Tiny snails, found nowhere else
Most of New Zealand’s native land snails measure one to a few millimetres across, and nearly all of them are endemic. This archive brings together what we know about them: classification, shell and anatomy, distribution and conservation status.
A few mm
Most native land snails are one to several millimetres across.
Endemic
Nearly every native species lives in New Zealand and nowhere else.
NZTCS
Each factsheet gives the threat status under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
Free PDFs
Every factsheet can be downloaded, printed and taken into the field.
What each factsheet covers
Every factsheet follows the same structure, so species can be compared side by side. Each one is revised when new information becomes available.
Classification
Family, current name and authority, so you know exactly which species you are reading about.
Synonyms
Earlier names the species has been published under, which matters when reading older literature.
Shell and anatomy
Size, shape, sculpture and colour pattern, with scanning electron micrographs and drawings of the reproductive anatomy (if available).
Distribution
Based mainly on our research records and museum holdings.
Habitat
Forest litter, logs, ferns, limestone or cave entrances: where to look, and at what altitude.
Conservation status
Threat ranking according to the New Zealand Threat Classification System, updated as new information arrives.
Cavellia anguicula
A small, finely ribbed snail forest leaf litter dweller, and one of the more common species. Its translucent buff shell, streaked with brown, is wider than it is tall, with a broad open umbilicus. Riblets alternate in height.
| Family | Charopidae |
| Threat status | Not Threatened (NZTCS) |
| Biostatus | Indigenous, endemic |
| Shell | About 4.4 mm across at 5 whorls |
| Range | North Island south of Auckland and Coromandel; northern South Island, scattered south to Dunedin |
| Habitat | Forest leaf litter, often with decaying wood, from sea level to at least 1000 m |
Inside a factsheet
A shell under 5 mm carries detail that only shows under the microscope. Factsheets pair the description of shell and reproductive anatomy with images, micrographs and drawings.
The people behind the archive
FMC
Frank Climo
Researcher
Has described and revised New Zealand land snails since the late 1960s, from the carnivorous Rhytididae to the tiny Charopidaeand Punctidae. The genus Climocella is named in his honour.
KM
Karin Mahlfeld
Researcher
Collaborates with the Department of Conservation on New Zealand’s threatened land snails and led the 2012 assessment of their conservation status.
Published in 2025
Sixteen new species of Sinployea
A revision of the genus, with threat rankings for every species. Most are naturally uncommon or data deficient, and Sinployea australis is now presumed extinct.
Mahlfeld, Climo and Roscoe. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 204(1).
Get involved
Ask for access to unpublished work
Some of the archive’s records are not yet published. Researchers can ask for an account to see them, and each account is approved by the archive team.
Found a native snail?
Photograph it beside a ruler or a coin for scale, note where you found it, and post it to iNaturalist NZ, where others can help identify it. Please leave the snail where it was.