SPECIES FACT SHEET
Scientific Name: Vertigo andrusiana (Pilsbry, 1899)
Common Name: Pacific Vertigo
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Pulmonata
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Pupillidae
Subfamily: Vertigininae
Conservation Status:
Global Status (2004): G2G3
National Status: N1N2 (United States); N2 (Canada)
State/Province Statuses: California (SNR), Oregon (SNR), Washington (S1?),
British Columbia (S2)
(NatureServe 2012).
Range, Distribution & Abundance:
The distribution of this species stretches from the San Bernardino Mountains
of California north through western Oregon and southwest Washington to
Vancouver Island, British Columbia (Pilsbry 1948; Branson 1977; Burke &
Leonard 2009, draft; Frest & Johannes 1999; NatureServe 2012; Roth &
Sadeghian 2003; Pearce 2012, pers. comm.; Harvard University Museum
Database 2012; Academy of Natural Sciences Museum Database 2012; Field
Museum Database 2012; Santa Barbara Museum Database 2012).
In Oregon, the species occurs west of the Cascade Mountains, with
documented records from Clackamas, Douglas and Klamath Counties (Burke &
Leonard 2009, draft; Pearce 2012, pers. comm.; Harvard University Museum
Database 2012; Field Museum Database 2012; Roth 2012, pers. comm.).
In Washington, documented records are in the Puget Trough and Olympic
Peninsula (Grays Harbor, Thurston, and King Counties) (Pilsbry 1948; Pearce
2012, pers. comm.; Academy of Natural Sciences Museum Database 2012).
California and British Columbia records were not gathered for this project, but
are available from the Field Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural
History, and other institutions.
Forest Service/BLM Lands: In Oregon, this species is Documented on the
Fremont-Winema National Forest. In Washington, it is Suspected on the
Olympic National Forest, based on close proximity to known records.
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Abundance: Abundance estimates of this species have not been conducted.
The majority of known collections from a given locality range from one to 13
specimens, although thousands of specimens were taken at one historic site
(Pilsbry 1948). In general, arboreal pupillid snails are naturally patchy in their
distribution, with small to large numbers being found in some trees and none
in nearby trees of the same species, age, and situation (reviewed in Duncan
2005). This tendency of pupillid snails to be patchily distributed makes it
difficult to estimate population size and population trends in this group
(Duncan 2005).
Note: A 2010 Klamath County record from Fremont-Winema National Forest
listed in the NRIS database (Forest Service NRIS Database 2012) has been
recently found to be unfounded; one juvenile specimen was collected in August
2010 by Jim Chambers and provided to Barry Roth who was unable to identify
it to species due to its immaturity but noted that “the high-spired, glossy,
translucent brown shell is a juvenile of family Vertiginidae, possibly Vertigo
andrusiana Pilsbry, 1899,” (Roth 2011). The formal identification of this
specimen was “Juvenille Vertiginidae” (Roth 2011). As such, this record was
apparently a misinterpretation of Roth’s 2011 memorandum, and should be
removed from NRIS Database (Roth 2012, pers. comm.). In light of this news,
biologists on the Fremont-Winema National Forest decided to resurvey Jim
Chambers’ 2010 site in hopes of collecting adult Vertigo material that could be
identified to species. Surveys took place in late November, 2012, and were
successful at collecting Vertigo snails, which were identified by Barry Roth as
Vertigo modesto (Anderson 2012, pers. comm., Roth 2012).
The other record of this species from Klamath County, Fremont-Winema
National Forest (not currently in the NRIS database) is well-founded, having
been identified to species by Barry Roth and currently held in his personal
collection.
