''Gyrotoma'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of extinct

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks that 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 t ...

s with an operculum,

aquatic Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s 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. Reproduc ...

. This genus was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the USA. All of the species within this genus are presumed extinct. They were native to the main channel of the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ac ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, where the last suitable habitat was destroyed by the filling of the reservoir

Logan Martin Lake Logan Martin Lake is a reservoir located in east central Alabama on the Coosa River approximately east of Birmingham, Alabama. This reservoir was built in 1965 by Alabama Power Company. The lake, nicknamed Lake of a Thousand Coves by locals, has ...

in the mid-1960s.

Species

Species within the genus ''Gyrotoma'' include: * ''Gyrotoma excisa'' (I. Lea, 1843) – excised slitshell * ''Gyrotoma lewisii'' (I. Lea, 1869) – striate slitshell * ''Gyrotoma pagoda'' (I. Lea, 1845) – pagoda slitshell * ''Gyrotoma pumila'' (I. Lea, 1860) – ribbed slitshell * ''Gyrotoma pyramidata'' (Shuttleworth, 1845) – pyramid slitshell * ''Gyrotoma walkeri'' (H. H. Smith, 1924) – round slitshell

Species

References

Further reading