Helix texta

Helix texta (Hebrew: שבלול החרמון) is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae, the typical snails. This species is endemic to Israel. It lives in the high northern part of Israel, typically in the Hermon ridge area.

Helix texta
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora

informal group Sigmurethra
Superfamily:
Helicoidea
Family:
Helicidae
Genus:
Helix
Species:
H. texta
Binomial name
Helix texta
Mousson, 1861

It is the largest Israeli snail with a shell of diameter 55 mm. It is active during autumn (which is November in Israel), when it eats and mates. When the cold winter comes the snail enter hibernation until the next autumn. This snail lives several years and mates usually only a year after hatching from the egg. The size of the egg is 5.5 mm.[2]

Recent studies determined that Helix texta is a synonym of Helix pachya.

References
  1. Heller J. 1996. Helix texta. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived 27 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 August 2007.
  2. Heller J.: Life History Strategies. in Barker G. M. (ed.): The biology of terrestrial molluscs. CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-85199-318-4. 1-146, cited page: 428.


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