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Family: Punctidae
Common name: Glass Spot
Discovery: H.B. Baker, 1930
Identification
Width: ~1.2 – 1.4 mm
Height: ~0.8 – 0.9 mm
Whorls: 4+
Punctum vitreum has a shell sculpture of fine radial riblets that are set widely apart. Between these are smaller ribs of growth, crossed by spiral striae (Pilsbry, 1948). The shell is heliciform, depressed, with a thin lip and open umbilicus, as are other Punctum. The shell spire is lower than in P. minutissimum, and the shell is more yellow and transparent.
Ecology
This species lives in forest leaf litter, often with P. minutissimum (Hubricht, 1985).
Taxonomy
A synonym is P. pygmaeum.
Distribution
Punctum vitreum is reported from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, west to Iowa and south to Texas, however, it is absent from the deep Southeastern states such as Georgia and Florida. In Virginia, Punctum vitreum is reported in widely scattered counties around the state.
Conservation
NatureServe Global Rank: G5
NatureServe State Rank: S3
