Trochulus hispidus

Trochulus hispidus, previously known as Trichia hispida, common name, the "hairy snail", is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies.

Distribution
This species occurs in a number of European countries and islands including:

Western Europe:
 * The British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland
 * Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
 * Faroe Islands
 * France
 * Switzerland, Liechtenstein

Northern Europe:
 * Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland

Central Europe:
 * Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania

Southern Europe:
 * Andorra, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria

Eastern Europe:
 * Moldova
 * Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
 * Ukraine
 * Russian Federation (Kaliningrad)

Description
The 3-6 x 5-11 mm shell has 5-6 moderately convex whorls which are rounded or very slightly keeled at the periphery. The aperture has a thin white lip inside. The umbilicus is open and usually wide at 1/8-1/4 of shell diameter. In colour the shell is brown to cream, sometimes with a light band at the periphery. The periostracum is irregularly striated, and densely covered with short (0.2-0.3 mm), curved hairs. These hairs usually remain in the umbilicus if worn away from the rest of the shell. Lost hairs leave pronounced scars.

The animal is brownish grey with a darker anterior part.



Anatomy
This species of snail creates and uses love darts before mating. The love dart of this species is thorn-shaped.

Shepeleva (2014) studied eyes of Trochulus hispidus.

Ecology
The size of the egg is 1.5 mm.

A hairy snail was found in the plumage of a great tit (Parus major) wintering in southwestern Poland in 2010. This passerine was the smallest bird species reported to carry a gastropod.