Common European Ambersnail, Succinea putris (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common European Ambersnail (Succinea putris) is a terrestrial snail living in moist habitats across Europe and northern Asia, most often found on plant leaves.

Species characteristics

These snails have a transparent shell with an amber color. Its height ranges from 15 to 23 mm, and its width from 8 to 11 mm. However, the animal cannot fully retract into the shell, so if necessary, it surrounds its protruding body with dried mucus.

Interestingly, some individuals can serve as hosts for the larvae of Leucochloridium paradoxum. These larvae live in the significantly enlarged snail tentacle (sometimes in both) and exhibit a characteristic "pulsing" motion, contracting and extending. Their bright green and white colors are visible through the snail's translucent body. This is a strategy used by the parasite to attract birds – birds eat the tentacles, and the larvae enter the bird’s body, where they develop into adults. Parasite eggs expelled by the birds land on leaves, which are then eaten by snails.