Cecilioides
| Cecilioides | |
|---|---|
| Two fresh shells of Cecilioides acicula The scale bar is in millimeters | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Suborder: | Achatinina |
| Superfamily: | Achatinoidea |
| Family: | Ferussaciidae |
| Genus: | Cecilioides Férussac, 1814 |
| Type species | |
| Buccinum acicula O. F. Müller, 1774 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Cecilioides is a genus of very small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ferussaciidae.
Most of the species in this genus live some distance underground. They are usually blind. Because of their subterranean habitat and their small size, they can be difficult to find alive.
When fresh, the shells are transparent. After they have been empty some time in the soil, they usually become an opaque milky-white.
Cecilioides acicula has a very long and slim shell with a dull point at the end. While the animal is alive, the shell is thin, shiny, see-through, and doesn't have any colour. However, after the animal dies, the shell turns white and no longer lets light through. The inside spiral part of the shell stops suddenly when it reaches the edge of the bottom lip (Pilsbry 1948, Kerney and Cameron 1979).