This online guide is designed to help identify the majority of the species of freshwater and brackish-water snails likely to be found in Britain and Ireland. It is adapted from the excellent Süsswassermollusken by P. Glöer and C. Meier-Brook, 1994, published by Deutscher Jungendbund für Naturbeobachtung, Hamburg.
Modifications have been made in order to restrict the species covered to those occurring in Britain and Ireland, and to avoid the need for dissection as much as possible. In the few cases where dissection is necessary to separate species, this is noted.
Dr. Peter Glöer has kindly provided copies of the photographs used in his book and has granted the Society permission to use them to illustrate these pages. His comments and assistance have been invaluable. The Society and the designer gratefully acknowledge his contributions.
Any errors or omissions remaining are the sole responsibility of the designer, Pryce Buckle.
The nomenclature used throughout this section follows "An annotated list of the non-marine mollusca of Britain and Ireland." by Dr. Roy Anderson, revised 2008. It is available as a free download by clicking on the text link.
This Pond Snail will enable you to continue