Mollusca : Gastropoda : Stylommatophora : HygromiidaeSnails and slugs

Trochulus striolatus (C. Pfeiffer, 1828)

Strawberry snail

Trochulus striolatus

Description: A medium-sized globular shell with depressed, low, conical spire. Whorls convex, with moderately deep sutures and last whorl noticeably angled on the periphery. Umbilicus medium-sized. Whitish to yellow-brown or red-brown with rather coarse irregular growth lines and often a pale band on the angled periphery. Hairless when adult, with scattered coarse hairs when juvenile. Widespread. 11-15 mm.

World Distribution: Confined to western Europe from the British Isles east to northern France and central and southern Germany. Distribution type: Suboceanic Temperate (72).

Irish Distribution: Common throughout, but scarce in highland areas.

Ecology:

  • A garden pest nicknamed the strawberry snail and typical of synanthropic (humanly disturbed) habitats
  • Locally abundant in woodland, scrub, waste ground and around old buildings and gardens
  • Within sites typically concentrated in nettle beds or along old walls

Key Identification Features:

  • A medium-sized, depressed-globular shell
  • Whorls convex with moderately deep sutures
  • Periphery noticeably angled
  • Umbilicus moderately wide and deep
  • Shell dull to slightly glossy with coarse growth lines, whitish translucent to dark red-brown, often with a faint pale peripheral band
  • Hairless when adult

Taxonomy:

  • The form of this species found in Ireland is given as abludens Locard 1888 by Moorkens & Speight (2001) and by Ellis (1969).

Red list status:

  • Least concern (lc).

Distribution Map from NBN: Trochulus striolatus at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Trochulus striolatus at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Trochulus striolatus | Classification: Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Hygromiidae, Trochulus

Thumbnails for genus Trochulus

 Anderson, R., 2024. Trochulus striolatus. (C. Pfeiffer, 1828). [In] MolluscIreland.
https://www2.habitas.org.uk/molluscireland/species.php?item=171. Accessed on 2024-12-26.