Physa
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''Physa'' 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 small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing
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, aquatic
pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates is an informal group (previously an order, and before that, a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group inclu ...
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 ...
mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
s in the subfamily Physinae of the family
Physidae Physidae, common name, commonly called the bladder snails, is a family (biology), family of small air-breathing freshwater snails, Aquatic animal, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Lymnaeoidea.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). Mol ...
.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=181551 on 2021-06-26 These snails eat
alga Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, suc ...
e,
diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma'') is any member of a large group comprising several Genus, genera of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils of the world. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's B ...
s and detritus.


Anatomy

Members of the freshwater pulmonate family
Physidae Physidae, common name, commonly called the bladder snails, is a family (biology), family of small air-breathing freshwater snails, Aquatic animal, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Lymnaeoidea.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). Mol ...
possess a complex of muscles that is unique amongst gastropods. This complex was given the name "physid musculature". The physid musculature has two main components, the physid muscle ''sensu stricto'' and the fan muscle. The physid musculature is responsible for a unique ability of physids to rapidly flick their shells from side to side — a reaction that frequently enables them to escape predation.


Shell description

These small snails, like all the species in the family Physidae, have shells that are sinistral, which means that when the shell is held with the spire pointing up and the aperture facing the viewer, then the aperture is on the left-hand side. The shells of ''Physa'' species have a long and large
aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...
, a pointed
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
, and no operculum. The shells are thin and corneous, and rather transparent.


