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comb snaggletooth
comb snaggletooth (Gastrocopta pentodon)
Illinois Status: common, native
Photo © Marla Coppolino
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
Gastrocopta pentodon, the comb snaggletooth has a small, clear-white shell with five whorls, is one-sixteenth of an inch tall, and about half as wide. The aperture has two to five, small, tooth-like folds. The body of the comb snaggletooth is rounded in the front and tapered behind. Gastrocopta tappaniana is a very similar snail in this genus and is found in damp areas while G. pentodon prefers drier habitats. G. tappaniana is larger, more conical, and has a more opaque shell than G. pentodon. Taxonomic synonyms for G. pentadon include Vertigo pentodon, Pupa pentodon, Bifidaria pentodon, and G. carnegiei.
BEHAVIORS
The comb snaggletooth can be found in forests, tall grass prairies, carbonate cliffs, and upland forests but rarely in wet habitats. The comb snaggletooth is an omnivore but prefers fresh vegetation for eating. This species is widely scattered across Illinois.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Gastrocoptidae
Habitats
forests, tall grass prairies, carbonate cliffs, and upland forests but rarely in wet habitats
