Physella
''Physella'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Physidae. These snails eat algae, diatoms and other detritus. Shell description Snails in the family Physidae have shells that are sinistral, which means that if the shell is held with the spire pointing up and the aperture facing the observer, the aperture is on the left-hand side. The shells of ''Physella'' species have a long and large aperture, a pointed spire, and no operculum. The shells are thin and corneous and rather transparent. Species Species in the genus include: * ''Physella acuta'' (Draparnaud, 1805) - Pewter Physa, type species, synonyms: ''Physella heterostropha'' (Say, 1817), ''Physella integra'' (Haldeman, 1841)Dillon R. T., Wethington A. R., Rhett J. M. & Smith T. P. (2002). "Populations of the European freshwater pulmonate ''Physa acuta'' are not reproductively isolated from American ''Physa heterostopha'' or '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |