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Family: Gastrodontidae
Common name: Depressed Glyph
Discovery: Morrison, 1937
Identification
Width: 4.1-4.5 mm
Height: 1.8-1.9 mm
Whorls: 5.0-5.2
Glyphyalinia virginica has an average-sized shell for its genus, with a nearly flat spire. Its wide umbilicus is large – nearly a quarter of the shell width. The whorls of the shell increase slowly and regularly in size, their basal surface is flattened. Growth lines are prominent on the apical surface but the shell base is nearly smooth. Shell color is somewhat translucent light brown, often tinged with pink. The genital anatomy of this species is not known.
Ecology
This species is found in deep moist leaf litter on otherwise dry rocky and relatively open mountainsides. It appears to have specific habitat requirements and while abundant in the correct microhabitats it is absent from nearby areas away from outcroppings, seeps or pockets of leaf litter.
Taxonomy
This species has also been called Retinella virginica.
Distribution
Glyphyalinia virginica appears to be endemic to the Blue Ridge and neighboring mountains from west-central Virginia to the Harpers Ferry area of West Virginia. It is spottily distributed in appropriate microhabitats. Shenandoah National Park is at the heart of this animal’s range.
Conservation
NatureServe Global Rank: G3, Vulnerable.
NatureServe State Rank: Virginia, S2S3, Imperiled
Virginia’s wildlife action plan: Tier III
