Pomacea columellaris | |
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Shell of Pomacea columellaris | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
Order: | Architaenioglossa |
Family: | Ampullariidae |
Genus: | Pomacea |
Species: | P. columellaris
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Binomial name | |
Pomacea columellaris (A. Gould, 1848)
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Pomacea columellaris is a South American species of freshwater snail in the apple snail family, Ampullariidae.[2]
Pomacea columellaris was originally described as Ampullaria columellaris by Augustus Addison Gould in 1848, based on a holotype shell collected during the United States Exploring Expedition from 1838-1842.[3] They were named for their notable columella, comparable to those of Helix land snails.[4] In 1904, Dall proposed a section or subgenus of Ampullaria (later treated as synonymous with Pomacea) called Limnopomus,[5] with A. columellaris as the type species.[6] After 1991, Limnopomus was also considered synonymous with Pomacea.[7][8]
The species has a heavy, oval shell with a sharp spire.[9] Its operculum is corneous and able to retract inside the shell's aperture.[9][10] They lack an umbilicus[4] and are often yellow in color.[10]
P. columellaris is found in rivers in the highlands of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador (Pastaza Province),[11] and Peru.[5]