Vertigo heldi

Vertigo heldi is a species of minute, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snail.

Vertigo heldi
Apertural view of a shell of Vertigo heldi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Superfamily:	Pupilloidea
Family:	Vertiginidae
Subfamily:	Vertigininae
Tribe:	Vertiginini
Genus:	Vertigo
Subgenus:	Vertigo
Species:	V. heldi
Binomial name
Vertigo heldi (Clessin, 1877)[1]

Distribution

This species occurs in:

• Austria
• Bavaria in Germany
• Switzerland

Shell description

The shell is rimate, turreted, irregularly and very finely striate, of reddish-brown color, glossy. The shell has 6 whorls, that are slowly increasing and rather convex. The first 3 whorls form a blunt summit which is about ⅓ the length of the shell. The last 3 whorls are of nearly equal height and form the remaining cylindric part of the shell. The last whorl is neither calloused nor contracted preceding the aperture.[2]

The aperture is about ¼ the length of shell, arcuately convex, somewhat impressed on the outer side, the impression running as a groove-like depression for a short distance on the last whorl. Aperture is toothed, the teeth are reddish, very weak and placed deep in the throat: 1 tooth on the middle of the parietal wall, 1 on the columella, 2 very weakly developed, frequently wanting, on the palatal wall. Peristome is continuous, somewhat expanded, little thickened.[2]

The width of the adult shell is 1.1-1.25 mm, the height is 2.4-2.7 mm.[3]

References

This article incorporates public domain text from reference.[2]

1. Clessin S. 1877. Eine neue Pupa. Nachrichtsblatt der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft 9 (4-5): 49-51. Frankfurt am Main.
2. Pilsbry H. A. & Cooke C. M. 1918-1920. Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Volume 25. Pupillidae (Gastrocoptinae, Vertigininae). Philadelphia. pages 199-200.
3. Species summary for Vertigo heldi. AnimalBase, accessed 23 June 2009.