Pila ovata

Pila ovata
Shells of Pila ovata (specimens at Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Architaenioglossa
Family:	Ampullariidae
Genus:	Pila
Species:	P. ovata
Binomial name
Pila ovata (Olivier, 1804)
Synonyms [1]
Ampullaria bridouxiBourguignat, 1888 Ampullaria erythrostoma var. stuhlmanniE. von Martens, 1897 (junior synonym) Ampullaria exiguaR. A. Philippi, 1852 junior subjective synonym Ampullaria gordoni var. bukobaeE. von Martens, 1897 (junior synonym) Ampullaria gradataE. A. Smith, 1881 (junior synonym) Ampullaria kordofanaR. A. Philippi, 1852 junior subjective synonym Ampullaria letourneuxiBourguignat, 1879 Ampullaria lucidaR. A. Philippi, 1852 junior subjective synonym Ampullaria nyanzaeE. A. Smith, 1892 Ampullaria ovataOlivier, 1804 (original combination) Ampullaria ovata var. conglobataE. von Martens, 1874 Ampullaria ovata var. deckeniE. von Martens, 1897 (junior synonym) Ampullaria ovata var. eminiE. von Martens, 1897 (junior synonym) Lanistes ovatus(Olivier, 1804) Pila gradata(E. A. Smith, 1881)

Pila ovata is a species of gastropods belonging to the family Ampullariidae. ^{[1] [2]}

Subspecies

• Pila ovata gordoni(E. A. Smith, 1882)
• Pila ovata ovata(Olivier, 1804)

Description

The height of the shell attains 82 mm, its diameter 72 mm.

(Original description of Ampullaria gradata) The shell is globose and narrowly umbilicated, and it is rather thin and moderately glossy. It is sculptured with oblique, distinct lines of growth and minute spiral striae, which are invisible to the naked eye. The shell appears yellowish olive, adorned with several bands and lines of a greenish tint.

The shell comprises six whorls. These are depressed and flattened above, and convex at the sides. The spire is gradated, worn at the purplish-brown apex, and equals about one-fourth of the total length.

The aperture is pyriform, whitish within at the upper part, and light brown elsewhere, with the bands and lines displaying a vivid dark brown color. Those on the upper part stop short at a little distance from the margin of the lip, leaving a narrow space of a sulfur color. Those lower down extend almost to the edge, where they are particularly bright. The lip is thin, with scarcely any internal thickening.

The columella below the umbilicus is well curved, expanded, and yellowish, and it is connected with the upper extremity of the outer lip by a very thin callosity. ^[3]

Distribution

The species is found in Central Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) and in Egypt and Iraq. ^[2]

References

1. Pila ovata (Olivier, 1804) . 3 June 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
2. "Pila ovata (Olivier, 1804)". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
3. Smith, E.A. (1881). "On a collection of shells from Lakes Tanganyika and Nyassa and other localities in East Africa". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1881: 289. Retrieved 3 June 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Bacci, G. (1951). Elementi per una malacofauna dell'Abissinia e della Somalia. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria, 65: 1-145. Genova.

External links

• Olivier, G.A. Voyage dans l'Empire Othoman, l'Égypte et la Perse, fair par ordre du Gouvernement, pendant les six premières années de la République. Tome second, ii pp. + 466 pp. + Errata (1 pp.); Atlas, 2d livraison: vii pp., pl. 18-32. Paris: H. Agasse. p. 39. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
• Martens, E. von (1874). "Conchylien der libyschen Wüste". Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin. 1874: 64. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
• Martens, E. von (1897). Beschalte Weichthiere Deutsch-Ost-Afrikas. In: Möbius, K.: Deutsch-Ostafrika. 4: i-v + 1-308. Berlin: Beschalte Weichthiere Deutsch-Ost-Afrikas. In: Möbius, K.: Deutsch-Ostafrika. 4: i-v + 1-308. p. 156. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
• Bourguignat, J.-R. (1879). Description de diverses espèces terrestres et fluviatiles et de différents genres de Mollusques de l'Égypte, de l'Abyssinie, de Zanzibar, du Sénégal et du Centre de l'Afrique. Paris: Jules Tremblay. p. 29. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
• Philippi, R.A. (1851–1852). Die Gattung Ampullaria. In Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. In: Schuberth, G. H.; Wagner, J. A., Eds. Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Neu herausgegeben und vervollständigt. Ersten Bandes zwanzigste Abtheilung. 1-74, pls A, 1-21. Nürnberg: Bauer & Raspe. p. 46.
• Bourguignat, J.-R. (1888). Iconographie malacologique des animaux mollusques fluviatiles du lac Tanganika. 1-82, pls 1-35. Crète: Corbeil. p. 15.
• Smith, E.A. (1892). "Additions to the shell-fauna of the Victoria Nyanza or Lake Oukéréwé". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 6 (10 (59)): 382.
• Cowie, R.H. (2015). "The recent apple snails of Africa and Asia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Ampullariidae: Afropomus, Forbesopomus, Lanistes, Pila, Saulea): a nomenclatural and type catalogue. The apple snails of the Americas: addenda and corrigenda" . Zootaxa. 3940 (1): 45. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3940.1.1.