''Quickella'' is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have gastropod shell, shel ...

in the family

Succineidae Succineidae are a family of small to medium-sized, air-breathing land snails (and slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often ...

, the amber snails. It is known commonly as the sandbowl snail. The only species is ''Quickella arenaria''. ;Synonyms: * ''Quickella (Mediappendix)'' Pilsbry, 1948: synonym of '' Mediappendix'' Pilsbry, 1948 * ''Quickella rehderi'' Pilsbry, 1948: synonym of '' Mediappendix rehderi'' (Pilsbry, 1948) (original combination)

Description

The shell is 5 to 8 millimeters widea and red-brown in colour. It is fragile, short, turreted, and conical with large body whorl, three whorls and an almost circular aperture. The aperture is about 50% of the shell height, the spire is very short and the whorls are convex with deep sutures. Surface moderately shiny with relatively coarse growth lines. In life the dark digestive gland shows through the spire making it seem very dark compared to the body whorl. The animal is dark grey to black. The shell is very similar to '' Succinella oblonga''. Identification requires dissection. The

genitalia A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

differ in these respects: "Penis short with a black spot at vas deferens and retractor insertion, vas deferens inserts directly into penis, epiphallus absent, penis without envelope (''S. oblonga'' has a long penis with epiphallus and a long vas deferens)."''Quickella arenaria''.
AnimalBase.

Habitat

This snail lives in wet hollows among

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

. In the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

these areas are known as "dune slacks", and when in pristine condition, these hollows provide a specialized habitat for an unusual group of

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

, which includes this species.Also on shallow flooded sandy or muddy and calcareous soils. In Switzerland, it occurs up to an altitude of 2200 meters above sea level.

Distribution

The range is suboceanic boreo-temperate (Ccnfined to western Europe and distributed mainly near coasts from France to south-east Sweden). There are outliers inland in mountain areas of central Scandinavia and east Switzerland. This species occurs in areas including: * The

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is listed in

List of endangered species in the British Isles This is a list of United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan species. Some suffer because of loss of habitat, but many are in decline following the introduction of foreign species, which out-compete the native species or carry disease. See also th ...

. It is endangered in Great Britain. This species is fully protected in the United Kingdom under the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species ...

since 1981.Protection for wild animals on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
Accessed 7 August 2009. * Western Europe: France, Belgium,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Switzerland * Central Europe:

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

* Northern Europe: Norway, Sweden. ''Catinella (Quickella) arenaria'' is scattered and rare due to its relict distribution, initially it was widespread at the end of the glacial period, and decreased after forest growth.

References

* Provoost, S.; Bonte, D. (Ed.) (2004). ''Animated dunes: a view of biodiversity at the Flemish coast'' evende duinen: een overzicht van de biodiversiteit aan de Vlaamse kust Mededelingen van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud, 22. Instituut voor Natuurbehoud: Brussel, Belgium. . 416, ill., appendices pp.

External links

Images.

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{{Authority control Succineidae Gastropods described in 1837