Geography and Habitat

Geography: The Vertigo elatior are native to Canada and northern United States (Grimm et al. 2009; Hubricht 1985).  Within the United States, the tapered vertigo has been found in Montana (Montana Natural Heritage Program), North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, and New York (Hubricht 1985).  More generally, the range of occurrences in the U.S. are Montana to Maine and south to Arizona and New Mexico and in Canada, Newfoundland and Ontario to Alberta and British Columbia (Lee 2007).  

Figure 1: (Left) Shows the documented occurrences of Vertigo elatior
in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources).

Figure 2: (Right) Documented cases in Michigan (Michigan Natural Features Inventory).




Figure 3: (Below) Photo by Brad Slaughter, one habitat where Vertigo elatior is found.


Habitat: Vertigo are generally found under dead wood or fallen leaves in warm, damp areas (Pilsbry 1948). More specifically the Vertigo elatior prefer high quality fen areas (peatlands that have its water chemistry manipulated by mineral rocks and soils of surrounding areas) (Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources).