Viviparus georgianus
| Viviparus georgianus | |
|---|---|
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| An apertural view of a shell of Viviparus georgianus. Note the operculum which is held in place in the aperture with cotton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda |
| (unranked): | informal group Architaenioglossa |
| Superfamily: | Viviparoidea |
| Family: | Viviparidae |
| Genus: | Viviparus |
| Species: | V. georgianus |
| Binomial name | |
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Viviparus georgianus (I. Lea, 1834) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Paludina georgiana |
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Paludina georgiana
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, the river snails.
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.
Lea's original text (the type description) reads as follows:
Paludina Georgiana. Plate XIX. fig 85
Testa ventricoso-conoided, tenui, tenebroso-cornea, lævi; suturis valde iinpressis; anfractibus instar quinis, convexis; aperturâ subrotundatâ, albâ.
Shell ventricoso-conical, thin, dark horn coloured, smooth; sutures very much impressed; whorls about five, convex; aperture nearly round, white.
Hab. Hopeton, near Darien, Georgia. Professor Shepard.
My Cabinet.
Cabinet of Professor Shepard.
Diam. • 7, Length 1•1 inches.
Remarks.—This species, in form, resembles most, perhaps, the P. vivipara. It is not quite so large, nor has it bands. It is rather more elevated, and the body whorl is smaller and rounder than the P. decisa (Say). The aperture at the base recedes more than is usual with this genus.
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.
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