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Polygyra cereolus (Mühlfeld, 1816) Southern Flatcoil Page Four |
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For whatever reason, in Duval County, Florida the species has been
observed assembling in large numbers on the sides of buildings, etc.,
without apparent regard to sun exposure, the presence of moisture,
or the composition of the structure. Usually the assembly involves a
somewhat modest number of specimens. However, on April 23, 2006 a
small building on the campus of the University of North Florida (pictured
above) was
discovered that housed thousands if not tens of thousands of
specimens that literally coated the building from the foundation to
the eaves. Using a paint brush, dust pan, and a scrub bucket, about
one pint of the Polygyra were collected. A
significant portion of the specimens were quite lively following
collection. The collected specimens were given to Dr. Harry G. Lee who hand sorted them. His work revealed that all of the specimens were in fact Polygyra cereolus, no sinistral shells were present, and about 30 percent of the shells were juveniles (3-6 mm.); the remainder were 6-9 mm. adults. The total volume of the specimens was 14 oz., and by weighing a known number of shells, the total number of specimens present in the sample was on the order of 3,885. |
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Small portion of the building wall |
Part of the specimens collected |
| A similar assembly of specimens, involving significantly lesser numbers, was also discovered on a curb and nearby vegetation immediately adjacent to a busy road on the campus of Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) South Campus on 4/24/2006. A small sample of the specimens were collected and are illustrated below. Like the specimens from the University of North Florida, once collected and placed in a more snail friendly environment, the specimens proved to be quite lively. Interestingly, the snails were found only in one ten foot long section of the curb out of literally miles of nearly identical structure. | |
