BULIMULIDAE 



63 



Family BULIMULIDAE 



Snails of the family Bulimulidae have elongated shells which 

 measure from one-half inch to 5 inches (12-130 mm.) in length. 

 Because this family as it is distributed in many parts of the 

 world is predominantly semitropical or tropical it is sparsely 

 represented in temperate climates. In Arizona and Texas several 

 species having shells an inch to an inch and a half in length are 

 found. The one species found in Illinois has a shell that is 

 smaller than the shells of many of the southern species. 



Genus BULIMULUS Leach 



Only one genus of the family Bulimulidae is known to occur 

 in Illinois. And of this genus, Bulimulus, only one species is 

 recorded from this state. 



BULIMULUS DEALBATUS (Say) 



The ovate shell of Bulimulus dealbatus is less than an inch 

 (19-22 mm.) in length. The spire is elongated, the 6 whorls 

 are rounded and the sutures are deeply indented. The body 

 whorl is very large and relatively ventricose. 

 A large ovate aperture with no denticles of 

 any kind occupies nearly half the length of 

 the shell, and the inner lip or parietal wall 

 forms a flattened expansion which projects 

 over the deep, distinct umbilicus. The shell 

 is white, blotched with ashy streaks and 

 spots, and its walls are relatively thin. 



This snail is a new member of the record- 

 ed fauna of Illinois. No specimens were 

 known from the state until about 1925. The 

 top of the south end of a Mississippi River 

 elevation known as Fountain Bluff, in Jackson County, is the 

 only known locality in the state where this snail lives. Probably 

 this species is a migrant to Illinois from Missouri, a state in 

 which Bulimulus dealbatus is abundant. 



Bulimulus dealbatus is a common snail in the southern states, 

 its known distribution being from South Carolina and Alabama 

 west to Oklahoma and Texas. 



