Portal:Gastropods/Selected article/8

A shell and operculum of Viviparus georgianus

Viviparus georgianus, common name the banded mystery snail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae. This snail is native to North America. The specific epithet georgianus is a reference to the southern State of Georgia, where the type locality is situated.

Viviparus georgianus was originally discovered and described (under the name Paludina georgiana) by Isaac Lea in 1834. This snail is found in lakes and slow-moving rivers with mud bottoms. The species thrives in eutrophic lentic environments such as lakes, ponds and some low-flow streams. It is usually absent from larger, faster flowing rivers; however, it is able to survive conditions of high water velocity in the St. Lawrence River, and in the United States it may even be better adapted than the introduced species Bithynia tentaculata to such habitats.

This species is dioecious (it has two distinct sexes), iteroparous (reproducing more than once in a lifetime) and ovoviviparous, laying eggs singly in albumen-filled capsules. (Read more...)