Shell variability in Vestia turgida (Rossmassler, 1836) (Gastropoda, Clausiliidae) along an altitudinal gradient

281 shells of Vestia turgida (Rossm.) were collected between 380 and 1,250 m a.s.l. in the Carpathians (Poland). Biometrical analysis revealed a correlation between metric characters of the shell, indices of shell shape and altitude. Snails living above the timberline had conspicuously smaller and stouter shells with weaker apertural barriers. The aperture shape did not differ along the altitudinal gradient. The stronger erosion of the shell surface at higher elevations depends probably on a longer juvenile period.