Anguispira alternata was discovered by Thomas Say in 1816, along with French malacologist, Charles Alexandre Lesueur. They discovered and named the snail on one of their first expeditions. "Angui Spira" is of Greek descent and means "snake-like coil". "Alternata" is a Latin word which means different, or alternate. Say must have seen many species that day because "Different snake-coil" is not too clever of a name.
Physical Features
When looking at this snail, it is not too difficult to
determine that it is a flamed tigersnail. First thing to
look at is the shell. The flamed tigersnail has a coiled
disc like shell which means that the shell grows around itself
in a flat, circular plane. Other snails can form a cone
type of shell from their coiling, but the shell of the flamed tigersnail remains relatively flat like a disc. The shell
of the snail is a light color in the spring and gradually gets
to a darker brownish orange as the seasons go on. The
shell also has dark tiger-like stripes throughout which has
earned the snail the "flamed tigersnail" name. The
body of
this snail usually has a reddish orange color and the foot is close to the same color as its body.
