Narrow-mouthed Whorl Snail (Vertigo angustior)
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: | Vertigo (Vertilla) angustior |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Jeffreys, 1830 |
| 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: | The species is also found in Wales, Scotland and throughout Ireland. In England found in a wide variety of sites representing at least three habitats (limestone pavement, inland damp 'fen meadows' and coastal sea walls & saltmarsh transition zones). In England it is thought to be stable but all the habitats are considered vulnerable especially those in coastal locations. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Sites are vulnerable to a lack of appropriate management . Management is required to maintain the integrity of limestone pavement (at Gait Barrows site), inland fen at various Norfolk sites, and open (removal of woody scrub) vegetated sea walls in Suffolk and Norfolk. |
| 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: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Climate change |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | An article 17 species and so many monitoring episodes well documented by NE. Maintenance of water levels is considered important. Most sites in East Anglia are coastal and are vulnerable to sea level rise. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake removal of woody scrub to ensure unshaded habitat is available on the sea walls of Suffolk and Norfolk.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites: Several East Anglian estuarine sea wall sites such as the Blyth Estuary. Also Gait Barrows (Lancashire) and Flordon Common (Norfolk).
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Advise on suitable sea wall and coastal flood defence management to ensure this takes account of the extensive East Anglian populations of this species.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 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.