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

Oleacinidae
Kathryn E. Perez, Duke University
A single species of this family is found in the U.S. in Florida; the family is more widely
distributed in the Greater Antilles. This small (6-8 mm) elongate, ribbed snail was previously
called Varicella gracillima (Pfeiffer, 1839). Hubricht (1985) states that this snail is a calciphile
and tends to be found in leaf litter, under rocks or trash, usually in hammocks or under sea grape
plants above beaches. This species also climbs up the trunks of trees in wet weather.
TAXON AUTHOR
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Melaniella gracillima (Pfeiffer, 1839) G4 FL
Oreohelicidae
Mark A. Ports, Great Basin College
There are 96 species, several subspecies, and two genera of the family Oreohelicidae.
Approximately 50 species and subspecies are considered critically imperiled or sensitive.
Species of the genus Radiocentrum are found in southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico,
and south into northwestern Chihuahua. The genus Oreohelix is centered in the mountain states,
south to western Chihuahua, north to British Columbia and Alberta, and east to the Black Hills of
South Dakota. This includes the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Montana, and
Idaho.
The genus Oreohelix range in size from 9 mm to 2.5 cm in diameter. They typically have
one to two brown, supra-peripheral bands circling the whorls, some with indistinct bands, to no
bands at all. Most species have different degrees of color varying from brown to blackish red.
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