Cheese Snail (Helicodonta obvoluta)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > mollusc > Mollusc (non-marine) |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Helicodonta obvoluta |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Müller, 1774) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Seddon et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Current knowledge on its status is unknown but it is thought the species is currently stable. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A baseline survey should be carried out to update its status. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Maintenance of traditional broadleaf habitat management will benefit this species as will the avoidance of clear-felling or conversion of woodland to conifer plantations. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | It may be vulnerable where pheasant release pens are present or where dead timber is cleared. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake targeted monitoring of selected sites to possibly (depending upon survey results) update the status of the species to feed into a revision of the Red list
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 6-10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: South Downs hanger woodlands lying between River Arun (western side) westwards to Winchester
Comments: It would be worth noting during surveys whether pheasants or pheasant rearing pens are present on the site.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: In addition to survey of current distribution and abundance at occupied sites, analyse their size, ownership and management to assess site related pressures.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.