Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 120, December 2014, pp. 30-53.

36 Ecology Habitat Sphincterochila boissieri lives in desert environments. This snail is common in areas with loess-limestone soils, and uncommon in areas that have a flint substrate. Yom-Tov measured the maximum demographic density for Sphincterochila boissieri, encountering a value of 0.2-0.3 specimens/m² in the area of the Naqab (Negev) desert he investigated in 1970. The snail Xerocrassa seetzeni was found to be more abundant there. On the other hand, in the Northern Naqab (Negev) area investigated by Steinberger et al. in 1981 Sphincterochila boissieri was the most abundant snail. Sphincterochila boissieri along with other snail species and algae are the most significant faunal and floral components of the Naqab (Negev) and Sinai deserts ecosystems (Wikipedia). The New Umm Dimna White Desert Land Snail Subspecies Sphincterochila boissieri ummdimna Khalaf, 2014 from Umm Dimna (Dimona) Area in Al-Naqab (Negev) Desert, Occupied Palestine. Photo by: Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher KhalafSakerfalke von Jaffa. 22.12.2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/15564934983/ Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 120 – December 2014

Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 120, December 2014, pp. 30-53. | Page 7