List of Non-marine Molluscs of Ireland

List Of Non-marine Molluscs Of Ireland

This list of the non-marine molluscs of Ireland comprises 165 species of non-marine molluscs which have been recorded as part of the fauna of Ireland. These are terrestrial and aquatic gastropods, and bivalves; the list does not include species of molluscs which are considered to be fully marine.

In other words: this list includes land snails and slugs, and freshwater and brackish water snails. It also includes freshwater mussels and freshwater clams, including some that can tolerate brackish water. Molluscs that are fully adapted to live in the sea are not included here.

Ireland is an island in the northeastern Atlantic. It consists of the Republic of Ireland, also known simply as Ireland (or in the Irish language Éire), and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

The mollusc fauna of the island of Ireland has not been as thoroughly researched as that of the island of Great Britain, and therefore it is possible that some uncommon and local species (whether native or introduced) may, as yet, have been overlooked. Even so, it seems that the non-marine molluscan fauna of Ireland is a smaller fauna that that of Great Britain.

This list is of land and freshwater molluscs only. Some species of gastropods listed here (for example Peringia ulvae) live in habitats that are intermediate between freshwater and saltwater. Others live in habitats that are intermediate between land and saltwater. Both of these kinds of species are often also included in marine faunal lists.

In addition to the species that live naturally outdoors in Ireland, there are at least 2 aquatic gastropod species which live only in artificially-heated indoor environments such as aquaria in greenhouses. These are known as "hothouse aliens", and in this list they are not counted as part of the total fauna.

A number of species are listed with subspecies, in cases where there are recognized subspecies in different parts of Europe. In some cases a synonym is given, where the species may be perhaps better known under an older name.

The list is arranged by presumed biological affinity, rather than being alphabetical by family.

The following table shows a summary of species numbers. It is not always easy to define which species are aquatic and which are terrestrial, as some species such as Galba truncatula are virtually amphibious. It also can be difficult to determine which species are introduced, as some introductions are quite ancient, for example from the Paleolithic. Those species that do not have a shell usually do not leave an archeological or fossil record, and therefore it is not always possible to determine whether they are native or introduced.