Cornu aspersum (O.F. Muller, 1774)

Cvetkovska-Gjorgievska, Aleksandra, Dedov, Ivailo, Hristovski, Slavcho, Langourov, Mario, Lazarevska, Stanislava, Prelik, Dana & Simov, Nikolay, 2019, New records of allochtonous, invasive and pest invertebrate species from the Republic of Macedonia, Ecologica Montenegrina 20, pp. 56-70 : 58-59

Cornu aspersum (O.F. Muller, 1774) ( Gastropoda, Helicidae )

Records: Skopje, Karposh vicinity, 20.07.2014, 20 specimens, leg. T. Mitev and S. Hristovski, det. I. Dedov

Origin: Native distribution of Cornu aspersum covers Britain, Western Europe, and along borders of the Mediterranean and Black Seas ( Burch 1960).

Comments: Cornu aspersum has calcareous shell 25–40 mm in diameter and 25–35 mm high, with four or five whorls. The shell is variable in color and shape, with specific pattern, generally is dark brown, brownish golden, or chestnut with yellow stripes, flecks, or streaks (characteristically interrupted brown color bands). C. aspersum is a hermaphrodite, reproduction is usually sexual, although self-fertilisation rarely occurs. About two weeks after fertilization, the snail lays a batch of about 80 eggs into crevices in the topsoil or sheltered under stones. In a year it may lay six batches. The young snails take one to two years to reach maturity. C. aspersum inhabits sheltered places, quarries, graveyards, urban gardens and waste ground. It is also found in deciduous woodland in the U.K. ( Kerney 1999).

C. aspersum is also a cosmopolitan invasive pest of a large range of agricultural crops in the Americas, SE Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and elevated areas (> 1000 m) on many tropical and subtropical islands. It is a pest of specific crops in certain parts of the USA, it has emerged as a viticultural pest in South Africa and Australia ( Barker 2002, Sanderson & Sirgel 2002). Fossils of C. aspersum have been found in the Mediterranean - Upper Pliocene strata in North Africa, as well as quaternary strata in southern France, Spain and Corsica. From there the species is penetrated in the synantropic parts of these areas, and was transported to the Mediterranean and neighboring coastal areas of the Atlantic. The expansion of the range of C. aspersum takes place in recent times, as the snail spreads worldwide by transport of fruits and vegetables, as well as the use of the species for cultivation. Probably the species penetrate in Macedonia with developing of snails-farming process.