September rain in Malta , Natura Mediterraneo

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September rain in Malta

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dpc
Utente Junior

Città: Santa Venera

Regione: Malta

30 Messaggi
Flora e Fauna

Inserito il - 24 settembre 2009 : 01:54:44

Today was arguably the first day of heavy rainfall on the Maltese Islands. Satisfied that the hot season had now run its course and the fact that snails will be far easier to come by, I started off on a short trip to the north of Malta to observe the first opportunists' activities. within a short time, my search was rewarded with no less than two pairs of mating Cantareus aspersus:

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Of course these were not the only couples, other pairs were spotted over the garigue every now and then. The amorous mood was evidently not restricted to this species, since several Tudorella sulcata melitense were also making good use of the humid weather conditions and pairing up:

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Other individuals just waited for their turn, quickly retracting into their shells and slamming the door shut at the slightest sign of danger.

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However, the true prize was still to come. After some very dangerous slides on wet clay slopes I came across this beautiful snail:

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This is the very rare Hohenwartiana hohenwarti, immediately distinguishable from Ferussacia by the bright yellow colour of its body. The above photo didn't do it justice, so for a better photograph I picked up a few of the snails to shield them against the wind which was threatening to blow my camera away, then returned them to their habitat after the photo session was over! :) The uniqueness of the snail surely made the difficult access to get to its habitat worth every scratch...

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September rain in Malta