Order Pulmonata
The Pulmonata (Order Pulmonata) includes 41 species across 17 families and 32 genera in our directory.
About Pulmonata
Pulmonata includes terrestrial and freshwater snails and slugs with ~30,000 described species. The giant African land snail (Lissachatina fulica) can reach 20cm and is one of the most invasive species globally.
Economic Impact
Slugs and snails cause billions in crop damage worldwide. The global molluscicide market was valued at $800 million in 2023. Conversely, edible snails (escargot) support a global industry worth over $4 billion annually.
Ecological Role
Terrestrial gastropods are important decomposers and calcium recyclers in forest ecosystems. They are also critical food sources for birds, hedgehogs, and beetles. Many species are hermaphrodites, possessing both male and female reproductive organs.
Families in Pulmonata (17)
Species in Pulmonata (41)
Amber Snail
Succinea putris
Height: 15 to 22 mm. Width: 7 to 12 mm. Very light amber to orange brown in colour, sometimes with a broad band near the opening. It has a very long final whorl to its shell. Lush, damp, well vegetated places, river banks, pond sides etc. often on th
Brown-lipped Snail
Cepaea nemoralis
Also known as the Banded Snail, this is the most colourful and variable snail in the UK. The shell may vary in colour, and in the presence of banded patterning. They can be yellow, pink or brown and can have up to five horizontal bands across their s
Cellar Snail
Oxychilus cellarius
9-12 mm pale, translucent and glossy. Usually very pale, yellow brown. The body is pale bluish grey. Deep open umbilicus. No (garlic) smell when irritated. Oxychilis alliaris is smaller (6-8mm) with a strong garlic smell when irritated. Oxychilis nav
Clear Glass Snail
Aegopinella pura
Small woodland snail to 4.5mm with rapidly expanding whorls. The shell is usually transparent or white, though the darker body of the snail shows through in live specimens. The shell sculpture has many, weak radial lines (visible at x20) plus very fa
Columella aspera
Columella aspera
This tiny snail is only 2mm high and 1.3mm across. It is very similar to C. edentula but relatively more squat and tapering. The brown shell is more or less opaque with faint, irregular growth ridges giving it a rough surface. The mouth is nearly rou
Common Chrysalis Snail
Lauria cylindracea
3-4mm. This very common small, dumpy snail varies from light to dark brown in colour. The mouth has a single tooth which is contiguous with the lip. Adults have a thickened white lip. There are several small snail that look very similar. The thickene
Common Whorl Snail
Vertigo pygmaea
This is a very small species the shell being about 2 mm in length. It is mid brown in colour with 4 to 7 fairly prominent teeth. The shell surface is dull to slightly glossy and often quite silky in appearance. Typically there is a bulge in the shell
Copse Snail
Arianta arbustorum
Size up to 19 mm. The shell is brown and mottled with a thin dark brown spiral band around the circumference. The body is dark, almost black. The aperture is 'C' shaped and umbilicus is a small crescent-shaped slit. Both Cepaea species are of similar
Discus Snail
Discus rotundatus
The Discus Snail is a fairly small snail (5 to 7 mm) with a flattened, almost lens-shaped, tightly coiled and densely ribbed, brownish yellow-grey shell which, on close examination, can be seen to be flecked with red and has 6 or 7 whorls. Lives in m
Draparnaud's Glass Snail
Oxychilus draparnaudi
