Chondrina arcadica

Chondrina arcadica is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk belonging to the family Chondrinidae.^[2] This species is also known under the synonym Chondrina arcadica clienta (Westerlund 1883).^[3]

Chondrina arcadica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Chondrinidae
Genus:	Chondrina
Species:	C. arcadica
Binomial name
Chondrina arcadica (Reinhardt, 1881)
Synonyms
Torquilla avenacea var. arcadica Reinhardt, 1881[1]

The species is found South Europe and Sweden.^[2]

Subspecies:^[4]

• Chondrina arcadica abundans (Westerlund, 1894)
• Chondrina arcadica arcadica (Reinhardt, 1881) or Chondrina arcadica clienta (Westerlund, 1883)
• Chondrina arcadica bulgarica H. Nordsieck, 1970
• Chondrina arcadica caucasica Ehrmann, 1931

Shell description

The shell of this species is slender, greyish brown to reddish brown. It is conical-ovoid in shape with 7 to 7+1⁄2 whorls. The shell is slightly translucent and shows regular axial lines. There is some microgeographical variation in its shell size. The apertural margin is slightly widened, and has a thin, whitish lip. There are strong, angular teeth along the aperture.

Distribution

The distribution of this species is Alpine and southeastern-European.^[5] but this snail can occur as far north as on the Baltic island of Öland, southern Sweden. The snails can be found on exposed limestone rocks to a height of about 2,500 m.

This species occurs in:

• Czech Republic - vulnerable (VU)^[6]
• Slovakia
• Ukraine^[7]

Feeding habits

Chondrina clienta feeds on calcicolous lichens.