Ecology and Distribution of Three Habitat-specialized Land Snails of the Genus Vertigo

Species of the genus Vertigo are tiny land snails with shell height around 2 mm. Many of them are restricted to colder climate areas and their centre of distribution lies in higher latitudes, such as Vertigo lilljeborgi, V. genesii and V. geyeri. These species are habitat specialists that are restricted to minerotrophic fens, and their main area of distribution lies in boreal and arctic zones. To the south, their occurrence is a relict of more continuous distribution during the late glacial and early Holocene and their occurrence indicates sites of ancient origin and conservation importance. Our study documents their pan-European distribution with their ecological preferences analysed using data covering their whole area of distribution. The results show that, besides other, V. lilljeborgi and especially V. genesii are restricted to areas with lower summer and winter temperatures, suggesting impact of the ongoing climate change. For more results, see the published article.

Read the full article, published by Zoological Studies, here

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