Story: Native plants and animals – overview

Land snail Suteria ide

Land snail, Suteria ide

New Zealand has a vast land snail fauna. Most widely known are the giants, Powelliphanta and Paryphanta. But the majority of species have shells smaller than 5 millimetres. Suteria ide, pictured here, is one of a small number of New Zealand land snails whose shell grows to more than 5 millimetres. Land snails have varied shapes and sizes. Some have ridges, ribs and in the case of some species such as Suteria ide – bristles. The ridges, ribs and, especially, the bristles are thought to reduce the amount of dirt and water that adheres to the shell.

Using this item

Soil Bugs – An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Soil Invertebrates
Photograph by Alastair Robertson and Maria Minor

© Massey University

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Bob Brockie, 'Native plants and animals – overview - Forest animals', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/10602/land-snail-suteria-ide (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Bob Brockie, published 24 Sep 2007