Merdigera obscura facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Merdigera obscura |
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The Merdigera obscura is a small, air-breathing land snail. It's a type of mollusk that lives on land, belonging to a group called gastropods. These snails are part of the Enidae family.
Where Merdigera Obscura Lives
This snail species can be found in many places. It lives in northwestern Africa and across most of Europe. You can find it from Portugal all the way to Russia.
Merdigera obscura snails like places that are shady and rocky. They often live in forests where trees lose their leaves in autumn. They prefer higher places, usually between 2,000–2,200 metres (6,600–7,200 ft) above sea level.
You can often spot them on tree trunks or under fallen leaves. They also hide under stones or on walls. They really like these cool, shady spots.
What Merdigera Obscura Looks Like
The shell of a Merdigera obscura snail is usually about 8.5 to 10.5 millimeters long. It is also about 3 to 4 millimeters wide. These shells have six parts that spiral around, called whorls. These whorls are slightly rounded.
The lines between the whorls are called sutures, and they are quite deep. The opening of the shell, known as the aperture, has a white edge. This edge is bent outwards.
The shell itself is a uniform brown color. Its surface has many small lines that go outwards, like spokes on a wheel.
The snail's body is dark brown. It gets a bit lighter on its sides and on its "foot," which it uses to move. The snail has two pairs of tentacles. The upper tentacles are long. The lower tentacles are much shorter, about one-fourth the length of the upper ones.
When this snail crawls, it holds its shell very high up. It doesn't lean much to the right side. Young snails and adult snails often have colors that help them blend in with their surroundings. This snail looks quite similar to another snail called Ena montana.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Female Merdigera obscura snails lay eggs. They lay between 12 and 20 oval-shaped eggs. This usually happens between May and October.
The baby snails hatch from their eggs after about two weeks. The young snails grow. They become adults during the first few months of their second year of life.
