Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Cornu mazzullii (Cornu mazzullii), recorded as Endangered
Cornu mazzullii (Cornu mazzullii). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Cornu mazzullii

Cornu mazzullii

Cornu mazzullii is a land snail in the family Helicidae (order Stylommatophora), recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Cornu mazzullii
Taxonomy
Gastropoda · Stylommatophora · Helicidae · Cornu

Appearance

The snail is known for secreting a unique, yellowish-green mucus from its foot gland that is highly enriched with carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). As it rasps the stone, the snail swallows the calcium-rich residue to absorb the essential minerals needed to construct and strengthen its own shell.

Range and habitat

When the snail rests against the calcareous (limestone) mountains of Sicily, this acid chemically breaks down the calcium carbonate in the rock. The snail backs into these custom-made holes to hide from predators and to seal itself away from the blistering hot, dry Sicilian summers This species is endemic to Sicily. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet

Land snails rasp plants and detritus with a radula and seal the shell in dry weather. Introduced predators and habitat clearing hit them hard.

Snails move on a single foot and feed with a rasping tongue. Island and spring species rarely recolonise once the site is emptied.

In crisis

Cornu mazzullii is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Cornu mazzullii, Wikidata item Q21993979. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
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Sumatran orangutan

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Photograph of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Axolotl

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Quick answers

What is Cornu mazzullii?
Cornu mazzullii is a land snail in the family Helicidae (order Stylommatophora).
What is the conservation status of Cornu mazzullii?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Cornu mazzullii. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Cornu mazzullii live?
When the snail rests against the calcareous (limestone) mountains of Sicily, this acid chemically breaks down the calcium carbonate in the rock.
Why is Cornu mazzullii in crisis?
The snail backs into these custom-made holes to hide from predators and to seal itself away from the blistering hot, dry Sicilian summers This species is endemic to Sicily.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Cornu mazzullii?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Cornu mazzullii a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.