# Oxychilus alliarius

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***Oxychilus alliarius***, [commonly known](/source/Common_name) as the **garlic snail** or **garlic glass-snail**, is a [species](/source/Species) of small, air-breathing [land snail](/source/Land_snail), a terrestrial [pulmonate](/source/Pulmonate) [gastropod](/source/Gastropod) [mollusk](/source/Mollusk) in the glass snail family, [Oxychilidae](/source/Oxychilidae).

## Etymology

The [specific name](/source/Specific_name_(zoology)) *alliarius* refers to *[Allium](/source/Allium)* which means [garlic](/source/Garlic). The common name also refers to the fact that when this animal is disturbed, it gives off a strong smell similar to that of raw garlic.[2]

## Distribution

This species occurs in a number of countries and islands including [Great Britain](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Great_Britain), [Ireland](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Ireland), [Netherlands](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_the_Netherlands), [Poland](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Poland), the [Czech Republic](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_the_Czech_Republic) and other areas. The eastern boundary of its native distribution is in western [Bohemia](/source/Bohemia) in the Czech Republic.[2]

### Non-indigenous distribution

The non-indigenous distribution of *Oxychilus alliarius* includes [Latvia](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Latvia), [Colombia](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Colombia), [Hawaii](/source/Hawaii), [California](/source/California), and [New Zealand.](/source/List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_New_Zealand)[3]

## Description

The 3.5–4 × 5–7 millimetres (0.14–0.16 × 0.20–0.28 in) [shell](/source/Gastropod_shell) has four or four and a half slightly convex [whorls](/source/Whorl_(mollusc)). The [last whorl](/source/Last_whorl) is often weakly descending near [aperture](/source/Aperture_(mollusc)). The whorls from whorl 3 onwards are more narrowly coiled than in *[Oxychilus cellarius](/source/Oxychilus_cellarius)*, the last whorl descending lower. The [umbilicus](/source/Umbilicus_(mollusc)) is wide (one sixth of diameter). The shell is smooth, shiny, weakly reddish to greenish brown. The animal is blackish blue.[4] Anatomy: The internal ornamentation of the proximal penis consisting of not more than four longitudinal pleats, usually straight, sometimes slightly wavy, but never laterally branched or papillate.[5]

## References

1. Miller J. S. (1822). "A list of the freshwater and landshells occurring in the environment of Bristol, with observations". *Annals of Philosophy (New Series)*, London, **3**(17): 376-381.

1. Horáčková J. & Juřičková L. (2009). "A new record of *Oxychilus alliarius* (Gastropoda: Zonitidae) with the species distribution in the Czech Republic". *[Malacologica Bohemoslovaca](/source/Malacologica_Bohemoslovaca)* **8**: 63-65. [PDF](http://mollusca.sav.sk/pdf/8/8.Horackova.pdf).

1. Salvador, R. B.; Birmingham, C.; Kilduff, L.; Bliss, T.; Green, C. (2020). ["First records of the exotic garlic snail Oxychilus alliarius on Takapourewa and a reassessment of its distribution in New Zealand"](https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/document/10832). *Tuhinga: The Records of the Museum of New Zealand te Papa Tongarewa*. **31**: 120–128.

1. ["Oxychilus alliarius (garlic snail)"](http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/119076). *cabi.org*. Retrieved 2017-10-06.

1. [Species summary for Oxychilus alliarius](http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/home/species?id=1407). [AnimalBase](/source/AnimalBase), accessed 25 June 2014.

## Further reading

- Spencer, H.G., Marshall, B.A. & Willan, R.C. (2009). *Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca.* pp 196–219 in Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.

## External links

- [*Oxychilus alliarius*](http://eol.org/pages/452652/media) images at [Encyclopedia of Life](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Life)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Oxychilus alliarius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxychilus_alliarius) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxychilus_alliarius?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.