Kingdom Animalia Superfamily Cerithioidea Genus Pleurocera Higher classification Pleurocera | Phylum Mollusca Family Pleuroceridae Scientific name Pleurocera acuta Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Pleurocera, Gastropods, Pleuroceridae, Molluscs, Elimia livescens | ||
Pleurocera acuta, common name the sharp hornsnail, is a species of small freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae, the hornsnails.
Contents
Shell description
The shell can have up to 14 whorls. The shell of this species can be as long as 37 mm.
Distribution
Pleurocera acuta is native to the United States. It occurs in the Ohio River and Great Lakes drainages; the Mississippi River west to Kansas and Nebraska.
This species is listed as threatened in some Midwestern states.
The nonindigenous distribution of Pleurocera acuta includes the Lower Hudson River drainage and Oneida Lake in New York State. It was introduced there, probably via the Erie Canal.
Ecology
This species is found in freshwater rivers and streams where it burrows in sand and mud. Eggs are laid in the spring.