''Gyrotoma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of extinct

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

s with an operculum, aquatic

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the family

Pleuroceridae Pleuroceridae, common name pleurocerids, is a family of small to medium-sized freshwater snails, aquatic gilled gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cerithioidea.These snails have an operculum and typically a robust high-spired shell. Reprodu ...

. This genus was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the USA. All of the species within this genus are presumed extinct. They were native to the main channel of the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, where the last suitable habitat was destroyed by the filling of the reservoir

Logan Martin Lake Logan Martin Lake is a reservoir located in east central Alabama on the Coosa River approximately east of Birmingham, Alabama. This reservoir was built in 1965 by Alabama Power Company. The lake, nicknamed Lake of a Thousand Coves by locals, has ...

in the mid-1960s.

Species

Species within the genus ''Gyrotoma'' include: * ''Gyrotoma excisa'' (I. Lea, 1843) - excised slitshell * ''Gyrotoma lewisii'' (I. Lea, 1869) - striate slitshell * ''Gyrotoma pagoda'' (I. Lea, 1845) - pagoda slitshell * ''Gyrotoma pumila'' (I. Lea, 1860) - ribbed slitshell * ''Gyrotoma pyramidata'' (Shuttleworth, 1845) - pyramid slitshell * ''Gyrotoma walkeri'' (H. H. Smith, 1924) - round slitshell

Species

References

Further reading