''Pleurocera'' is a genus of

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

s with an operculum, aquatic

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusks in the family

Pleuroceridae Pleuroceridae, common name pleurocerids, is a family of small to medium-sized freshwater snails, aquatic gilled gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cerithioidea.These snails have an operculum and typically a robust high-spired shell. Reprodu ...

.Neubauer, Thomas A. (2014). Pleurocera Rafinesque, 1818. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=820483 on 2014-11-25 ''Pleurocera'' is the type genus of that family.

Distribution

All members of the genus ''Pleurocera'' are native to eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Description

All of the species in this genus have thick-walled high- spired shells, and some attain a length of over 4 cm. The shape of the shell is elongate-conic or cylindrical. The sculpture of the shell is often carinate or costate. The shell of larger species sometimes develops sculpturing and a small

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...

or siphonal notch at the base of the aperture. Opercula are paucispiral and corneous, but may be vestigial in some species, not completely closing the aperture. The soft parts of the animal usually have a gray or brown coloration, commonly speckled with orange. The similar genus ''

Juga ''Juga'' is a genus of freshwater snails with a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Semisulcospiridae. These snails are native to the rivers of the northwestern United States and adjacent British Columbia. Sever ...

'' has a seminal receptacle, but ''Pleurocera'' has no seminal receptacle.

Species

Species within the genus ''Pleurocera'' include: (brackets needs to be checked, authorities according to the IUCN Red List may be incorrect) * ''

Pleurocera acuta ''Pleurocera acuta'', common name the sharp hornsnail, is a species of small freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum, an aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae, the hornsnails. Shell ...

'' Rafinesque, 1831 - sharp hornsnail, type species of the genus ''Pleurocera'' * ''Pleurocera alveare'' Conrad, 1834 -

rugged hornsnail The rugged hornsnail, scientific name ''Pleurocera alveare'', is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae. This species is endemic to the United States The United States ...

* ''Pleurocera annulifera'' Conrad, 1834 -

ringed hornsnail The ringed hornsnail, scientific name ''Pleurocera annulifera'', is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae. This species is endemic to the United States The United Stat ...

* ''Pleurocera brumbyi'' I. Lea, 1852 -

spiral hornsnail The spiral hornsnail, scientific name ''Pleurocera brumbyi'', is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae. This species is endemic to the United States The United States ...

* ''

Pleurocera catenaria ''Pleurocera'' is a genus of freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Pleuroceridae.Neubauer, Thomas A. (2014). Pleurocera Rafinesque, 1818. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.m ...

catenaria'' (Say, 1822) ** ''Pleurocera catenaria catenaria'' (Say, 1822) - synonyms: ''Pleurocera albanyensis'' (I. Lea, 1864), ''Pleurocera boykiniana'' (I. Lea, 1840), ''Pleurocera caelatura'', ''Pleurocera christyi'', ''Pleurocera darwini'', ''Pleurocera interrupta'' (Haldeman, 1840), ''Pleurocera lecontiana'', ''Pleurocera mutabilis'', ''Pleurocera postelli'', ''Pleurocera suturalis'', ''Pleurocera viennaensis'' ** ''Pleurocera catenaria dislocata'' (Ravenel, 1834) * ''Pleurocera corpulenta'' Anthony, 1854 -

corpulent hornsnail The corpulent hornsnail, scientific name ''Pleurocera corpulenta'', is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae. This species is endemic to the United States The United Sta ...

* ''Pleurocera curta'' Haldeman, 1841 -

shortspire hornsnail The shortspire hornsnail, scientific name ''Pleurocera curta'', is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae. This species is endemic to the United States The United State ...

* ''Pleurocera foremani'' I. Lea, 1843 - rough hornsnail * ''Pleurocera pyrenella'' Conrad, 1834 - skirted hornsnail * ''Pleurocera showalteri'' I. Lea, 1862 - upland hornsnail * ''Pleurocera walkeri'' Goodrich, 1928 -

telescope hornsnail The telescope hornsnail, scientific name ''Pleurocera walkeri'', is a species of freshwater snail in the family Pleuroceridae. This species is endemic to the Southeastern United States: it is known from Tennessee River The Tennessee Riv ...

* '' Pleurocera canaliculata'' (Say, 1821) - Silty hornsnail, synonyms: ''Pleurocera nobile''"''Pleurocera canaliculata'' (Say 1821)"
FWGNA: Freshwater Gastropods of North America, accessed 21 February 2013. ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Pleurocera costulatum'' Fuchs, 1870: synonym of † '' Goniochilus costulatus'' (Fuchs, 1870) * ''Pleurocera kochii'' Fuchs, 1870: synonym of † '' Goniochilus kochii'' (Fuchs, 1870) * ''Pleurocera radmanesti'' Fuchs, 1870: synonym of † '' Prososthenia radmanesti'' (Fuchs, 1870)

Ecology

Most species inhabit larger rivers. ''Pleurocera'' snails are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3171700 Pleuroceridae Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque