Native Snails and Fungi

mostly.nature (59)in #nature • 7 years ago

I found this small native snail, Stenacapha ducani, some time ago while photographing fungi at a local reserve. It is only 7 or 8 mm wide. A local malacologist informed me that they can grow up to 15mm in my area and in some places reach 20mm. It can be seen here feeding on the fungus, Gymnopilus sp.

_{( All photos, videos, and text on this blog are by @mostly.nature )}

...and here is a very similar snail I found at the same location. However, this is actually a different species named Stenacapha hamiltoni. Both feed on fungi.
Stenacapha hamiltoni FG.jpg

If you enjoyed this post, please consider upvoting, commenting , following or resteeming. Thank you!

Some Recent Posts You May Have Missed

_{The Magpie Lark}	_{Southern Brown Bandicoot ...or should it be a Bandi Cute}
_{Lizards Fighting and Hunting}	_{Praying Mantis}

#photography #animals #life #macro

7 years ago in #nature by mostly.nature (59)

Sort:

chichimarie (38) 7 years ago

I finished high school, moved to Nashville for college, and set out to break into the music business. Every night when I called home with news of my experiences, my mom and dad would encourage me to keep taking those small steps.

$0.00

[-]

halo (82) 7 years ago

Great macros , man I wish I could get insects and snail macros this good , I do my best macros with flowers and leaves. But have been practicing on insects :)

$0.00

[-]

mostly.nature (59) 7 years ago (edited)

Thanks ...Your photos are fine. I have plenty of really bad shots that I won't even show anyone :-)

$0.00

[-]

ewkaw (71) 7 years ago

It is like a game with those tow "Find 10 differences". They just look so alike!

$0.00

[-]

mostly.nature (59) 7 years ago

Yes it's a bit like that. I would not have noticed the differences with these had it not been pointed out to me by a snailologist (malacologist)

$0.00

[-]

ewkaw (71) 7 years ago

What are the differences then?
Snailologist must be very exciting profession :)

$0.00

[-]

mostly.nature (59) 7 years ago

Here is an excerpt from his email:

Yes this is another Stenacapha and not a carnivorous rhytidid.

Stenacapha ducani and S. hamiltoni are difficult to tell apart from photos (and sometimes difficult even from specimens) but although this may look extremely similar to the last one, this one is actually hamiltoni! One key difference between S. hamiltoni and S. ducani is the way the adult sculpture develops on the later whorls of the shell. On S. ducani the adult ribbing on the earlier whorls always becomes less prominent on the later whorls and I could see this starting to happen on your previous suspect, although it was sub-adult. This one has the ribs still quite prominent all the way around at over five whorls of growth. That rules out ducani and makes it hamiltoni. It is also just a slightly flatter, less chunky looking shell which is another difference that points to hamiltoni, although they do vary. It doesn't help that the two species will live together in the same habitat and may even be found munching from the same fungus or sheltering under the same log.

$0.00

[-]