Habitat

The Patera clenchi are listed on the IUNC endangered species list.  This is brought about largely since there are very few places where it has been described.  Pilsbry in 1940 described the Patera clenchi as being found along the limestone bluffs of the White River in Calico Rock, Arkansas.  The only other locality that it has been found at is in Yell County of Arkansas (Hubricht, 1985).  In these habitats also live a large variety of other animals that have interactions with the Patera clenchi.  Some of these animals are predacious such as the frogs, snakes, and migratory birds that live in this portion of the Ozarks (BioExpedition, 2012).  Many other mammals also live alongside the Patera clenchi in this region such as white-tailed deer, raccoons, and of course humans (Guernsey, 2011).

 

Just as there are few localities that the Patera clenchi are found in, they also have a very particular environmental niche.  The IUNC notes that the species tends to be found amongst leaf litter, as many other Polygyridae species are.  Since the dark straw color of their shells blend with it, the leaf litter provides a place of protection from predators (BioExpedition, 2012).  The leaf litter also provides another function as it breeds fungi which are the primary food source of the Polygyridae family of snails (Pilsbry, 1940).  They also stick to rocky areas of ledges, cliffs, and slopes (Hubricht, 1985).  The rocky areas that it inhabits are also likely in response to predation as predators would have a more difficult time finding them amongst the rocks (BioExpedition, 2012).  In addition they mostly move around their habitat freely in the rain or at night time (Pilsbry 1940). The cliffs the snail lives on also seem to exclusively be exposed to the south (Hubricht, 1985).

Let's see how snails have adapted to be reproductively successful.

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