Small Amber Snail (Succinella oblonga)
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: | Succinella oblonga |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Draparnaud, 1801) |
| 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: | Listed as VU on the Red list. All English populations (5 sites) the status is not known. (It is also present in Scotland and throughout Ireland). |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | As the status of populations is not known, establishing its current status is required |
| 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: | No |
| Justification: | Requires very specific bare mud, sometimes transitory habitat. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | The current status of this species is currently unknown in England |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake targeted surveys at known sites to establish current status to feed into an updated Red List. If found at any sites, map the extent of open moist ground available for the species.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: All sites where it has been previously recorded
Comments: Previously known from Cumbrian coast, North Yorkshire, Humber Estuary and 2 sites in East Sussex/Kent.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: If Action 1 finds species extant, undertake habitat management to provide open moist ground. This could be undertaken by scraping off the top layer of vegetation.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Assess management and threats at occupied sites; or identify potential translocation sites if autecology is sufficiently understood.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 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.