''Lanistes'' 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 ...

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 which have a

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

and 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 Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=820447 on 2015-11-11

Distribution

The distribution of the genus ''Lanistes'' includes Africa and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

.Brown D. S. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance''.

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. .

Description

''Lanistes'' has a unique anatomy among the Ampullariidae: it has a "hyperstrophic" sinistral shell. This means that the body of the snail is dextral (as in all other ampullariids), but the shell appears to be sinistral. However the sinistral appearance stems from the fact that the rotation of the shell as it grows is in an upward direction rather than the usual downward direction."Shell"
The apple snail website, accessed 16 May 2011.

Species

Three subgenera have been recognized, based on shell differences: ''Lanistes'' sensu stricto, ''Meladomus'' and ''Leroya''. These subgenera are not used in recent works. Extant species within the genus ''Lanistes'' include: * ''

Lanistes alexandri ''Lanistes alexandri'' is a species of large freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk with a gill and an operculum in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. This species is endemic to Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially t ...

'' (Bourguignat, 1889) * ''

Lanistes ambiguus ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' Martens, 1866 * ''

Lanistes bernardianus ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' (Morelet, 1860) * ''

Lanistes beseneckeri ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' Schütt in Schütt & Besenecker, 1973 † * ''

Lanistes bicarinatus ''Lanistes bicarinatus'' is a species of large freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. It is endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique ...

'' Germain, 1907 * ''

Lanistes bloyeti ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' (Bourguignat, 1889) * ''

Lanistes boltenianus ''Lanistes boltenianus'' is a species of a freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk with a gill and an operculum in the family Ampullariidae Ampullariidae, commonly known as the apple snails, is a family of large freshwater sna ...

'' (Röding, 1798) - synonym: ''Lanistes carinatus'' (Olivier, 1804)Bouchet, P. (2016). ''Lanistes boltenianus'' (Röding, 1798). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=843296 on 2017-06-06 * ''

Lanistes chaperi ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' (Kobelt, 1912) * ''

Lanistes ciliatus ''Lanistes ciliatus'' is a species of large freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk with a gill and an operculum in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. It is endemic to Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Ngu ...

'' Martens, 1878"''Lanistes''"
The apple snail website, accessed 16 May 2011. * ''

Lanistes congicus ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' O. Boettger, 1891 * ''

Lanistes deguerryanus ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' (Bourguignat, 1889) * '' Lanistes ellipticus'' Martens, 1866 * '' Lanistes farleri'' Craven, 1880 * '' Lanistes fultoni'' (Kobelt, 1912) * '' Lanistes grasseti'' (Morelet, 1863) * '' Lanistes graueri'' Thiele, 1911 * '' Lanistes intortus'' Martens, 1877 * '' Lanistes jouberti'' (Bourguignat, 1888) * '' Lanistes letourneuxi'' (Bourguignat, 1879) * '' Lanistes libycus'' (Morelet, 1848) ** ''Lanistes libycus ''var.'' albersi'' ** ''Lanistes libycus'' form ''bernardianus'' or as ''

'' (Morelet, 1860) * '' Lanistes magnus'' Furtado, 1886 * '' Lanistes nasutus'' Mandahl-Barth, 1972 * ''

Lanistes neavei ''Lanistes neavei'' is a species of large freshwater snail, an aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusk with a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. It is found in the Democratic Republic o ...

'' Melvill & Standen, 1907 * '' Lanistes neritoides'' Brown & Berthold, 1990 * '' Lanistes nitidissimus'' (Bourguignat, 1889) * '' Lanistes nsendweensis'' (Dupuis & Putzeys, 1901) * '' Lanistes nyassanus'' Dohrn, 1865 * '' Lanistes ovatus'' (Olivier, 1804) * ''

Lanistes ovum ''Lanistes ovum'' is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum (gastropod), operculum, an African apple snail, an aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod Mollusc, mollusk in the family (biology), family Ampullariidae. The shell coiling in this ...

'' Peters in Troschel, 1845 - synonyms: ''Lanistes magnus'' Furtado; Lanistes olivaceus (Sowerby); ''Lanistes procerus''; ''Lanistes elatior'' Martens, 1866; ''Lanistes ovum bangweolicus'' Haas, 1936; ''Lanistes connollyi'' Pain, 1954 ''Lanistes ovum adansoni''; ''Lanistes olivaceus ''var.'' ambiguus'' * ''

Lanistes palustris ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' (Morelet, 1864) * '' Lanistes pfeifferi'' (Bourguignat, 1879) * '' Lanistes pilsbryi'' Walker, 1925 * ''

Lanistes pseudoceratodes ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum, aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Mo ...

'' (Wenz, 1928) * '' Lanistes purpureus'' (Jonas, 1839) * '' Lanistes solidus'' Smith, 1877 * '' Lanistes stuhlmanni'' Martens, 1897 * '' Lanistes varicus'' (Müller, 1774) - synonyms: ''Lanistes adansoni'' Kobelt, 1911; ''Lanistes millestriatus'' Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927 Fossil species within the genus ''Lanistes'' include: * † '' Lanistes asellus'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995 * † ''

Lanistes bishopi ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum, aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Mo ...

'' Gautier * † ''

Lanistes gautieri ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum, aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Mo ...

'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995 * † '' Lanistes gigas'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995 * † '' Lanistes hadotoi'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995van Damme D. & Pickford M. (1995). "The late Cenozoic ampullariidae (mollusca, gastropoda) of the Albertine Rift Valley (Uganda-Zaire)". ''

Hydrobiologia ''Hydrobiologia'', ''The International Journal of Aquatic Sciences'', is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing 21 issues per year, for a total of well over 4000 pages per year. ''Hydrobiologia'' publishes original research, reviews and opi ...

'' 316(1): 1-32. . * † '' Lanistes heynderycxi'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995 * † '' Lanistes nkondoensis'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995 * † '' Lanistes olukaensis'' * † '' Lanistes senuti'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995 * † ''

Lanistes trochiformis ''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (201 ...

'' van Damme & Pickford, 1995

References

External links

Animation showing how the "hyperstrophic" sinistral shell evolved from a shell with normal orientation
* Schultheiß R., Van Bocxlaer B., Wilke T. & Albrecht C. (2009). "Old fossils–young species: evolutionary history of an endemic gastropod assemblage in Lake Malawi". '' Proceedings of the Royal Society B'' 276(1668): 2837-2846. . {{Taxonbar, from=Q5220039 Ampullariidae Taxonomy articles created by Polbot