Decollate snail

These little snails are everywhere on the land at the moment, brought out of hiding by the heavy rains. The scientific name is Rumina decollata. This one here measures about 30mm but when fully grown they can be around 40-45 mm (1.5 inches) long and 14mm (0.5 inches) wide. I rather like it's textured, almost leathery skin.

The shell looks to me as though it should be on a beach because it is elongated and shaped like a cone. But this is a predatory land snail native to the Mediaterranean. It feeds upon other common garden snails and slugs, notably their eggs!  These wonderfully adapative decollate snails  are tolerant of drought conditions too and burrow deep into the soil to survive the long hot summers.

For Tiny Tuesday, thank you Jill (JDO) for hosting this month.