Vespericolini, or hesperians, are a tribe of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Polygyridae.
It contains two genera: Vespericola and Hochbergellus.Emberton, Kenneth C. 1995. When shells do not tell: 145 million years of evolution in North America's polygyrid land snails, with a revision and conservation priorities. Malacologia. 37(1): 69-110.
Habitat These snails are found along the Pacific Coast of North America, with Vespericola found from southern Alaska and British Columbia to California, and Hochbergellus found only in coastal Oregon.
Anatomy The shells of these small to medium, globose or depressed globose snails are usually some shade of brown, sometimes without apertural teeth and sometimes with a single tooth on the parietal wall. Small periostracal hairs may be observed on the shell surface of many specimens, but the shells otherwise resemble those of Praticolella or Mesodon.Pilsbry, Henry A. 1940. Land Mollusca of North America (North of Mexico). Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Monograph 3, vol. 1(2): 892-912.
The two genera, Vespericola and Hochbergellus, cannot be distinguished based on shell anatomy. They can only be distinguished by examining internal organs, such as the reproductive system.Roth, B. and W. B. Miller. 1992. A New Genus and Species of Polygyrid Land Snail (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) from Oregon. The Veliger 35(3): 222-225. available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42467292
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