Helicella itala is a species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies. The common Heath snail is a West Palearctic species found in the British Isles, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. It is now also widely distributed in Australia (first found in Australia in 1891).In English it is known as the Heath snail.