One shell, many patterns
Snails of the same species do not all wear the same pattern.
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João Lima photographed this snail on 15 May 2024. The record is identified as Cepaea nemoralis, and comparing its published point with the CAOP2025 boundaries places it in Cavez. In the image, dark bands follow the shell’s whorls among wet leaves.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History describes a shell that can have bands of different widths or no bands at all. The lip of the opening is usually brown, but not always. The species can also be confused with Cepaea hortensis. Colour, pattern and shape need to be considered together; a photograph that hides the opening leaves some clues out of sight.
Try following the spiral with your eyes. You do not need to move the animal to discover a pattern.
Source and context
Carnegie Museum of Natural History — Cepaea nemoralis
Accessed: . Editorial summary; the date of consultation is not the date of the facts.