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Home/Species/ Black Gloss Snail

Zonitoides nitidus

(Muller, 1774)

Black Gloss Snail

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.117141
Element CodeIMGAS85060
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderStylommatophora
FamilyZonitidae
GenusZonitoides
Other Common Names
Black Gloss (EN)
Concept Reference
Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2017-08-01
Change Date2002-10-08
Edition Date2008-02-15
Edition AuthorsCordeiro, J.
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
A holarctic species (Hubricht 1985 in Dourson 2010).
Occurrences Comments
It occurs in eastern Maine (6 of 101 sites) where it was restricted to base-rich wetland sites in the southern half of the region (Nekola, 2008). In New York, Hotopp and Pearce (2007) report it from many counties. Baxter (1987) cites occurrences in Alaska in the North Gulf Coast, Aleutian Islands, and southwestern Alaska. Platt (1980) noted this species near Jasper, Alberta. Most recently, it was discovered in the Ktunaxa Traditional Territory in southeastern British Columbia (which extends from near Canada - U.S. border north to about 50 km north of Cranbrook) (Ovaska and Sopuck, 2009).
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

Similar to other European zonitid, Zonitoides excavatus, except Z. excavatus is smaller and has a wider umbilicus (Jordaens et al., 2003).

Habitat

In the United States, found in low ground, around logs and leaf litter near floodplains, marshes and wet roadsides (Dourson 2010).
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Island of NewfoundlandSUYes
British ColumbiaS5Yes
Nova ScotiaSUYes
New BrunswickS5Yes
QuebecSNRYes
Prince Edward IslandSUYes
AlbertaSUYes
ManitobaS4Yes
OntarioS5Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
PennsylvaniaS3Yes
IdahoS5Yes
WisconsinS4Yes
New YorkSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
UtahS1Yes
IndianaSNRYes
MontanaSNRYes
WyomingSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
West VirginiaSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
OregonSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
New JerseySUYes
VermontSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
DelawareS1Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
Roadless Areas (1)
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
References (12)
  1. Baxter, R. 1987. Mollusks of Alaska: a listing of all mollusks, freshwater, terrestrial, and marine reported from the State of Alaska, with locations of the species types, maximum sizes and marine depths inhabited. Shells and Sea Life, Bayside, California. 163 pp.
  2. Dourson, D.C. 2010. Kentucky's land snails and their ecological communities. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 298 pp.
  3. Dourson, D C. and West Virginia DNR. 2015. Land snails of West Virginia. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, North Carolina. 412 pp.
  4. Hodges, N.R. 2007. The terrestrial molluscs of an urban forest fragment in Portland, Oregon, USA. Tentacle, 15: 16-17.
  5. Hotopp, K. and T.A. Pearce. 2007. Land snails in New York: statewide distribution and talus site faunas. Final Report for contract #NYHER 041129 submitted to New York State Biodiversity Research Institute, New York State Museum, Albany, New York. 91 pp.
  6. Hubricht, L. 1985. The distribution of the native land mollusks of the eastern United States. Fieldiana: Zoology 24:1-191.
  7. Jordaens, K., P. Van Riel, and T. Backeljau. 2003. Molecular and morphological discrimination between the pulmonate land snails <i>Zonitoides nitidus </i>and <i>Z. excavatus</i>. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 69: 295-300.
  8. Nekola, J.C. 2008. Land snail ecology and biogeography of eastern Maine. Final report submitted to: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and the Aroostook Hills and Lowlands Inventory, January 27, 2008. 119 pp.
  9. Ovaska, K. and L. Sopuck. 2009. Surveys for terrestrial gastropods at risk within Ktunaxa Traditional Territory. Report prepared for British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Victoria, British Columbia. 27 pp.
  10. Platts, W. S. 1980. A plea for fishery habitat classification. Fish. 5:2-6.
  11. Platt, T.R. 1980. Observations on the terrestrial gastropods in the vicinity of Jasper, Alberta. The Nautilus, 94: 18-21.
  12. Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.