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Types of Ground Snails in Kentucky

Parts of Kentucky, particularly the pockets of cool, moist habitats found in the Appalachians and the Mammoth Cave area, are a sanctuary for land snails and other invertebrates. The diversity of land snails in a forest reflects the health of the environment, according to The National Biological Information Infrastructure. Kentucky is home to a number of terrestrial snails, including some that are found only in caves.

Eastern Forest Snails
- Eastern forest snails are among the most commonly found terrestrial snail found in Kentucky. Living in forests, wooded areas, parks, and suburban yards, eastern forest snails eat live plants and help to break down decaying plant matter. Their large shells have a flared lip and are tan with dark spots. Eastern forest snails often eat deer waste because of its high concentration of plant materials. Forest snails are opportunistic eaters, but Kentucky bluegrass is among its favorite foods.
Disc Cannibal Snail
- Named for their tendency to eat other snails, disc cannibal snails live in forested areas. They are found in decaying leaf masses and beneath rotting logs in Kentucky's forests. Disc cannibal snails have smooth, spiral-shaped shells that are greenish-white to light yellow. The snails follow the slime trail of other snails to locate prey, which they drag away to eat in a hidden area. Young cannibal snails eat snail eggs. Cannibal snails generally live for about a year and like the eastern forest snails, they are affected by the brainworm parasite found in deer feces.
Cave snails
- Tiny white snails are among dozens of creatures found only in the darkness of Kentucky's Mammoth Cave. The snails feed on decaying debris and serve as food for the blind cave fish found there. A number of the snails are descendants of other terrestrial snails that became extinct above-ground and exist only in the caves today. One cave snail, carychium stygium call, was identified in 1897 from specimens collected in Mammoth Cave and again in 1933 in nearby White's Cave.
Habitat and Diversity
- A study of snail species diversity in Kentucky showed that diversity was higher in areas where the forests have remain undisturbed, such as the Inner Bluegrass region in the central-east part of the state. Likewise, test sites in the Cumberland Plateau and Pine Mountain areas showed that species diversity and abundance was higher in areas where the old-growth forest was untouched as opposed to places where development had taken place. The study's results will help planners development management methods to help protect sensitive areas.

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