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Carthusian snail (Monacha cartusiana)

Carthusian snail Description: It is thought that marble, stone, and tile imports are significant risk pathways for exotic snails and slugs.

Identification: Shells are a pale white/yellow color, with brown stripes. Aperture (opening of shell) is typically the darkest part of the shell in adults. Shells size: 6-10 mm high, 9-17 mm wide.

Habitat: Native to Mediterranean region and Southeastern Europe. Found in dry, grassy areas are the preferred habitat of these snails. During the day, they attach to the stems of grasses and plants.

Reproduction:

Impact and Damage: Intermediate host for livestock parasites, including sheep lungworm disease. Additionally, established populations may cause damage to horticultural and agricultural crops and threaten native plant communities. Two populations have been found in the Detroit area and are under treatment due to a high pest potential.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org). Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

Carthusian snail

Scientific Name:

Monacha cartusiana

Family:

Hygromiidae
(Leaf snail)

Habit:

Mollusks