Bithynia Tentaculata - Shell Description

Shell Description

The height of shell is usually no larger than 12–15 mm. The snail is sexually mature by the time the height of shell reaches 8 mm in size.

The width of the shell is 5–7 mm.

The faucet snail has a shiny pale brown shell, oval in shape, with a relatively large and rounded spire consisting of 5–6 somewhat flattened whorls, no umbilicus, and a very thick lip. The aperture is less than half the height of the shell.

Adult Bithynia tentaculata possess a white, calcareous, tear-drop to oval-shaped operculum with distinct concentric rings. The operculum of juveniles, however, is spirally marked. The operculum (on the back of the foot) is always situated very close to the aperture of the shell. The animal itself has pointed, long tentacles and a simple foot with the right cervical lobe acting as a channel for water.

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