Helix nucula

Helix nucula is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae, the typical snails. It has a rounded shell with white aperture margins; it differs from the similar Helix figulina by fine spiral grooves on the upper shell surface.^[3] Previously, the name H. nucula was used also for Helix pronuba, an unrelated species occurring in North Africa and on Crete, creating some confusion in the literature.^[4]

Helix nucula
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Helicidae
Genus:	Helix
Species:	H. nucula
Binomial name
Helix nucula Mousson, 1854[2]

Distribution

This land snail inhabits areas near the south and west coasts of Turkey as well as eastern Aegean Islands of Greece.^[5] However, its native range is probably mainly Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus.^[6]

Taxonomy

Helix pachya from Lebanon and Syria is not a distinct lineage in the analysed mitochondrial data, and is probably synonymous with H. nucula.^[6]