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Virginia Land Snails
Fumonelix christyi (Bland, 1860)
Family: Polygyridae
Common name: Glossy Covert
Identification
Width: 8.5-­10.0 mm Height: 4.0-­5.0 mm tall
Whorls: 4.5
The flattened heliciform shell of Fumonelix christyi is small and sturdy. It has a long parietal tooth, in a widely
reflected aperture. The umbilicus is covered. The shell surface is glossy and lacks spiral lines. The animal is
dark gray.
Ecology
Fumonelix christyi is most commonly found in leaf litter. It prefers oak woodland (Hubricht, 1985).
Taxonomy
Synonyms for F. christyi include Helix christyi, Mesodon christyi, and Polygyra christyi.
Distribution
This snail is native to the southeastern Appalachian Mountains, reported from only a handful of counties from
Virginia to Georgia. It is listed as an imperiled species in Tennessee, and as critically imperiled in Virginia. It is
reported only from Patrick County (Hubricht, 1985), in the mountainous southwestern part of the state, though
we have been unable to verify this with museum records.
NatureServe Global Rank: G3
NatureServe State Rank: S1
Virginia’s wildlife action plan: Tier III
Photo(s): Views of Fumonelix christyi’s
sturdy shell with covered umbilicus, by
Dan Dourson ©.
Meegan Winslow, Ken Hotopp 8/2012
Click photo(s) to enlarge.