Habitat Associations:
The typical habitat for Vertigo snails ranges from moist riparian to relatively dry
forests dominated by cottonwood, alder, Douglas fir, spruce, or hemlock,
depending on the species (Forsyth 2005, Duncan 2005).Vertigo andrusiana
appears to be associated with deciduous and occasionally coniferous trees and
bushes, often in open meadows (Frest & Johannes 1999; Pearce 2012, pers.
comm.; Roth 2012, pers. comm.). Pilsbry (1948) wrote that “some thousands of
specimens were taken…about clumps of bushes in a meadow" in Oswego,
Clackamas County, Oregon. Apparently referring to this example, Frest &
Johannes (1999) noted that the species had been reported thus far only from
deciduous, boscade-forming bushes in a meadow. Burke & Leonard (1999,
draft) slightly expand the habitat definition for the species, noting that it occurs
in forested sites at lower elevations and may be found on trunks and lower
branches of deciduous trees and shrubs, as well as among the litter beneath
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them. A 1979 record from Thurston County, Washington notes “maple, salal”
as the habitat for the nine collected specimens (Pearce 2012, pers. comm.). A
1999 record from Klamath County, Oregon (Fremont-Winema National Forest)
lists the habitat as a drainage through small open meadow with an overstory of
ponderosa pine and juniper (Roth 2012, pers. comm.).
Conservation Comments:
This species appears to have once been widely distributed in the Pacific
Northwest, with a historic range including well-separated areas of the Cascade
and Klamath provinces. It is now apparently very rare, with no confirmed
sightings in the Oregon/Washington region in recent years. Frest & Johannes
(1999) searched appropriate habitat for this species in Douglas County,
Oregon, where the bulk of historic records are from, but failed to locate any
individuals, prompting the following comments: "Occurrence in Douglas
County is historically confirmed, suggesting the possibility that the taxon has
either been overlooked or is now extinct. In view of its peculiar arboreal
habitats, we originally thought it quite possible that most workers had
overlooked it, as has unquestionably happened with Nearctula n. sp. But
searches by us in the habitat in Douglas County have left us less sanguine
about the species' fate. Should further work yield no colonies, it is possible that
this taxon should be considered critically endangered.... Failure to relocate this
taxon is very worrisome, especially given the possible historic range." At the
time of this writing, Frest & Johannes had not encountered the species in
either Washington or Oregon during any of their surveys, nor did they
encountered it since (Johannes 2012, pers. comm.). Similarly, Tom Burke has
not encountered this species during his years of surveys in a wide range of
habitats the Pacific Northwest (Burke 2012, pers. comm.). To date, most known
records are from before 1950, with the exception of one 1979 record (Evergreen
College, Olympia, Thurston County, Washington) (Pearce 2012, pers. comm.),
and one 1999 record from Fremont-Winema National Forest, Klamath County,
Oregon (Roth 2012, pers. comm.).
See Duncan (2005) discussion of the threats, conservation concerns, and
management recommendations for a related arboreal Vertigo species, the Hoko
Vertigo.
Prepared by: Sarah Foltz Jordan, Xerces Society
Date: 30 November 2012
Edited by: Sarina Jepsen, Xerces Society
Date: 3 December 2012
Final edits: Rob Huff, FS/BLM
Date: 13 November 2013
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ATTACHMENTS:
(1)
References
(2)
List of pertinent or knowledgeable contacts
(3)
Map of Species Distribution
(4)
Photographs and Illustrations of Species
ATTACHMENT 1: References:
Anderson, Missy. 2012. Personal communication with Sarah Foltz Jordan.
The Academy of Natural Sciences: Malacology Collection. 2012. Online
database. Available at:
http://clade.ansp.org/malacology/collections/index.html. (Accessed August
2012).
Branson, B.A. 1977. Freshwater and terrestrial Mollusca of the Olympic
Peninsula, Washington. The Veliger 19: 310-330.
Burke, Tom. 2012. Personal communication with Sarah Foltz Jordan.
Burke, T. and W. Leonard. 2009. Land Mollusks of the Pacific Northwest
United States. In preparation.
Duncan, N. 2005. Conservation Assessment for Vertigo n. sp., Hoko Vertigo.
Originally issued as Management Recommendations by John S. Applegarth,
February 1999. Revised by Nancy Duncan, October 2005. USDA Forest Service
Region 6 and USDI Bureau of Land Management, Oregon and Washington, 16
pp.
