Vertigo arctica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Vertigo arctica |
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| A close-up of a Vertigo arctica shell | |
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Vertigo arctica is a very small, air-breathing land snail. It is a type of mollusk that lives on land, part of a group called "whorl snails."
Where It Lives
This tiny snail is found in Poland. Sadly, it is considered critically endangered there, meaning it is at a very high risk of disappearing forever.
What Its Shell Looks Like
The shell of Vertigo arctica is shaped like an egg and is thin and smooth. It's a bit shiny and brownish-yellow, and you can see through it a little.
The shell has about 5 to 5 and a half whorls, which are the turns or spirals of the shell. These whorls are rounded, and the last one makes up almost two-fifths of the shell's total height.
The Shell's Opening
The opening of the shell, called the aperture, is slightly slanted. It looks like a half-oval or a pear. Inside the opening, there are usually three small "teeth" that help block the entrance. One is on the inner wall, one on the central pillar (called the columella), and sometimes a smaller one on the outer lip.
The edge of the opening is slightly flared out. The edges are connected by a bit of hardened shell material. The right edge is very curved at the top, and the columella edge is a bit wider.
Shell Size
An adult Vertigo arctica shell is about 2.5 millimeters (mm) wide. It is about 1.5 mm tall. That's smaller than a grain of rice!
