Contribution to the malacofauna of the north coast of Egypt

The survey of land snails of the North Coast of Egypt, still insufficiently known and not studied since the 1950s, is presented. The fauna of the region is relatively species-rich. Thirteen land snail species of four families are recorded: Helicidae (Theba pisana (O. F. Müller), Eremina desertorum desertorum (Forskål), E. d. irregularis (Férussac), E. d. zitteli Boettger, Eobania vermiculata (O. F. Müller), Helix pronuba Westerlund et Blanc), Geomitridae (Xeropicta krynickii (Krynicki), Xerocrassa tuberculosa (Conrad), X. tanousi (Westerlund), Xerocrassa sp., Cochlicella acuta (O. F. Müller)), Subulinidae (Rumina saharica Pallary) and Sphincterochilidae (Sphincterochila sp.). This paper is a preliminary review aimed at throwing some light on the malacofauna of the Mediterranean region in the context of the biodiversity studies in Egypt. Key woRds: Egypt, Mediterranean Coast, land snails