Liguus virgineus

Shells of Liguus virgineus can reach a length of 30–60 millimetres (1.2–2.4 in). These small shells are oval-conical shaped, thin but robust. The shell surface is smooth and shiny. The aperture (opening of the shell) is semicircular. The shell has seven or eight whorls; the tip of the shell is obtuse, or not sharply pointed. Like most gastropods, individuals typically have dextral (right-handed) shells, though sinistral (left-handed) shells have been documented. Its slime and epiphragms (temporary structures that prevent water loss) are both green.[2]

The appearance of the shell is striking and has been compared to painted porcelain.[3] The background color of the shell is white or creamy-white, with thin bright spiral stripes. The stripes can be brown, black, pink, green, purple, or light yellow. A single shell can have stripes of a single color or as many as three different colors.[2] There are typically 3–6 stripes.[2] The aperture may be dark-grey or white-purple with scarlet lips.[2] The reasons for the wide variety of color patterns seen in this species are not understood.[4]

The stripes of its shell have high contrast relative to the background in both the visible light spectrum and the near-ultraviolet spectrum (340-400 nm). There is very little contrast in the near-infrared spectrum (700-1000 nm).[5]

Its tongue membrane is long and broad with about two hundred rows of teeth. Its jaw is slightly arched and is composed of fourteen different plates.[6]

A close-up of the vibrant Liguus virgineus, a tree snail known for its colorful shell patterns.

Snails of the genus Liguus spend most of their lives in trees, though they do descend to lay eggs on moist ground. Upon hatching, the young snails climb a tree. Adults' diets consist primarily of bark-growing lichens. Newly hatched young will feed on leaf-growing lichen, progressing to twigs and small branches, then finally the bark-growing lichens.[7]

Like other snails, its shell coloration is produced by pigment glands in the mantle, called chromophores. These chromophores are active for the entire life of individuals, resulting in the continuous colored lines of the shell.[8]

This species is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (in Haiti and the Dominican Republic).[9][10][11] It is arboreal (lives in trees)[7] and has been found on the branches of the tree Haematoxylum campechianum.[2]

Illustration of L. virgineus from Filippo Bonanni's Recreatio Mentis et Oculi (1684)

Shells of L. virgineus have been discovered in midden heaps in the Dominican Republic, indicating its use by indigenous peoples. The presence of shells from L. virgineus and two other terrestrial gastropods showed that shellfish were gathered from both rivers and the countryside.[12]

As the island of Hispaniola was one of the earliest sites of European contact, the brightly colored and distinctive shells of L. virgineus have been represented in scientific illustrations for hundreds of years.[2] The first illustration attributed to L. virgineus was published in 1684 in Filippo Bonanni's Recreatio Mentis et Oculi. Thus, it was the first scientific illustration of any neotropical land snail.[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liguus virgineus.

• Conchology
• Image of a live individual on Flickr