Hendersonia occulta - BIO210
Habitat
The Cherrystone Drop prefers moist climates for its habitat, usually near streams or rivers. It also seems to prefer areas with "steep slopes and rich calcium deposits" (Lee, 2001, Nikola, 2004) that are also near water sources.
During dry weather, Hendersonia occulta prefers to remain under leaf litter and associated debris, and comes out into the open after a heavy rain or similar moist conditions. In recent studies, the acidity of the soil in which these snails live has been tested in several different locations and across several different species of snails. With Hendersonia occulta, there seemed to be no preference for slightly more acidic soil. (Nikola, 2010)
Its range within the US includes several disjointed areas: "Ridge-and-Valley Province in the southern Appalachians, the Paleozoic Plateau and the Niagaran Escarpment in eastern Wisconsin and northern Michigan" This includes parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. (Lee, 2001) However, despite the fact that it lives within such a wide range of states, its actual populations are rare and hard to find.