This species is already established in the United States, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.[5]
dorsal view of Cantareus apertusshells of Cantareus apertusFive views of a shell of Cantareus apertus
Description
The shell has periostracum which is olive green in colour.[3] The last whorl is much larger than the others.[3]
The width of the shell is 22–28 mm.; the height of the shell is also 22–28 mm.[3]
Ecology
Cantareus apertus inhabits Mediterranean shrublands, near cultivated fields, gardens.[3] In Gavdos (Greece) also in woodland spreading on recently abandoned cultivated fields, more rarely in natural habitats.[3]
In Crete this species is active for 3–4 months after the first rainfalls in October. It aestivates buried relatively deep in the soil.[3] In hot, dry weather, it burrows three to six inches[citation needed] into the ground and becomes dormant until rain softens the soil. A white convex epiphragm is created for aestivation.[3]
This article incorporates public domain text from the reference.[3]
^Born I. (1778). Index rerum naturalium Musei Caesarei Vindobonensis. Pars I.ma. Testacea. Verzeichniß der natürlichen Seltenheiten des k. k. Naturalien Cabinets zu Wien. Erster Theil. Schalthiere. pp. [1–40], 1–458, [1–82]. Vindobonae.
^For those who regard Cornu as available and who classify Helix apertus and Helix aspersa in the same genus and do not like to use Helix for them, the name should be Cornu apertum, but this combination has very rarely been used.
^Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". American Malacological Bulletin27: 113–132. PDFArchived 16 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