Species

Species in the genus include: * † '' Physa aplexoides'' Yen, 1969 * '' Physa arachleica'' Starobogatov & Prozorova, 1989 * † ''
Physa aravanica ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' Zharnyl'skaya, 1965 * '' Physa aridi'' Mezzalira, 1974 – fossil from BrazilSimone L. R. L. & Mezzalira S. (1994). "Fossil Molluscs of Brazil". '' Boletim do Instituto Geológico'' 11: 1–202. * † '' Physa bacca'' Pan & Zhu, 2007 † * † ''
Physa beijiangensis ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' W. Yü & X.-Q. Zhang, 1982 † * † ''
Physa boreaui ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' Coquand, 1860 * † ''
Physa bullatula ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' White, 1886 * † ''
Physa canadensis ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' Whiteaves, 1885 * † ''
Physa carletoni ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' Meek, 1873 * † ''
Physa cenomanensis ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' Repelin, 1902 * † ''
Physa cepedaensis ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' Perrilliat & Vega in Perrilliat et al., 2008 * † ''
Physa changleensis ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' Youluo, 1978 * † ''
Physa changzhouensis ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' W. Yü, 1977 * ''
Physa chippevarum ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparnaud, 1801. Acce ...
'' (Taylor, 2003) * '' Physa clarkei'' Ingersoll, 1875 * † '' Physa cokevillensis'' Yen, 1954 * † '' Physa conispira'' Yen & Reeside, 1946 * † '' Physa copei'' White, 1877 * ''
Physa dalmatina ''Physa'' is a genus of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snails, Aquatic animal, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Physinae of the family Physidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Physa Draparna ...
'' Küster, 1844 * † '' Physa debilula'' Gu in Gu & Wang, 1989 * † '' Physa delecta'' Nicolas, 1891 † * † '' Physa doeringi'' Doello-Jurado, 1927 * † '' Physa doliolum'' Matheron, 1843 * † '' Physa felix'' White, 1878 * ''
Physa fontinalis ''Physa fontinalis'', common name the common bladder snail, is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Physidae. The shells of species in the genus ''Physa'' are left-handed or sinistral. Descrip ...
'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Fountain bladder snail – type species * † '' Physa fuxinensis'' X.-H. Yu, 1987 * † '' Physa galei'' Russell, 1926 * † '' Physa galloprovincialis'' Matheron, 1843 * † '' Physa gaoyouensis'' W. Yü, 1977 * † '' Physa gardanensis'' Matheron, 1843 * † '' Physa globosa'' Yen, 1954 * † '' Physa gracilis'' Nicolas, 1891 * '' Physa hankensis'' Starobogatov & Prozorova, 1989 * † '' Physa jingangkouensis'' H.-Z. Pan, 1983 * † '' Physa kanabensis'' White, 1876 * † '' Physa lacryma'' F. Sandberger, 1871 * † '' Physa lacteana'' Russell, 1935 * † '' Physa liaoxiensis'' X.-H. Yu, 1987 * † '' Physa longiuscula'' Meek & Hayden, 1856 * '' Physa megalochlamys'' Taylor, 1988 – Cloaked physa * '' Physa meneghinii'' Sacco, 1886 † * '' Physa mezzalirai'' Ghilardi, Carbonaro & Simone, 2011 – fossil from BrazilGhilardi R. P., Carbonaro F. A. & Simone L. R. L. (2011). "''Physa mezzalirai'', a new cretaceous basommatophoran from Adamantina formation, Brazil". ''Strombus'' 18(1–2): 1–14
abstract
* † '' Physa michaudii'' Matheron, 1843 * † '' Physa micra'' Yen & Reeside, 1946 * † '' Physa minima'' Repelin, 1902 * † '' Physa miqueli'' Caziot, 1905 * '' Physa mirollii'' Taylor, 2003 * † '' Physa montanensis'' Yen, 1951 * † '' Physa naucatica'' Zharnyl'skaya, 1965 * † '' Physa nebrascensis'' Meek & Hayden, 1856 * † '' Physa nisidai'' Suzuki, 1941 * † '' Physa nucleus'' Repelin, 1902 * † '' Physa obtusiconica'' X.-H. Yu, 1987 * †'' Physa orientalis'' G.-X. Zhu, 1980 * † '' Physa paravitimensis'' G.-X. Zhu, 1980 * † '' Physa patula'' Nicolas, 1891 * † '' Physa pijiagouensis'' X.-H. Yu, 1987 * '' Physa pumilia'' Conrad, 1834 * † '' Physa pygmaea'' Nicolas, 1891 * †'' Physa rhomboidea'' Meek & Hayden, 1856 * † '' Physa ringentis'' Youluo, 1978 * † '' Physa saxarubrensis'' Russell, 1957 * † '' Physa secalina'' Evans & Shumard, 1856 * † '' Physa shakengensis'' W. Yü & X.-Q. Zhang, 1982 * † '' Physa shandongensis'' H.-Z. Pan, 1983 * † '' Physa shantungensis'' Yen, 1969 * † '' Physa simeyrolsensis'' Repelin, 1902 * † '' Physa sinensis'' Yen, 1969 * '' Physa skinneri'' Taylor, 1954 * '' Physa streletzkajae'' Starobogatov & Budnikova, 1967 * † '' Physa subacuta'' Benoist, 1873 * † '' Physa subcylindrica'' Repelin, 1902 * '' Physa taslei'' Bourguignat, 1860 * † '' Physa tenuicostata'' H.-J. Wang, 1982 * † '' Physa usitata'' White, 1895 * '' Physa vernalis'' Taylor et Jokinen, 1984 * † '' Physa walcotti'' Yen & Reeside, 1946 * † '' Physa wealdiana'' Coquand, 1856 * † '' Physa wichmanni'' Parodiz, 1961 * † '' Physa zhuoxianensis'' Yü & Pan, 1982 * ''Physa'' sp., Lake Winnipeg Physa, lives in
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in Canada. It was classified as endangered by
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. COSEWIC recommendation has been forwarded to the Minister of the Environment of Canada and a decision for listing at the
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of the Canadian
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was pending in 2005. ;Synonyms: * ''Physa acuta'' Draparnaud, 1805, ''Physa heterostropha'' (Say, 1817), ''Physa integra'' (Haldeman, 1841) and ''Physa natricina'' Taylor, 1988 are synonyms of ''
Physella acuta ''Physella acuta'' is a species of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snail, an Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Physidae. Common names include European physa, tadpole snail, bladder snail, and acute ...
'' (Draparnaud, 1805) * ''Physa ancillaria'' (Say, 1825) – Pumpkin Physa:"''Physella''".
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Explorer, accessed 9 April 2010.
synonym of ''
Physella ancillaria ''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 famil ...
'' (Say, 1825) (original combination) * ''Physa carolinae'' Wethington, Wise & Dillon, 2009: synonym of ''
Physella carolinae ''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 famil ...
'' (Wethington, Wise & Dillon, 2009) * ''Physa concolor'' Haldeman, 1841: synonym of ''
Physella gyrina ''Physella gyrina'', common name the "tadpole physa", is a species of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Physidae. Shell description Snails in the family Physi ...
'' (Say, 1821) * ''Physa columbiana'' (Hemphill, 1890) is a synonym for ''
Physella columbiana ''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 fami ...
'' (Hemphill, 1890) * ''Physa gyrina'' (Say, 1821) is a synonym for ''
Physella gyrina ''Physella gyrina'', common name the "tadpole physa", is a species of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Physidae. Shell description Snails in the family Physi ...
'' (Say, 1821) * ''Physa hordacea'' (I. Lea, 1864): synonym of ''
Physella hordacea ''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 fami ...
'' (I. Lea, 1864) * ''Physa jennessi'' Dall, 1919: synonym of '' Beringophysa jennessi'' (Dall, 1919) * ''Physa lordi'' (Baird, 1863): synonym of ''
Physella lordi ''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 fami ...
'' (Baird, 1863) * ''Physa marmorata'' Guilding, 1828 – synonyms: ''Physa mosambiquensis'' Clessin, 1886 and ''Physa waterloti'':Appleton C. C. & Dana P. (2005). "Re-examination of ''Physa mosambiquensis'' Clessin, 1886 and its relationship with other Aplexinae (Pulmonata: Physidae) reported from Africa". ''
African Invertebrates ''African Invertebrates'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that covers the taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, ecology, conservation, and palaeontology of Afrotropical invertebrates, whether terrestrial, freshwater, or marine. A ...
'' 46: 71–83
abstract
synonym of '' Stenophysa marmorata'' (Guilding, 1828) * ''Physa natricina'' Taylor, 1988: synonym of '' Physella natricina'' (D. W. Taylor, 1988) * ''Physa nuttalli'' I. Lea, 1864: synonym of ''
Physella gyrina ''Physella gyrina'', common name the "tadpole physa", is a species of small, left-handed or sinistral, air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Physidae. Shell description Snails in the family Physi ...
'' (Say, 1821) * ''Physa propingua'' (Tryon, 1865): synonym of ''
Physella propinqua ''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 famil ...
'' (Tryon, 1865) * ''Physa sibirica'' Westerlund, 1876: synonym of '' Sibirenauta sibirica'' (Westerlund, 1876)


References

* Janus, Horst, 1965. ‘’The young specialist looks at land and freshwater molluscs’’, Burke, London


External links

* http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/list/species?taxongenus=301 * Dillon R. T., Wethington A. R. & Lydeard C. (2011). "The evolution of reproductive isolation in a simultaneous hermaphrodite, the freshwater snail ''Physa''". ''
BMC Evolutionary Biology ''BMC Ecology and Evolution'' (since January 2021), previously ''BMC Evolutionary Biology'' (2001–2020), is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all fields of evolutionary biology, including phylogenetics and palaeontology ...
'' 11: 144. . {{Authority control Physidae Gastropod genera