Land Snails

Photo: The shell of Pomatiopsis cincinnatiensis is stouter than its sister species P. lapidaria. Image © Dan Dourson.

Click photo to enlarge.

Pomatiopsis cincinnatiensis (I. Lea, 1840)

Family: Pomatiopsidae
Common name: Brown Walker

Identification
Height: ~4.5 mm
Width: ~3.5 mm
Whorls: ~6

This snail and its sister species are amphibious, with gills for breathing and an operculum. The brown shell of Pomatiopsis cincinnatiensis is shaped like a broad cone. It has rounded whorls with impressed sutures, and fine radial growth lines upon the surface. The apex is acute, and the aperture oval and simple (Jokinen, 1992). The shell is shorter and wider than that of P. lapidaria.

Ecology
Pomatiopsis cincinnatiensis is found on muddy stream banks, floodplains, and nearby slopes of medium and large rivers. In Virginia and Tennessee these animals are most frequent in a zone a meter or two above regular water levels (Dillon et al, 2006). They appear to have a simple annual life cycle.

Taxonomy
There are no synonyms.

Distribution
Pomatiopsis cincinnatiensis is found in the upper Mississippi River watershed, from Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois, to Tennessee and western Virginia.

Conservation
NatureServe Global Rank: G5
NatureServe State Rank: S2

 

Ken Hotopp 2/2013

Range Map (click to enlarge)