Gyraulus albus
Gyraulus albus, common name white ramshorn, is a small species of freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.
Gyraulus albus is the type species of the genus Gyraulus.
Distribution
- Belgium
- Czech Republic - least concern (LC)
- Germany
- Hungary
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Great Britain
- Ireland
Habitat
This small snail lives in various types of freshwater habitats among weed and on bottom mud. It doesn't require a high level of calcium.
Description
The shell of this species is rather small, reaching a height of 1.3 - 1.8 mm and a width of 4 – 7 mm. This shell has a discoid shape with 4 - 4½ body whorls that expand in the direction of the aperture. This aperture and the whorls are curved and do not have a keel.
The shell of this species is white (sometimes darkened by mud deposits) and has a characteristic spiral sculpture.
References
Further reading
- V. Pfleger & June Chatfield, A guide to the snails of Britain and Europe; Hamlyn Publishing Group, London, 1988;ISBN 0-600-55127-X
External links
- Gyraulus albus at AnimalBase
Media related to Gyraulus albus at Wikimedia Commons