Description: A moderately large pond snail with a large, oval, body whorl, up to 4/5ths the shell height and with a small spire. Aperture semi-oval, lip not reflected. Rather variable in form, the more extreme soft-water forms possessing bubble shells and sunken spires reminiscent of Myxas glutinosa though without the expanded mantle. Widespread and abundant. 15-28 mm.

World Distribution: The range of this species includes all of Europe to western Siberia, and into north Africa, Asia Minor and Afghanistan. Distribution type: broadly Eurosiberian Wide Temperate (64).

Irish Distribution: Probably the most widespread and common freshwater mollusc, particularly in eutrophic still-water environments.

Ecology:

• Ubiquitous in still and slowly flowing permanent waters, including lakes, lowland rivers, ditches, quarry flushes and fen pools
• Found in a great variety of trophic conditions from oligotrophic to hypertrophic
• Tolerates slight salinity in the upper reaches of saltmarshes

Key Identification Features:

• A fairly globose shell with body whorl 4/5ths the shell height
• Spire short (sunken) in soft water lakeland forms, but short turreted in harder or moving waters
• Aperture large but not ear-shaped and with a simple, non-reflected lip
• Spire without a deflection so pointing to the rear when the animal is crawling

Taxonomy:

• The complex synonymy of this species, formerly known as Lymnaea peregra (O.F. Müller) is discussed by Anderson (2005).

Red list status:

• Least concern (lc).

Distribution Map from NBN: Ampullaceana balthica at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Ampullaceana balthica at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Ampullaceana balthica | Classification: Gastropoda, incertae sedis, Lymnaeidae, Ampullaceana

Thumbnails for genus Ampullaceana