Montezuma well springsnail
Encyclopedia
The Montezuma Well springsnail, scientific name Pyrgulopsis montezumensis, is a species
of very small freshwater
snail
that has an operculum
, an aquatic
gastropod mollusk in the family Hydrobiidae
.
This species is endemic to the United States
. Its natural habitat
is river
s.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of very small freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
that has an operculum
Operculum (gastropod)
The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...
, an aquatic
Aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...
gastropod mollusk in the family Hydrobiidae
Hydrobiidae
Hydrobiidae, common name mud snails, is a large cosmopolitan taxonomic family of very small freshwater snails and brackish water snails that have an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the clade Littorinimorpha.- Distribution :...
.
This species is endemic to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s.