About Vitrina pellucida (O.F.Müller, 1774)
Vitrina pellucida (O.F.Müller, 1774) is a semi-slug species with a flattened, globular shell. The animal’s body is pale grey, with a darker head and darker tentacles. The body is large relative to the shell, so the species cannot retreat completely inside the shell. The shell is subglobose, somewhat smooth, pellucid, and greenish hyaline in color. It has 3 whorls that enlarge rapidly and are somewhat convex; the body whorl is wide and slightly flattened on its underside. The suture is wrinkled, the aperture is lunately rounded, and the umbilicus is very small. A full-sized shell measures 6 mm in width and 3.5 mm in height. This species occurs across multiple countries and islands in Western Europe and Central Europe, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Ireland, and other adjacent areas. Hedgehogs are known predators of this semi-slug. Its diet includes liverworts from the family Jungermanniaceae, decayed leaves, dead earthworms, and horse manure. It inhabits moist, shady locations, and is not usually seen until late autumn. It can live in both natural and human-modified habitats, including meadows, grasslands, deciduous forests, coniferous forests, and wasteground. The species lays its eggs in small heaps; each egg has a membraneous covering. Known parasites of Vitrina pellucida include roundworms of the genus Elaphostrongylus.
