Species spotlight VII

Eobania vermiculata (Müller, 1774)
Żurrieq, Malta

The steppe areas of Malta are frequently populated by large snails from the family Helicidae, amongst which this species, Eobania vermiculata, commonly prevails. The shape and pattern of the shell is highly variable. In Malta, this is not a species utilized for food, unlike in the rest of Europe.

Rabat, Malta

Shell identification:

• large thick shell
• white base colour
• frequently banded
• flared lip

A walk around the Colosseum

The Amphitheatrum Flavium, better known as the Colosseum, is an iconic Roman era building in the centre of Rome. Ravaged by natural phenomena and looters throughout the centuries, it still stands towering above the city, and offers a wonderful opportunity to admire the architectural and engineering prowess of the ancient Romans.

In 1643, far before the advent of Linnaean taxonomy, a gent by the name of Domenico Panaroli decided to publish an inventory of the plants found inside the Colosseum after noticing several exotic (mainly North African) species inside and around it, resulting in the tome Plantarum Amphytheatralium Catalogus. Nowadays, the list of species from the Colosseum has grown to 684 species of plants (Caneva, 2003).

A humidity-loving moss, bearing sporangia (fruiting bodies) on stalks

Adiantum capillusveneris L., also found in Malta

Cymbalaria muralis G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb.

Of course, the ample vegetation offers much cover for my favourite invertebrates - snails. The most common ones present in soil were Eobania vermiculata (Müller, 1774) and a species of Cernuella (I have not yet decided which this is out of the confusing trio of C. virgata (Da Costa, 1778), C. cisalpina (Rossmässler, 1837) and C. neglecta (Draparnaud, 1805)). Later on, a few specimens of Papillifera bidens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Xerotricha apicina (Lamarck, 1822) were encountered amongst the ruins.

Cernuella sp.

Xerotricha apicina (Lamarck, 1822)

On a totally unrelated note, here's one of the modern day inhabitants of the Colosseum:

References:

Caneva, G., 2003. The Colosseum's use and state of abandonment as analysed through its flora. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 51: 211-219.
Panaroli, D., 1643. Jatrologismi sive medicae observationes quibus additus est in fine Plantarum Amphytheatralium Catalogus. Typis Dominici Marciani, Rome.

New paper published

Pseudotachea splendida (Draparnaud, 1801) - Qormi, Malta.

A paper of interest to the readers of this blog has just been published in this month's issue of the journal Triton.

Cilia, D. P., 2010. A note on shells of Pseudotachea splendida (Draparnaud, 1801) in the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean). Triton, 22: 33-34.

Abstract: Shells of the western European helicid Pseudotachea splendida (Draparnaud, 1801) are recorded from a plant nursery in Malta.

Snailing about

A Cantareus aspersus (Müller, 1774) going about its daily business. Photo taken in Mqabba.

New project uploaded

A small website required for a University assignment has been uploaded at the link pasted below:

Maltese Endemic Landsnails

Virtually all photographs included are appearing on the web for the first time.

The website expires this year, so I will upload the content here as soon as that occurs.

It came, it saw, it conquered

The non-native Otala punctata (Müller, 1774) is a helicid snail which was imported into Malta through a plant nursery in Mosta. The established population was studied in 2008 by Barbara & Schembri, who mapped its range around the nursery responsible for its introduction. This map is copied and pasted beneath; the part highlighted in yellow by Barbara & Schembri shows the range of the species as in 2008. The red shows the plant nursery itself, while the dark grey shows the studied area.

Today, a substantial number of specimens was found further to the north of the yellow area. I have covered the 'newly colonized' area in blue to give an indication as to its extent. Apparently this snail is very well adapted to the kind of anthropogenically disturbed habitat presented in the vicinity, and will continue to colonize new areas and advance as predicted in the 2008 paper. The larger its range becomes, the less anything can be done to exterminate it, which is very bad news for native (and less aggressively competitive) snails.

*The photograph of the Otala punctata specimen above was taken at point 'a'.

Reference:

Barbara N. & Schembri P. J., 2008. The status of Otala punctata (Müller, 1774), a recently established terrestrial gastropod in Malta. Bollettino Malacologico, 44 (5-8): 101-107.