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Vertigo (Vertigo) alpestris ALDER, 1838Shell: Dextrous, whorls 4.6-5.3, most often 5.0. Shape from rather elongate ovate to ovate-cylindrical, spire rather blunt. Whorls moderately convex, suture moderately deep. Aperture nearly semicircular. Teeth 2-4, only exceptionally 5. The following teeth are present in all individuals: columellar, of variable shape and size; parietal, short and high lamellate. Most specimens have also one (lower) or two palatals. Umbilicus open, deep. Surface sculpture of delicate, distinct and regular striae. Colour light: from yellowish to light goldish-brown, teeth white.Dimensions: Height 1.62-2.15 mm, breadth 0.90-1.10 mm, aperture height 0.40-0.47 mm, aperture breadth 0.52-0.70 mm, body whorl height 0.95-1.08 mm. Ecology: It lives in habitats of varied character: at lowlands and lower mountain altitudes deciduous and mixed, exceptionally also coniferous forest; most abundant on wooded mountain slopes with loose boulders and rich accumulationsof leaf-litter; found in litter and litter-filled hollows of beach, sycamore maple and rowan; also among moss and debris on exposed or partly shaded calcareous rock shelves. Distribution: A Boreo-Alpine species of a rather wide distribution: a great part of Scandinavia, locally on Iceland, British Isles, Alps, Carpathian Mts.; in the east to the morthern part of Asia, a few localities scattered in the mountains of Crimea; in North America islands off New Foundland. In Poland: Carpathian (in the Tatra Mts. only their calcareous part), Sudetes, Holy Cross Mts., on lowlands a few localities in the vicinity of Warsaw, Suwalki, Bialowieza; in the mountains up to above 2000 m a.s.l. |