Description and Natural History. The Huachuca springsnail is a moderate to large-sized snail with a shell height of 0.07 to 0.13 inches (1.7 to 3.2 millimeters) (Hershler and Landye 1988). The shell is moderately convex with slightly shouldered whorls. The inner lip of the shell is thin. The shell aperture is fused to or separate from body whorl. The umbilicus (a depression at the center of the shell whorls) is chink- like or open (USFWS 2014).
Description and Natural History. Talussnails of the genus Sonorella are members of the family Helminthoglyptidae (Phylum Mollusca; Class Gastropoda, Subclass Pulmonata). Members of the genus are very similar, and distinguishing species from one another by casually examining shells in the field is difficult, if not impossible. Non-experts may even confuse members of the genus Sonorella with closely related genera including Eremarionta, Mohavelix, or Helminthoglypta (Bequaert and Xxxxxx 1973). Positive identification requires examination of reproductive organs by technical experts or genetic confirmation in the laboratory (Fairbanks and Xxxxxx 1980; Xxxxxx et al. 2010). The distribution and diversity of talussnails across the arid southwest are largely products of significant dispersal and vicariance that occurred during the numerous climatic changes of the Pleistocene era (Bequaert and Xxxxxx 1973; XxXxxx 1995). These conditions led to profuse speciation and substantial endemism amongst Sonorella. For instance, the Santa Xxxx and Patagonia mountains together contain four endemic talussnails (Bequaert and Xxxxxx 1973). Importantly, the conditions of the present-day arid Southwest render dispersal into new territories by Sonorella improbable (Bequaert and Xxxxxx 1973), including those occurring in the Pinaleño Mountains. In the Pinaleño Mountains, talussnails, depending on species, occur from about 1,890 to 2,800 m (6,200 to 9,186 ft) above mean sea level. This puts them in Madrean pine-oak woodlands, ponderosa pine forests, mixed evergreen conifer forests, and subalpine (spruce/fir) forests. They are not expected in montane xxxxxxx, or lower elevational vegetation communities, including desert, semidesert grassland, or Madrean encinal woodlands (except in more mesic, riparian stringers). Sonorella is generally considered to be associated with rock, and most references report the snail occupying rockslides and talus slopes composed of volcanic rock and/or limestone (Pilsbry 1939; Xxxxxxx-Xxxxxx 1988; Xxxxxx and Orstan 2006). Most species seemingly prefer steep rock slides with sufficient interstitial spaces that allow crawling to the proper depth for protection from summer heat (Xxxxxxxx and Xxxxxx 1973; Xxxxxxx 1990). Occupied sites can usually be identified by the presence of dead and bleached shells, which are typically abundant because they disintegrate slowly in arid environs (Pilsbry 1939). However, shells can be washed downslope into river systems (Bequaert and Xxxxxx 1973). Unfortu...
