Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Flamed Tigersnail

Anguispira alternata

(Say, 1816)

Flamed Tigersnail

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.118612
Element CodeIMGAS53010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderStylommatophora
FamilyDiscidae
GenusAnguispira
Concept Reference
Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
This is the broad concept of Anguispira alternata that includes A. clarki; this synonymy follows Hubricht (1985). In contrast, MolluscaBase (2025) synonymizes Anguispira clarki with A. fergusoni (previously a subspecies of alternata) but do not cite a source. Dourson (2015) recognizes A. clarki as a distinct species. Further taxonomic work is needed to clarify the relationship between A. alternata, A. fergusoni, and A. clarki.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-09-15
Change Date2002-10-08
Edition Date2025-09-15
Edition AuthorsCordeiro, J. (2008); rev. T. Cornelisse (2025)
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Despite some regional threats and localized declines, this species has a large range and number of occurrences, and it has been documented across its range consistently in recent years.
Range Extent Comments
This species occurs in southeastern Canada from Ontario to Nova Scotia and in the eastern United States from South Dakota and Minnesota to Maine, south to Georgia and west to Texas (Freeman and Perkins 1997; Lewis 2005; Waggoner et al. 2006; Dourson and Feeman 2006; Hotopp and Pearce 2007; Schroeder 2008; NatureServe 2025; RARECAT 2025; InvertEBase 2025).
Occurrences Comments
This species is known from > 2,000 occurrences using a 1 km separation distance and records from 1994-2025 (NatureServe 2025; RARECAT 2025; InvertEBase 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Exact threats to this species are unknown, but it is likely it has been impacted by acid rain, and potentially by climate warming, including increased temperatures and drought (Ray and Bergey 2015; Pearce and Arnold 2016).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is found in a wide range of lower elevation wooded and open habitats including rocky limestone regions, glades and along forested hillsides next to rivers, weedy roadsides, and railroad tracks (Dourson 2010, 2013). In Maine, it occurs in upland wooded habitats (rocky forest, aspen forest, sugar maple forest) and rock outcrop (metasedimentary outcrops) sites (Nekola 2008).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodForest - MixedForest EdgeWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - Mixed
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
New BrunswickS4Yes
OntarioS4Yes
Nova ScotiaSUYes
Prince Edward IslandSUYes
QuebecSNRYes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
IndianaS3Yes
MissouriSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
TexasS3Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
VermontSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
KansasSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
LouisianaS3Yes
DelawareS1Yes
IllinoisSNRYes
VirginiaS4Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS3Yes
MichiganSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
AlabamaS1Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
MarylandS5Yes
IowaSNRYes
North CarolinaS2Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
TennesseeS5Yes
MississippiSXYes
New YorkSNRYes
WisconsinS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
9 - PollutionRestricted (11-30%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
9.5 - Air-borne pollutantsRestricted (11-30%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
9.5.1 - Acid rainRestricted (11-30%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

—

Roadless Areas (1)
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
References (20)
  1. Burke, T.E. 2013. Land snails and slugs of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis. 352 pp
  2. Dourson, D. and K. Feeman. 2006. A survey of terrestrial Mollusca in selected areas of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science, 67(1): 9-18.
  3. Dourson, D.C. 2010. Kentucky's land snails and their ecological communities. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 298 pp.
  4. Dourson, D.C. 2013. Land snails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and southern Appalachians. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 336 pp.
  5. Dourson, D C. and West Virginia DNR. 2015. Land snails of West Virginia. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, North Carolina. 412 pp.
  6. Freeman, P.W. and K. Perkins. 1997. Survey of mollusks of the Niobrara River. Final Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Island, Nebraska, September 1997. 22 pp.
  7. Grimm, F.W. 1971. Annotated checklist of the land snails of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Sterkiana, 41: 51-57.
  8. Hotopp, K. and T.A. Pearce. 2007. Land snails in New York: statewide distribution and talus site faunas. Final Report for contract #NYHER 041129 submitted to New York State Biodiversity Research Institute, New York State Museum, Albany, New York. 91 pp.
  9. Hubricht, L. 1985. The distribution of the native land mollusks of the eastern United States. Fieldiana: Zoology 24:1-191.
  10. InvertEBase. 2025. Online. Available: https://invertebase.org/portal/index.php.
  11. Lewis, J.J. 2005c. Bioinventory of Caves of the Cumberland Escarpment Area of Tennessee. Final Report to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency & The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee. Lewis & Associates LLC, 158 pp.
  12. MolluscaBase eds. 2025. MolluscaBase. Accessed at https://www.molluscabase.org
  13. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  14. Nekola, J.C. 2008. Land snail ecology and biogeography of eastern Maine. Final report submitted to: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and the Aroostook Hills and Lowlands Inventory, January 27, 2008. 119 pp.
  15. Pearce, T.A. and Arnold, C.D., 2016. Decline of the land snail Anguispira alternata (Pulmonata: Discidae) in Pennsylvania, USA. Annals of Carnegie Museum, 84(1), pp.9-21.
  16. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  17. Ray, E.J. and Bergey, E.A., 2015. After the burn: factors affecting land snail survival in post-prescribed-burn woodlands. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 81(1), pp.44-50.
  18. Schroeder, L. 2008. The reluctant explorer. American Conchologist, 36(2): 32-34.
  19. Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
  20. Waggoner, J., S.A. Clark, K.E. Perez, and C. Lydeard. 2006. A survey of terrestrial gastropods of the Sipsey Wilderness (Bankead National Forest), Alabama. Southheastern Naturalist, 5(1): 57-68.