(1) Intro

I am Joe Arruda, retired Emeritus Professor of Biology from Pittsburg (KS) State University now living in southeast Indiana. See #4 below for how to photograph land snails for iNaturalist.

(2) Kansas Land Snails

For more on Kansas land snails, go to: https://gpnc.org/gift-shop/publications/. More recent KS list and distribution maps at: https://www.indianasnails.com/kansas-species. If you are close to Missouri, try the Missouri guide found at https://archive.org/details/2013MOLandSnailsandSlugs/mode/2up.

(3) Indiana Land Snails

I completed a quick review of Indiana land snails based on museum collections and other sources. It includes a quick guide to common land snails such as many iNaturalist observers would run across and state county-level occurrence maps. It also includes some information on aquatic snails. Find it at https://www.indianasnails.com/.

(4) ​To maximize the chance of getting a correct identification on iNaturalist:

(a) For "wider than tall" snails, at least three views are needed: top, bottom, and side. Actually, two separate side views are often better – one with the aperture, any teeth, and clearly showing the profile of the shell to help determine the type of spire - and one more close directly into the aperture showing the nature of any teeth.

(b) For "taller than wide" snails, a front view of the entire snail with the aperture and a closer view of the aperture (especially if here are teeth in there) will usually do.

(c) Avoid holding the shell as your fingers can cover things to see - rather, lay the shell in the groove of your touching fingers and position it. Clean out any dirt and debris.

(d) If the snail is alive, try to gently tease it back in the shell. Even if you can't keep the body in to take a photo, if you can see the character, you can add a description in the notes.

(To see examples of #1, 2, and 3, go to https://www.indianasnails.com/resources.)