Planorbella is a genus of freshwater air-breathing snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails, or planorbids, which all have sinistral, or left-coiling, shells.

Planorbella
Planorbella trivolvis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Superorder: Hygrophila
Family: Planorbidae
Subfamily: Planorbinae
Tribe: Helisomatini
Genus: Planorbella
Haldeman, 1843[1]

Ecology

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Species in this genus are sometimes hosts for parasites, constituting a link in the pathway of infection for higher animals. For example, some species of Planorbella host rediae and cercariae stages of the parasite Ribeiroia, prior to ultimate infection of the Rough-skinned Newt.[2]

Planorbella are often algae grazers, and in some locations such as oligotrophic sloughs, they may be a dominant element of total ecosystem biomass and hence system integrity.[3]

Species

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Species within the genus Planorbella include:[4]

References

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  1. ^ Haldeman (1843). Mon. Fresh Water univ. Moll. U.S. (6): 14.
  2. ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Rough-skinned Newt ("Taricha granulosa"), GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg "Rough-Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa ) - - GlobalTwitcher.com". Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  3. ^ Curtis J. Richardson (2008) The Everglades Experiments: Lessons for Ecosystem Restoration
  4. ^ Vinarski, Maxim (2008). "Planorbella Haldeman, 1843". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 22 July 2024.