Continuing with the discussion of some of the islands’ land snails (pulmonate gastropods), I want to introduce the quaint Lined Tree Snail, Drymaeus multilineatus (Say, 1825). The genus Drymaeus includes medium-sized to small tree snails that feed on the layers of algae, moss, and lichenes growing on the bark of trees and small bushes. The inch-long lined tree snail differs from its close relatives by the very distinctive spiral band of dark brown color along the shell suture (the line of junction of two whorls), vertical (axial) stripes of same color, and bluish apex. These Snails should not be collected alive, as they are native to Florida, are not agricultural or garden pests, and may actually be beneficial, as they feed on the microscopic epiphytes that grow on trees or other larger plants.
The Lined Tree Snail, Drymaeus multilineatus. Photos by José H. Leal.