FAMILY ZONITIDIE Shell a depressed spire, thin, transparent, with sharp, simple peristome; umbilicus present; animal able to withdraw into the shell. Foot with a mucus pore; jaw not ribbed; mantle lobed, but rarely reflected.
The glassy shells of these pitted snails, the presence of the mucus pore, and the thin, plain lip, set them apart from the Helicidce. They inhabit dark, damp situations, have an onion odour and probably a taste disagreeable to birds. When first hatched they exhibit cannibal tendencies. A hungry specimen will eat a weaker brother, shell and all. They are numerous in Europe and America.
Genus ZONITES, Montf.
A European and American group, less showy in size and colouring than Nanina, and fewer in number of species. Epi 254 The Glassy Snails dermis transparent. Diet vegetable. The genus centres in Italy and in the Danube basin.
Habitat.— Canada to Florida.
resort is a damp cellar. It is a very active snail. Length, L inch.
Habitat.— Pacific coast.
Z. arboreus, Say, inhabits bushes and hides in leaf mould. It is an orb shell, very small, amber, shiny, widely distributed, but hard to discover. It is easily mistaken for the young of other snails.
Habitat.—Many parts of North America.
Genus NANINA, Gray Shell flattened or top-shape, with umbilical pit, and large mouth; outer lip simple, sharp; columellar lip reflected. Thicker shells than the others in the family, larger, less polished, banded and painted with gay colours. Shell partially covered by an terior mantle lobes. Glandular, posterior end of foot ends in a spine. Some shells reach three to four inches in diameter. Some are lens-shaped with a sharp keel; some are flat orb shells; others have elevated spires. Six hundred species, in tropics of the Old World. Terrestrial.
Habitat.— Cambodia.
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