This is the largest of the Glass Snails, reaching up to 15mm across. Unlike the other Oxychilus species, it has a waxy, not glossy, shell which is yellowish-brown in colour. It has a blue-grey body. Oxychilis snails can be a challenge to distinguish
Dwarf Snail
Punctum pygmaeum
A tiny snail (1.5mm) which is matt brown with regular and even coils. The surface has closely-packed growth growth lines (which give it the matt sheen). The umbilicus is relatively large. Though supposedly common it is rarely recorded, probably due t
Eccentric Grass Snail
Vallonia cf. excentrica
A very small snail (2mm) with a pale white or cream shell. It is flattened with a large umbilicus and a prominent lip around the mouth. The last whorl flares giving the shell and the umbilicus an eccentric appearance. Hard to distinguish from Valloni
Garden Snail
Cornu aspersum
Shell height 25 to 35 mm, width 25 to 40 mm. This snail has a thick shell with a rough wrinkled surface and with 4.5 to 5 whorls. The umbilicus is completely sealed by the lip. Mouth large, with a thickened white lip. Shell usually pale brown, occasi
Garlic Snail
Oxychilus alliarius
6-8mm - the Garlic Snail is pale, yellow-brown and glossy. It has a closely-coiled translucent shell with a very low spire and a medium umbilicus. The snail itself is characteristically dark blue-grey. When disturbed, this snail produces a secretion
Girdled Snail
Hygromia cinctella
It is about 1 cm across, and varies in colour from a yellowish white through various shades to a dark chocolate brown. It has a sharp keel around the centre of the body whorl, with a light yellowish white band present around the keel. As this species
Glossy Glass Snail
Oxychilus navarricus
A medium-sized (8 to 10 mm) glossy brown snail with a slightly raised spire, 5 flattened whorls and with sutures slightly deeper than those of O. cellarius . The body is blue-grey with jet-black mantle edge - that can be seen as a dark band at the fr
Hairy Snail
Trochulus hispidus
Shell 6 mm. The hairs on the shell wear off, but can usually be seen inside the umbilicus, which is quite well defined in this species. It is relatively flat, lacking a noticeable spire. Recent taxonomic changes have concluded that Trochulus sericeus
Heath Snail
Helicella itala
9-25mm diameter with a low spire. Generally pale but usually with dark spiral bands. It has a large umbilicus that is free from the mouth lip. Cernuella virgata is found in similar habitats and also has dark spiral bands - but this species is much mo
Kentish Snail
Monacha cantiana
Up to 16 mm. The shell is brown with creamy white mottling and often a pale spiral band around its circumference. The snail itself has a pale brown body with darker skirting and even darker tentacles. Young specimens have hairy shells but these tend
Lapidary Snail
Helicigona lapicida
The shell of this species is approximately 20 mm in maximum dimension. The lapidary snail has got a characteristically lens-shaped shell with a clearly visible keel. The shell has a grey-brown colour with blurred red-brown spots. Because of the shell
Milky Crystal Snail
Vitrea contracta
A small tightly-coiled snail 2.2-2.6mm in diameter. The shell is glassy and transparent but frequently appears 'milky'. The aperture is moon-shaped and without teeth. Vitrea crystalina (Common Crystal Snail) is similar but can be separated, being lar
Paralaoma servilis
Paralaoma servilis
A tiny snail (only 1.5 to 2 mm diameter). Shell golden brownish sometimes a little darker, quite flat, ribs widely spaced and regular, very finely spirally striated, 3.5 whorls, aperture almost circular, umbilicus wide (20 to 25 % of shell diameter).
