Large land snail

Cumberland Land Snail <back next >

Meridolum corneovirens is a native landsnail similar in size to the common introduced Garden Snail Helix aspersa. In 1997 it was declared an Endangered Species under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act because its habitat has been largely destroyed.

This snail lives in a very restricted area of western Sydney between Prospect and Liverpool to the east and the Hawkesbury-Nepean River to the west. Its reaches north to the Windsor-Richmond area and south to Picton. This region known as the Cumberland Plain is recognised as a special habitat with its own distinct soil and vegetation type. This region is being covered in houses and other buildings as Sydney expands westward and the home of Meridolum corneovirens is being destroyed. The only way to protect this snail from extinction is to identify and protect parts of the remaining Cumberland Plain Woodland which still have populations of the snail.

Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 NSW Scientific Committee
Final Determination

The Scientific Committee, established by the Threatened Species Conservation Act, has made a Final Determination to list Meridolum corneovirens (Pfeiffer, 1851), a large land snail, as an endangered species on Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act.

The Scientific Committee has found that:

Meridolum corneovirens is a large land snail, found on the Cumberland Plain in remnant pockets of urban bushland, in areas associated with Wianamatta Shale and old Nepean river gravels.
Meridolum corneovirens occurs in eucalypt woodland under logs and debris and around bases of trees or clumps of grass, burrowing into loose soil.
Collections in the Australian and Queensland Museum indicate that the species was formerly common throughout the Cumberland Plain, but recent records indicate that only small remnant disjunct populations remain.
Within the present remnant disjunct populations, several morphotypes exist suggesting that there might be considerable genetic differences between extant populations.
The habitat of Meridolum corneovirens has been drastically reduced with clearing of bush and is subject to major current development pressures, which further threaten the remaining populations.
In view of 3, 4 and 5 above, the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that the numbers of Meridolum corneovirens have been reduced to such a critical level and its habitats have been so drastically reduced that it is in immediate danger of extinction and that M. corneovirens is likely to become extinct in nature in New South Wales unless the circumstances and factors threatening its survival cease to operate.