Stories of Cabeceiras

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.

The pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus, originates from North America. The Águeda River Interpretation Centre describes it as a non-native species with a deep, laterally flattened body, living in still water but also in rivers. During breeding, males may make it harder for juveniles of native species to reach bank shelters. It was recorded in Cavez in 2016–2017; that record does not measure its local impact.

Bluish bands from the head to the flanks and a dark spot at the edge of the gill cover are part of the description. Juveniles have a simpler pattern on a greenish or olive background. Age also changes appearance.

The menu includes insects, crustaceans, gastropods and fish larvae. This variety helps show that its diet is not limited to one prey. The profile also distinguishes lentic environments, such as reservoirs, from lotic environments, such as rivers and streams: the species can use both. Geographical origin, presence in a survey and effects on other species are different kinds of information.