Close-ups of Maltese nature (47)

What may surprise some is that one of the snails which is frequently found on our islands is actually a voracious predator! This is the decollated snail,trajbu (scientific name: Rumina decollata) a small- to medium-sized snail of around 3cm and native of the Mediterranean region.

Out of a long and roughly cone- shaped shell, bearing four to six whorls, emerges the decollated snail with its black body and olive-grey muscular foot. Its name derives from the fact that the snail breaks off (decollates) from its shell. As the snail grows older, the top part of the pale brown shell becomes brittle and is chipped off as the snail moves over rough surfaces.

This helps make the snail lighter and faster. Like all snails, it has a well-defined head with sensory tentacles used for smell and sight, and a muscular foot. It crawls by successively contracting the sole of its foot and gliding over a secreted mucus, which helps to reduce friction.

The decollated snail is a ground dweller, usually living in the leaf litter and only emerging to feed when it is dark or damp. It mostly feeds on other garden snails, slugs and their eggs. And interestingly in some countries this snail has even been used to help control the populations of the edible snail (għakrux raġel). Nevertheless, the decollated snail may itself become a plant pest as it sometimes also feeds on young seedlings, old leaves, especially those in contact with the ground, and fallen bruised fruit.

More information may be obtained by e-mail: nature.requests@mepa.org.mt.

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. Malta, together with many other countries around the globe, is carrying out a number of initiatives to celebrate life on earth and the value of biodiversity for our lives. We are all invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth: Biodiversity.