Leaf-litter-dwelling microsnails of Prince Edward Island, Canada (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Eupulmonata)

Abstract

Samples of leaf litter were collected from 22 woodland sites throughout Prince Edward Island, Canada. Eighty-two specimens belonging to 15 species of litter-dwelling land snails were recovered from 20 of the 22 samples. One-third of the species—Carychium exile H.C. Lea, 1842, Helicodiscus shimeki Hubricht, 1982, Strobilops labyrinthicus (Say, 1817), Perpolita binneyana (Morse, 1864), and Striatura ferrea Morse, 1864—were previously undocumented in the literature as occurring in PEI. Leaf-litter sampling, even in smaller quantities, is an effective method for finding the often-neglected terrestrial mollusc fauna, which is composed largely of minute species.

Keywords

• Atlantic Canada
• geographic distribution
• land sna