labeled Triodopsis tridentata taken and labeled by Dr. John Burch (whose books I've been pouring through) and his animal is tan in color while mine is dark blue. The photo is here: <a href="http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/jack_burch/092.rjb1.jpg/view.html">http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/jack_burch/092.rjb1.jpg/view.html</a>. So now the question is, can it be the same and just different colors? I need about 10 more hours in a day to take on this hobby! Hopefully I can post some photos tonight.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8474892600654102737.post-54239015610137037152010-12-03T17:47:00.000-08:002010-12-03T17:47:27.022-08:00Still Trying to Solve my Micro Snail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTh-PFNOH_2rSHgl1vt3bYloJBIyzKnk8kygcN_-U2JzHQiPR2k2PlcNz0JYBO8qF-H__QLLBr79lxB2ITv1c7M9Nf40fXnHwdiyeFbnc3nWvu3hvIG1gs-s6e2A1L3k6jMdHQBc8LBNI/s1600/Striatura_exigua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTh-PFNOH_2rSHgl1vt3bYloJBIyzKnk8kygcN_-U2JzHQiPR2k2PlcNz0JYBO8qF-H__QLLBr79lxB2ITv1c7M9Nf40fXnHwdiyeFbnc3nWvu3hvIG1gs-s6e2A1L3k6jMdHQBc8LBNI/s400/Striatura_exigua.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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A couple posts back I believed I had a Valloniidae species. A little more research brought me to <a href="http://www.uwlax.edu/biology/faculty/perez/Perez/PerezLab/Research/WIsnailslist.htm">http://www.uwlax.edu/biology/faculty/perez/Perez/PerezLab/Research/WIsnailslist.htm</a> where I think I found the true identity. The photo shows my snail sized to match the one I found on the Land Snails of Wisconsin website. Ladies and gentleman, I believe it is an immature Striatura exigua, common name: Ribbed Striate.<br />
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Okay, it doesn't have as many whorls, but that's where I think it could be immature. Striatura exigua is supposed to have a 2.3mm diameter, while, as I mentioned in the Valloniidae post, this snail's diameter is 1.7mm.<br />
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I'll post more later as I continue to research but most of my time right now is focused on getting the next version of my iphone app, birdcountr, ready for sale.Kevin Ripkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13736641274307109744noreply@blogger.com0