About Monadenia fidelis (J.E.Gray, 1834)
Monadenia fidelis, commonly known as the Pacific sideband, is a medium-sized species of air-breathing land snail. It is a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Monadeniidae. This species shows extensive morphological variation. The shell of the Pacific sideband typically has a chestnut brown base, marked with bands of yellow, dark brown, and red. The soft body of the snail is rosy or purplish brown, with gray or black coloring across its surface. This snail species produces and uses love darts as part of its reproduction. With a shell width ranging from 22 to 36 mm, it is the largest land snail species found in the state of Washington. Monadenia fidelis is endemic to the Pacific Coast of North America, where it occurs in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. There is a high degree of morphological variation between individual snails of this species, and several distinct subspecies are currently recognized. Although populations of this snail have distinguishable unique morphotypes, recent genomic research shows that gene flow occurs between the currently recognized subspecies, and even between M. fidelis and other species within the genus Monadenia. M. fidelis is most commonly found in low elevation wet coastal forests, but it also occurs in non-forested habitats and urban areas. It is most abundant in deciduous and mixed forests, though it can occasionally be found in coniferous forests.
