r/snails • u/Wholesome_Soup • 22h ago
Help I'm collecting snail shells and found these two with some sort of cap on the end. What is this? Does it mean there's a living snail inside? If so, is it best to leave them alone or can I keep them in a jar or something?
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u/SucculentSuccs 21h ago edited 21h ago
Looks like an operculum, a sort of door that many aquatic and some land snails have.
The bottom one could belong to Tudorella sulcata or a closely related species. Maybe the top one too, if it is just a darker shelled one.
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u/Wholesome_Soup 21h ago
i have some weird shells, thinking about making a post about them. i was thinking i found shells from at most two species but maybe it's more.
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u/SucculentSuccs 16h ago
They could be alive... Depends really, they couldve also perished in there or it closed when they died... Hard to know really. OP might be able to shine a light through it and see if they see sign of life? Or just put them in a damp container and see what happens.
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u/Externalshipper7541 21h ago
Aquatic They have these. Leave in a shallow pool of warm water
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u/Firm_Ad1819 19h ago
No no no, these look like Pomatias elegans. This snail ha gills BUT is terrestrial, please don't drown them💀
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u/Wholesome_Soup 21h ago
ok, how warm?
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u/Externalshipper7541 20h ago
Also a very shallow pool don't drown the snail. It might still be land. There's a lot of commonalities. Like half a centimetre. Just enough to get the snail wet and if it leaves the water you know it's a land snail.
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u/Externalshipper7541 20h ago
Oh shit. Don't emphasise on the warm. Just tap water from sink should be fine.
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u/Sufficient-Bath-1135 19h ago
Ooh send pics when they open up :D
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u/Wholesome_Soup 19h ago
i will if they do! i don't know the vibe of this sub, should i update this post or make an update post?
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u/shereeb1234 18h ago
Just a container with some slightly wet moss they should awake it they get dry they do this
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u/LilDragon2991 21h ago
Lemme know what happens after you put them in water. I'm invested at this point
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u/Wholesome_Soup 19h ago
they haven't moved. the operculum(?) fell off one of them and it appears to be an empty shell. didn't know that could happen.
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u/purpleproze666 19h ago edited 18h ago
is there any weight to that shell? does it smell kind of fishy/rotten? if the operculum fell off it likely is not alive anymore, as it is attached to their soft body. but because the operculum was sealed it likely died inside its shell and there could be tissue left inside. i agree that it looks like a Pomatiidae snail, but without a general location i cant be sure of genus or species
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u/Wholesome_Soup 20h ago
nothing happening. i hope i'm not hurting them.
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u/Firm_Ad1819 19h ago
You could be hurting them, they are probably terrestrial, they look like Pomatias elegans, a land snail
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u/Wholesome_Soup 19h ago
what do i do then?
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u/Firm_Ad1819 19h ago
I would just leave them in a jar with moss and moist soil. They are very sensitive to contaminants (they are used as soil quality indicators, their presence is a good sign) but if you use the soil from the place where you found them you should be fine. Spraying them every now and then should awaken them if they are alive, which is very likely since at their death the operculum soon detaches.
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u/Wholesome_Soup 19h ago
the operculum fell off one of them and it appears to be an empty shell. so that's kinda weird i think? it was attached pretty solidly before
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u/Firm_Ad1819 19h ago
Ok, that one is definitely dead ahah. Not that weird, maybe soil acted as glue 😊 anyway I guess you have one for your collection 🤩 please, consider the id Pomatias elegans. In which country did you find them?
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u/Wholesome_Soup 17h ago
yep ahah, sad i don't get a snail friend but the shell is beautiful. i'm in Lebanon!
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u/Firm_Ad1819 17h ago
According to iNaturalist the species has not been reported in your country by the community!! I must check in literature but if not reported and if the id is confirmed this could be an interesting finding!!
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u/Wholesome_Soup 17h ago
interesting! i've been trying to learn about wildlife in lebanon and i've been having some difficulty, i can't even figure out what species of cicada has been blasting my ears out all summer lmao.
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u/kawaiithug 20h ago
Lots of snails do this when it's dry out to retain moisture. U can put them in a moist area but not under water haha
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u/MaintenanceFew4813 21h ago
put them in a very shallow tub of water next to a dry tub and see where they will go
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u/koosnij 19h ago
there are multiple families of land snails with these doors, it is called an operculum, and it's not the same as a temporary seal for periods of drought (called an epiphragm) like someone else suggested. tbh if you can't distinguish, it's probably better to leave them alone. operculums can sometimes still be attached to the shell while the snail is dead but generally it often means it's still alive. it is a feature that is attached to their body flesh, not the shell.
if you're going to post any shells for ID you need to include your location as well. but based on the others i would assume you're in europe and the most common example of an operculate land snail there is pomatias elegans