Species Factsheet
| | home | contact us | privacy policy | | |
| |
Threatened
and Endangered Species Factsheet |
 Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
|
|
Description: This snail is an ancient creature. The species has existed for about 400,000 years, since the Pleistocene epoch or "Ice Age," when glaciers were advancing and retreating over North America. The Iowa Pleistocene snail is an average-sized snail with a mature width of a half inch. The shell is tightly coiled, typically with six ribbed whorls, and is brown or off-white with a greenish cast. Like most North American snails, the Iowa Pleistocene snail is hermaphroditic, which means that each individual possesses both male and female reproductive organs, but is not self-fertilizing. All adults can lay eggs and fertilize other snails. The breeding season runs from March to August. Habitat: The snail typically lives on rocky slopes over entrances to caves or cracks where ice is typically permanent underground. The ice helps to maintain the cool, moist conditions that the snail requires for survival. Rich, loose soil and scattered leaf litter also help to conserve moisture. It remains near the soil surface until the first hard freeze, then burrows into the soil to hibernate. Feeding habits: This snail feeds on the fallen leaves of white and yellow birch, hard maple, or occasionally dogwood and willow trees. It is most active from spring through summer, but slows in early fall when the habitat dries. Current Iowa range: Clayton, Clinton, Dubuque, Fayette and Jackson counties. Do something WILD!: Check out a book at your local library and read more about the plants and animals that survived the Ice Age.  Back
 | |
|
|
