Description: Similar in appearance to Xeroplexa intersecta but more depressed with 5-5½ convex whorls, scarcely angled at the periphery and with shallow sutures. Surface white or brownish-opaque with fine, irregular ribbing and marked with thin, interrupted, spiral bands. Mouth broader than that of X. intersecta joining the previous whorl at a less oblique angle. Very rare, possibly extinct, on eskers in the central plain. 7-12 mm.

World Distribution: Possibly introduced to the British Isles during the Roman period (Kerney, 1999). A west European species found in France and the low countries plus the British Isles. Distribution type: Oceanic Temperate (71).

Irish Distribution: Stelfox (1958) reported four Irish sites in Cos. Kildare and Roscommon discovered in the nineteen-thirties but the species has not been seen since.

Ecology:

• In Ireland confined to dry, warm soils, for instance on glacial eskers in midland counties
• Prefers, short, well-grazed grassland

Key Identification Features:

• A slightly globular, strongly depressed shell of 5-5½ whorls
• Unlike Xeroplexa intersecta scarcely angled at the periphery and with shallow sutures
• Surface whitish or brownish-opaque with fine spiral bands which are often interrupted
• Mouth with an internal rib and broader than that of X. intersecta with the aperture joining the previous whorl at a less oblique, more right, angle
• Umbilicus broad but eccentric (not evenly rounded) due to the sudden expansion of the last whorl

Red list status:

• Data deficient.

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

iNaturalist: Backeljaia gigaxii at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Backeljaia gigaxii | Classification: Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Geomitridae, Backeljaia

Thumbnails for genus Backeljaia