Forsyth, Robert G. 2005. Terrestrial Gastropods of the Upper Fraser Basin of
British Columbia. Living Landscapes, Royal BC Museum, Victoria. Available at:
http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/upperfraserbasin/ufb-snails/UFBSnails.pdf (Accessed 19 Oct. 2012).
Field Museum of Natural History, Invertebrates Collection Database. 2012.
Available at: http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/collections/search.cgi?dest=inverts
(Accessed Oct. 2012).
Forest Service NRIS Database: Wildlife observations. 2012. GIS export provided
to Sarah Foltz Jordan, Xerces, by Michele Huffman, ISSSSP, May 2012. Data
origin: Forest Service, ORIG_FID: 2505116.
Frest, T.J. and E.J. Johannes. 1999. Mollusk survey of southwestern Oregon,
with emphasis on Rogue and Umpqua River drainages. Prepared for Oregon
Natural Heritage Program. Seattle, Washington.
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Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology: Malacology Collection,
Online database. Available at:
http://collections.mcz.harvard.edu/Mollusks/MolluskSearch.htm. (Accessed
August 2012).
Johannes, Ed. Personal communication with Sarah Foltz Jordan.
NatureServe. 2012. “Vertigo andrusiana.” NatureServe Explorer: An online
encyclopedia of life [web application]. Feb. 2009. Version 7.1. NatureServe,
Arlington, Virginia. Available at: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/
(Accessed 19 Sep. 2012).
Pilsbry, H.A. 1948. Land Mollusca of North America (north of Mexico).
Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia, PA), Monograph 3 Volume 2(2):
962-964. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31822000620260
(Accessed Oct 2012).
Pearce, T.A., Richart, C.H., Leonard, W.P., and P.A. Hohenloe. [n.d.].
Identification Guide to Land Snails and Slugs of Western Washington. Available
at:
http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/ants/TESCBiota/mollusc/key/ver_an
d/ver_and.htm (Accessed Nov 2012).
Pearce, Tim. 2012. Personal communication with Sarah Foltz Jordan, Xerces
Society.
Roth, B. and P.S. Sadeghian. 2003. Checklist of the land snails and slugs of
California. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Contributions in Science,
3: 1-81.
Roth, Barry. 2012. Personal communication with Sarah Foltz Jordan, Xerces
Society.
Roth, B. 2011. Memorandum to Darci Pankratz, USDA Forest Service, Region
6, Natural Resources, 26 March 2011, re: Identification of submitted samples,
Fremont/Winema NF. 8pp.
Roth, B. 2012. Memorandum to Darci Pankratz, USDA Forest Service, Region
6, Natural Resources, 2 December 2012, re: Identification of submitted
samples, Fremont/Winema NF. 5pp.
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Collections and Research Online
Databases. 2012. Available at:
http://www.sbcollections.org/iz/search_simple.php?go=1 (Accessed Oct
2012).
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ATTACHMENT 2:
List of pertinent, knowledgeable contacts:
Ed Johannes, Deixis Consultants, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington
Tom Burke, Olympia Washington
Tim Pearce, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Barry Roth, Consultant, San Francisco, California
Missy Anderson, West Zone Botanist, Fremont-Winema National Forest
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ATTACHMENT 3:
Map of Species Distribution
Records of Vertigo andrusiana in Oregon and Washington relative to Forest
Service and BLM lands.
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ATTACHMENT 4:
Photographs and illustrations of species
Vertigo andrusiana, lateral view. Photograph by Casey Richart, used with
permission. Available in Pearce et al. [n.d.].
Vertigo andrusiana, ventral view. Photograph by Casey Richart, used with
permission. Available in Pearce et al. [n.d.].
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Illustrations of Vertigo andrusiana and several congeneric species. Figure 9
depicts the “Oswego form” of V. andrusiana from Oswego, Oregon; Figure 10
shows the type specimen from Douglas County, Oregon, and Figure 11 shows
another specimen from Douglas County. Illustration extracted from Pilsbry
(1948), page 964.
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