Robert G. Forsyth

Terrestrial molluscs from the Ontario Far North

From 2009–2014, incidental collections of terrestrial molluscs were made from the Far North of Ontario, Canada. Thirty-four species of terrestrial molluscs were identified from these collections, including one exotic species, Deroceras reticulatum, and three newly reported species from the Far North, Vallonia pulchella, Vertigo cf. genesii, and Gastrocopta similis. Vertigo cf. genesii is newly reported from Ontario. Some species have not been collected in Ontario for many years and some of these only once before. Subnational conservation ranks are discussed for higher-ranked species.

Mollusca, Gastropoda, Ellobiidae, Carychium minimum, and Ferussaciidae, Cecilioides acicula: Distribution extension and first provincial records of two introduced land snails in Ontario, Canada

The distributions of introduced terrestrial gastropod mollusks in Ontario, Canada are only partially known, and the main references on introduced land snails and slugs in the province (Pilsbry 1939; 1940; 1946; 1948; Oughton 1948; Chichester and Getz 1973; Grimm and Wiggins 1974; and Dundee 1975) are incomplete. Of the several species of introduced snails known from Ontario by the late F. Wayne Grimm (personal communication to MJO, 8 December 1996), we recently have been able to verify two of them, Carychium minimum and Cecilioides acicula. Although these species have been known from Ontario for about a decade (personal communication to MJO, 8 December 1996), records of both have been unpublished until now. The material originally seen by Mr. Grimm has not been found in his collection that is now being curated for deposit in the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, and we have been unable to determine if it was deposited in another collection. The Ontario record of C. acicula also represents a new species record for Canada.

Occurrence of the Copse Snail, Arianta arbustorum (Helicidae), on Prince Edward Island: An Addition to the North American Range of a Purported Potential Pest

Abstract We report the first occurrence of Arianta arbustorum (Copse Snail) on Prince Edward Island, expanding its well-established presence in eastern Canada. Although listed as an exotic mollusc for which prevention of introduction to the US is a priority, the evidence from Canada to date suggests a low pest potential for this species. It is unlikely that eradication efforts in North America would be effective; thus, the Copse Snail may be a poor candidate for pest-prevention efforts in the US.

First record of Deroceras invadens Reise, Hutchinson, Schunack & Schlitt, 2011 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Agriolimacidae) from the island of Newfoundland, Canada

The introduced European slug Deroceras invadens Reise, Hutchinson, Schunack & Schlitt, 2011 is here reported from St. John’s, Newfoundland. This new record is the first from the island of Newfoundland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and from Atlantic Canada. It is the first verified record for this species living outside of greenhouses in eastern Canada.

Guppya sterkii (Dall, 1888) (Gastropoda, Eupulmonata, Euconulidae) in eastern Ontario, Canada

A seldom-collected terrestrial snail, Guppya sterkii (Dall, 1888), is recorded for the first time from an older-growth hardwood forest in rural Ottawa, eastern Ontario. This represents a range extension of roughly 175 km north-east of the nearest previously known occurrence. Its conservation status and possible threats are briefly discussed.

Distributional Status of an Introduced Land Snail Discus rotundatus (Rotund Disc, Mollusca: Discidae) in Canada

First collected in North America in 1937 on the Avalon Peninsula of the Island of Newfoundland, the introduced, primarily European land snail, Discus rotundatus , has now been recorded from the Island of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. We review all known records from Canada, demonstrate that D. rotundatus is more widespread than was previously recognized on the Island of Newfoundland, and report the first record from New Brunswick.

Forty years later: distribution of the introduced Heath Snail, Xerolenta obvia , in Ontario, Canada (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Hygromiidae)

Xerolenta obvia is a Central European land snail that is introduced to Ontario, Canada, where it was first recorded in the literature in 1975 from a single population at Bethany (City of Kawartha Lakes). Over the four decades since that publication, additional records have been found clustered near Bethany, within the City of Kawartha Lakes, and in neighbouring Peterborough County and the Regional Municipality of Durham. Two distant sites are also now known, one in rural Ottawa (southeastern Ontario), and one at Windsor, Essex County (southwestern Ontario).

Terrestrial snails (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) from Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada

There are few studies on the terrestrial molluscs of the Great Plains of Alberta. Nearly all previously published surveys have focused on the faunas of the Rocky Mountain Foothills, the Cypress Hills, the Parklands of Central Alberta, or the boreal forests. By means of hand-picking and litter samples, we surveyed for the first time the terrestrial snail fauna in the Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, southern Alberta, Canada. From among the hoodoos (weathered rock formations) and along the cliffs on the north side of the Milk River, we found terrestrial snails at four of our five sites within the hot, dry valley of the river. Our study confirms our assumptions that the terrestrial snail fauna in these hostile habitats lacks diversity.

First record of Carychium minimum Müller, 1774 in New Brunswick, Canada (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Ellobioidea)

The minute land snail, Carychium minimum Muller, 1774 is reported from New Brunswick, Canada. This new record further adds additional data to support the supposition that this introduced, European species is probably more widespread over temperate North America than currently known.

Patera appressa (Say, 1821), an introduced land snail in Ontario, Canada (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Polygyridae)

The geographic distribution and habitat of Patera appressa (Say, 1821) in Canada are described. This is a North American land snail native to the southern Appalachians but it has been known, since 1994, from a cluster of sites in Trenton, City of Quinte West, Ontario, where it is presumably introduced. It may no longer be extant at any of the known Ontario sites.