Habitat
Euchemotrema wichitorum is found in the
Wichita Mountains, Black Mesa and Arbuckle Mountains in
Oklahoma, shown in the shaded areas above. These areas contain mostly
temperate climates. The pillsnails live in the more wooded and
humid region of the area. Two vital physical features that
affect snail distribution are moisture and presence of calcium
carbonate (Martin, 2000).
The Black Mesa, which has the highest terrain in Oklahoma,
region only gets about 17 inches of rainfall per year (Branson,
1972), so the snails come out only after rainfalls or at
nighttime when it is not so hot out (Burch,
1962). For more information about the Black Mesa visit the
Black Mesa State Park and Nature Preserve homepage.
The snails that live in the Arbuckle Mountains are most
closely related to the Euchemotrema leai. The Arbuckle
Mountains are a low dissected plateau, which slopes
southeastward, with an area of about 800 square miles (Branson,
1972). To learn more about the Arbuckle Mountains visit
their Tuner
Falls homepage.
The Wichita Mountains have a barren granite summit and are
surrounded by mixed-grass plains (Branson,
1972). The area is about 1,500 square miles with an average
elevation of about 1,200 feet (Branson,
1972). The pillsnails here stick to the low wooded region of
the mountain. For more information on the Wichita Mountains
visit their
Wildlife Refuge homepage.