
Prietocella barbara aka Small Pointed Snail, Cochlicella barbara
Introduced pest
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Superfamily: Helicoidea
Family: Cochlicellidae
Monarto Conservation Park, South Australia – November 8th, 2014 – overcast conditions and light rain
Photos & Text: Michal Dutkiewicz
Small Pointed Snails are considered an agricultural pest. They rarely invade grain crops, but they feed on Lucerne and other plants in the South East. They are a species from the Mediterranean area and were first reported from South Australia from Mt Gambier in 1921. They can be hard to get rid of, and fire is often used to eradicate snail species, but many of these survive in rocky terrain, because they may be resting under rocks. They are dormant for the hot, drier Summer months, when they tend to rest on the surface in leaf litter etc and breed in Winter. Thanks to Dennis Hopkins and the Department of Agriculture for this information.
http://www.biodiversitysnapshots.net.au/bdrs-core/public/speciesInfo.htm?spid=898&mode=fieldguide