Pellucid Glass Snail
Vitrina pellucida
A small glass snail with a shell of about 5 or 6 mm diameter. It is translucently clear and slightly greenish, it has 3 whorls that enlarge rapidly and are somewhat convex. The opening is a rounded crescent shape. These snails live in moist and shady
Pfeiffer's Amber Snail
Oxyloma elegans
Size about 15 mm. The thin and translucent shell, with an elongated shape, shows three whorls. The last one is about three quarter of the total size. The general colour varies from pale yellow to dark brown. The aperture is large and oval-shaped. Lik
Plaited Door Snail
Cochlodina laminata
Up to 18mm long with a red-brown barrel shaped but strongly tapering shell. The aperture is pear-shaped with strong parietal and columellar lamellae. The commonly found Clausilia bidentata is a similar shape but generally smaller with deeper and more
Prickly Snail
Acanthinula aculeata
Though tiny (around 2mm), this snail is distinctive with regular spines along the centre of each whorl and ribs radiating from each spine. Whilst the spines can wear off the ribs remain. It also has a circular mouth. The spines tend to collect soil a
Ribbed Grass Snail
Vallonia costata
2.2mm - 2.7mm.Trumpet-like and thickened mouth which is large and circular. The shell is strongly and evenly ribbed. The shell is pale and opaque. Vallonia pulchella and V. excentrica are of similar size with a large round mouth but both lack the rib
Rock Snail
Pyramidula umbilicata
A small snail 2.5 to 3 mm wide. Shell tightly coiled and a depressed cone shape. Surface dark red-brown often wearing to a purplish-brown or grey with age. Marked by irregular but strong growth lines. Umbilicus very wide. Unless identified by a recog
Shiny Glass Snail
Zonitoides nitidus
The shell is 6 to 7 mm wide, 3.5 to 4 mm high, dark brown and shiny. The shell has irregular, low wrinkle-like striae and a total of 4 1/2 to 5 whorls. The body of the snail is black with a dull orange spot on the mantle. This orange spot can be seen
Short-toothed Herald Snail
Carychium minimum
At just 1.5mm in height, this tiny snail is easily over-looked. The adult shell has just four whorls in a conical shape, with the lowest whorl being the broadest. It is very pale in colour. The mouth has a thickened lip and there are three internal t
Silky Snail
Ashfordia granulata
One of two snails in VC55 that are hairy as adults (several species have hairs as juveniles). It is around 8mm and more rounded and conical than Trochulus hispidus with a noticeable spire. It has a small umbilicus which is partially obscured by the c
Slippery Snail
Cochlicopa lubrica
Height: 5-6 mm. Shells are glossy and translucent, elongate with thickened lips and no teeth at the opening. Cochlicopa lubricella is very hard to tell apart but has slightly more shallow sutures on the shell. There is also much debate about the stat
Smooth Glass Snail
Aegopinella nitidula
A small (up to 10 mm) land snail sometimes known as the Clear Glass Snail or Waxy Glass Snail. It has an orange-brown, glassy looking shell sometimes with dark mottling and veining showing. The body is blue-grey. Aegopinella nitidula is the largest o
Smooth Grass Snail
Vallonia pulchella agg.
A very small snail (2mm) with a pale white or cream shell. It is flattened with a large umbilicus and a prominent lip around the mouth. Most older records and treated as an aggregate with Vallonia excentrica . It is very similar to Vallonia excentric
Strawberry Snail
Trochulus striolatus
10mm but can grow larger. Shell colour ranges from dirty yellowish-brown through chestnut brown or even a purplish-grey. It usually has five or six whorls and has a slightly raised spire. It has coarse growth ridges running across each whorl and a de
Striped Snail
Cernuella virgata
A globular shell with rounded whorls and usually with dark spiral bands over a paler background. Variable in size from 7-18 mm. Under a lens it has irregular growth lines. The umbilicus is relatively small. Candidula can also have spiral bands and is
Tawny Glass Snail
Euconulus fulvus
This small, conical snail grows to around 3.5mm wide and as the common name suggests it is a tawny brown colour but with a partly transparent shell. The aperture is crescent-shaped and there is no imbilicus. The body of the live snail is pale, distin
Toothless Chrysalis Snail
Columella edentula
A very small, cylindrical, yellow-brown to brown shell: 2.5-3mm. The aperture lacks teeth and the shell has faint, irregular growth lines. Similar to C. aspera which has a shell which is slightly broader and shorter and with more pronounced shell scu
Two Toothed Door Snail
Clausilia bidentata
About 10 to 12 mm in length and 3 mm at widest point. The spiral shell shows numerous grooves or growth lines. They live mainly in woods and hedges in leaf litter or among rocks normally hiding in crevices or beneath the ground litter. Most likely to
White-lipped Snail
Cepaea hortensis
Shell height: 15 to 16 mm, width 16 to 22 mm. The white-lipped banded snail has a glossy, smooth shell, which is typically yellow in colour but may be pink, brown or red, with up to 5 variable spiral dark bands and nearly always has an obvious white
Lesser Bulin
Merdigera obscura