''Pila'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of large freshwater snails with an operculum,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

apple snail Ampullariidae, commonly known as the apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum. These snails simultaneously have a gill and a lung as functional respiratory structures, wh ...

s, aquatic gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the family

Ampullariidae Ampullariidae, commonly known as the apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum. These snails simultaneously have a gill and a lung as functional respiratory structures ...

, the apple snails.

Distribution

Distribution of the genus ''Pila'' include Africa,

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, southern Asia and Indo-Pacific islands. It is amphibious in nature and can undergo summer sleep or aestivation under drought condition. It is generally found in lakes, pools, and sometimes even in the river streams where aquatic vegetation like ''

Vallisneria ''Vallisneria'' (named in honor of Antonio Vallisneri) is a genus of freshwater aquatic plant, commonly called eelgrass, tape grass or vallis. The genus is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Nor ...

'', '' Pistia'' are found in large amount for food.

External Features

When viewed from ''

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

'' side facing the collumella towards the ''observer'', the collumella rotates ''

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

'' or '' Dextral''.

Species

Species within the genus ''Pila'' include: subgenus ''Pila'' * '' Pila africana'' (v. Martens, 1886)"''Pila''"
The apple snail website, Accessed 16 May 2011. * '' Pila ampullacea'' (Linnaeus, 1758) - type species * † '' Pila assermoensis'' (Jodot, 1953) * '' Pila brohardi'' (Granger, 1892) * † '' Pila busserti'' Harzhauser & Neubauer in Harzhauser et al., 2017 * '' Pila cecillei'' (Philipi, 1848) * † '' Pila celebensis'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834) * † '' Pila colchesteri'' Cox, 1933 * '' Pila decocta'' (Mabille, 1887) * † '' Pila falloti'' (Jodot, 1953) * † '' Pila faujasii'' (Serres, 1829) * † '' Pila gauthieri'' (Jodot, 1953) * '' Pila globosa'' (Swainson, 1822) * '' Pila gracilis'' (I. Lea, 1856) * '' Pila mizoramensis'' Sil, Basak, Karanth & Aravind, 2021 * † '' Pila mutungi'' Van Damme & Pickford, 1995 * † '' Pila neuberti'' Harzhauser & Neubauer in Harzhauser et al., 2016 * '' Pila nevilliana'' (Annandale & Prashad, 1921) * '' Pila occidentalis'' (Mousson, 1887) * '' Pila ovata'' (Olivier, 1804)Brown D. S. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance''.

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...

. . * '' Pila pesmei'' (Morelet, 1889) * '' Pila saxea'' (Reeve, 1856) * '' Pila scutata'' (Housson, 1848) * '' Pila speciosa'' (Philippi, 1849) * '' Pila turbinis'' (I. Lea, 1856) * '' Pila virens'' (Lamarck, 1822) * '' Pila virescens'' (Deshayes, 1824) * '' Pila wernei'' (Philipi, 1851) subgenus '' Turbinicola'' Annandale & Prashad, 1921 * '' Pila aperta'' (Prashad, 1925) * ''Pila'' (''Turbinicola'') ''saxea'' (Annandale & Prashad, 1921) ;Synonyms: * ''Pila aldersoni'' Pain, 1946: synonym of ''

Pomacea aldersoni ''Pomacea aldersoni'' is a South American species of freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. Etymology ''P. aldersoni'' is named after the British conchologist ...

'' (Pain, 1946) (original combination) * ''Pila angelica'' (Annandale, 1920): synonym of '' Pila celebensis'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834) * ''Pila conica'' (Wood, 1828): synonym of '' Pila scutata'' (Mousson, 1848) * ''Pila gradata'' (E. A. Smith, 1881): synonym of '' Pila ovata'' (Olivier, 1804) * ''Pila hollingsworthi'' T. Pain, 1946: synonym of '' Pomacea hollingsworthi'' (Pain, 1946) (original combination) * ''Pila polita'' (Deshayes, 1830): synonym of '' Pila virescens'' (Deshayes, 1824) * † ''Pila selvensis'' (Vidal, 1917) †: synonym of † '' Selvovum selvense'' (Vidal, 1917)

Ecology

''Pila'' species are a host of a trematode '' Multicotyle purvisi''.

Human use

The shells of ''Pila'' are used in traditional

ethnomedicine Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine based on bioactive compounds in plants and animals and practiced by various ethnic groups, especially those with little access to western medicines, e.g., indigenous peoples. The ...

for weakness by

Saharia The Sahar, Sehariya, or Sahariya are an ethnic group in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The Saharias are mainly found in the districts of Morena, Sheopur, Bhind, Gwalior, Datia, Shivpuri, Vidisha and Guna districts of Madhya Pradesh and Ba ...

people in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

, India. '' Pila ampullacea'' and '' Pila pesmei'' are some of the rice field snail species traditionally eaten in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

that have been displaced by the invasive golden apple snail, ''

Pomacea canaliculata ''Pomacea canaliculata'', commonly known as the golden apple snail or the channeled apple snail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails ...

''.''Heavy Predation on Freshwater Bryozoans by the Golden Apple Snail, Pomacea canaliculata Lamarck, 1822 (Ampullariidae)''; The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 6(1): 31-36, May 2006

References

External links

Swainson, W. (1840). A treatise on malacology or shells and shell-fish. London, Longman. viii + 419 pp.

Repelin, J. (1902). Description des faunes et des gisements du Cénomanien saumâtre ou d'eau douce du Midi de la France. Annales du Musée d'histoire naturelle de Marseille. Section de Géologie. 7: 1-133

Lamarck, J.B.M. (1799). Prodrome d'une nouvelle classification des coquilles, comprenant une rédaction appropriée des caractères géneriques, et l'établissement d'un grand nombre de genres nouveaux. Mémoires de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. 1: 63-91

Montfort_P._(Denys_de)._(1808-1810)._Conchyliologie_systématique_et_classification_méthodique_des_coquilles._Paris:_Schoell._Vol._1:_pp._lxxxvii_+_409_[1808
_Vol._2:_pp._676_+_16_,1810.html" ;"title="808">Montfort P. (Denys de). (1808-1810). Conchyliologie systématique et classification méthodique des coquilles. Paris: Schoell. Vol. 1: pp. lxxxvii + 409 [1808
Vol. 2: pp. 676 + 16 ,1810">808">Montfort P. (Denys de). (1808-1810). Conchyliologie systématique et classification méthodique des coquilles. Paris: Schoell. Vol. 1: pp. lxxxvii + 409 [1808
Vol. 2: pp. 676 + 16 ,1810
Cowie, R. H. & Thiengo, S. C. (2003). The apple snails of the Americas (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Ampullariidae: Asolene, Felipponea, Marisa, Pomacea, Pomella): A nomenclatural and type catalog. Malacologia. 45(1): 41-100.

Cowie R.H. (2015). The recent apple snails of Africa and Asia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Ampullariidae: Afropomus, Forbesopomus, Lanistes, Pila, Saulea): a nomenclatural and type catalogue. The apple snails of the Americas: addenda and corrigenda. Zootaxa. 3940(1): 1-92

enson, W. H. (1829). Description of the animal of Ampullaria, a genus of freshwater Testacea, with a notice of two species inhabiting the freshwaters of the Gangetic Provinces. Gleanings in Science. 1(2): 52-54.
Ampullariidae {{Ampullariidae-stub