Moapa pebblesnail

Moapa pebblesnail
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Hydrobiidae
Genus:	Pyrgulopsis
Species:	P. avernalis
Binomial name
Pyrgulopsis avernalis (Pilsbry, 1935)
Synonyms
Fluminicola avernalis Pilsbry, 1935

The Moapa pebblesnail also known as the Muddy Valley turban snail, scientific name Pyrgulopsis avernalis, is a species of small freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Hydrobiidae.

The natural habitat of this species is springs, ^[2] and it is currently threatened by habitat loss. This species is endemic to the Moapa Valley, Nevada, United States ^[2] and the common name refers to the Moapa River in Nevada.

Description

Pyrgulopsis avernalis is a small snail that has a height of 2.4–4.3 millimetres (0.094–0.169 in) and ovate conical shell. Its differentiated from other Pyrgulopsis in that its penial filament has a small lobe and large filament with the penial ornament consisting of a small terminal gland, a gland along the outer edge of the penial lobe and a ventral gland. ^[2]

Genus transfer

When originally described in 1935, it was assigned to the genus Fluminicola. In 1994, it was transferred to the genus Pyrgulopsis. ^[2]

References

1. Cordeiro, J.; Perez, K. (2011). "Pyrgulopsis avernalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011 e.T40047A10311032. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T40047A10311032.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
2. Hershler, Robert (1994). A Review of the North American Freshwater Snail Genus Pyrgulopsis (Hydrobiidae) . Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.