A Guide for Terrestrial Gastropod Identification - University of ...

Ceriidae
Kathryn E. Perez, Duke University
Cerion is a large genus (~600 spp) endemic to the Caribbean with one U.S.
representative. These snails typically found attached to grass stems, trees, and shrumbs near the
beach, but above the tide and spray lines. They are large (up to 28 mm length), elongate, many
whorled, with opaque-white ribbed shells, sometimes streaked with gray or brown. Cerion tend
to be inactive by day, estivating attached to vegetation and active at night and in rainy weather.
Several Caribbean Cerion species have been introduced into Florida.
TAXON AUTHOR
G-
RANK DISTRIBUTION
Cerion incanum (A. Binney, 1851) G1 FL, LA
Charopidae
Kathryn E. Perez, Duke University
Charopids are helicoid snails with minute, ribbed shells ranging from 1-2.6 mm in height
and 2-6 mm width (Pilsbry, 1946). In the U.S. they are limited in distribution to Western states at
high elevation. Other members of this family extend throughout South America and they are
particularly diverse in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia (Bequaert & Miller, 1973).
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