Planorbid Snails

  • 44 species in North America
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Gastropoda
Order:Pulmonata (Subclass)
Family:Planorbidae

Identification Tips:

• Shell is coiled flat, not spiraled
• No operculum
• Body often reddish, and visible through thin shell
• 3-30 mm diameter

Life History:

• Most found on soft, silty bottom, but also on protruding objects
• Have hemoglobin in blood and can tolerate low oxygen conditions

POLLUTION TOLERANCE
Very SensitiveSomewhat SensitiveFacultativeSomewhat TolerantVery Tolerant
  MostSome 

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Primary Information Source:
Voshell, J. Reese. 2002. A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America. McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company. Blacksburg, Virginia.