Elimia virginica
| Elimia virginica | |
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| Shell of Elimia virginica | |
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NE
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): |
clade Caenogastropoda clade Sorbeoconcha |
| Superfamily: | Cerithioidea |
| Family: | Pleuroceridae |
| Genus: | Elimia |
| Species: | E. virginica |
| Binomial name | |
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Elimia virginica (Say, 1817) |
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| Synonyms | |
clade Sorbeoconcha
Goniobasis virginica
Oxytrema virginica
Elimia virginica, common names the Piedmont elimia or Virginia river snail, is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae.
Elimia virginica belongs to the family Pleuroceridae, a group of snails that have thick, elongated shells. The operculum in this species is proteinaceous, corneous, and paucispiral and is withdrawn when the snail is active.
The shells are dextral and have a very high and narrow spire, with little space in the suture (the incisions between the whorls). This species has two distinct shell morphologies, one smooth and one lirate (i.e. finely lined or grooved).
Specimens of this species often vary in coloration: in general, Elimia virginica is yellow to chestnut in hue, but it sometimes has 2 darker brown spiral bands. Juveniles (snails with an aperture height of no more than 7 mm) display the banding more frequently than adults.
The shells of specimens of Elimia virginica from New York State and the Connecticut River range from 27 to 33 mm high, with an aperture height of 9–12 mm.
It is easy to distinguish the female of this species in whole animals, because of the presence of the external genital sinus.
In 2008. four nucleotide sequences and one protein sequence of Elimia virginica were determined.
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Wikipedia