Tree Hill Nature Center - Jacksonville, Florida

Tree Hill Nature Center Entrance 7/26/2014
  The Tree Hill Nature Center, located immediately adjacent to Lone Star Road in the Arlington Section of Jacksonville, is a nonprofit 50-acre urban wildlife preserve offering unspoiled forest, swamps, freshwater streams, gardens, nature trails and exhibits and has been in existence for three decades. The well maintained trails (of which there are three of varying lengths) cumulatively total about 1.2 miles. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. A modest admission fee is collected.
Discussion:  The friendly enthusiastic employees and well maintained grounds make every visit to the Tree Hill Nature Center a pleasant experience. Being located in the middle of an urban setting, the diversity of wildlife present does not equal that of more rural areas such as the University of Florida Nature Trails. However, some species such as the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) are found here in respectable numbers. Fortunately for those of us interested in mollusks, the center supports a healthy molluscan population (a list of species identified thus far is presented below). Since parking is limited in conjunction with the fact that Tree Hill is utilized by the Duval County School System for environmental education, parking at times can be difficult. The large funeral home parking lot nearby on the corner of Lillian and Lone Star Roads can be used if necessary.

Terrestrials

  • Strobilops texasianus Pilsbry and Ferriss, 1906 Southern Pinecone
  • Philomycus carolinianus (Bosc, 1802) Carolina Mantleslug
  • Helicodiscus notius notius Hubricht, 1962 Tight Coil
  • Helicodiscus parallelus (Say, 1821) Compound Coil
  • Deroceras laeve (Müller, 1774) Meadow Slug
  • Glyphyalinia solida (H. B. Baker, 1930) Imperforate Glyph
  • Glyphyalinia umbilicata (Singley in Cockerell, 1893) Texas Glyph
  • Mesomphix globosus (MacMillan, 1940) Globose Button (pictured above)
  • Nesovitrea dalliana (Pilsbry and Simpson, 1888) Depressed Glass
  • Ventridens cerinoideus (Anthony, 1865) Wax Dome (one sinistral)
  • Ventridens demissus (A. Binney, 1843) Perforate Dome
  • Zonitoides arboreus (Say, 1817) Quick Gloss
  • Dryachloa dauca Thompson and Lee, 1981 Carrot Glass
  • Euglandina rosea (Férussac, 1821) Rosy Wolfsnail
  • Polygyra cereolus (Mühlfeld, 1816) Southern Flatcoil
  • Polygyra septemvolva Say, 1818 Florida Flatcoil
  • Allopeas gracile (Hutton, 1834) Graceful Awlsnail (exotic species not native to Florida)
  • Allopeas mauritianum (L. Pfeiffer, 1852) Mauritian Awlsnail (exotic species not native to Florida)
  • Lamellaxis micrus (d'Orbigny, 1835) Tiny Awlsnail (exotic species not native to Florida)
  • Bradybaena similaris (Férussac, 1821) Asian Tramp Snail (exotic species not native to Florida but widespread in Duval County and elsewhere)

Fresh Water

  • Campeloma floridense (Call, 1886) Purple-throat Campeloma (live in Red Bay Branch)
  • Pomacea paludosa (Say, 1829) Florida Applesnail (dead and alive in Red Bay Branch and also near muskrat midden)
  • Planorbella duryi (Wetherby, 1879) Seminole Rams-horn (dead on the bank of Red Bay Branch near a muskrat midden)
  • Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) Asian Clam (in Red Bay Branch - exotic species not native to Florida but widespread in Duval County and elsewhere)
  • Melanoides tuberculata (Müller, 1774) (abundant in Red Bay Branch - exotic species not native to Florida)

Selection of terrestrial species found at Tree Hill (10/17-18/2007) (largest specimen measures about 10 mm.)

Selection of terrestrial species found at Tree Hill (10/17-18/2007)