''Notopala'' 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 moderately large to large,

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

Viviparidae Viviparidae, sometimes known as the river snails or mystery snails, are a family of large operculate freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks. This family is classified in the informal group Architaenioglossa according to the taxonomy of ...

, the river snails or mystery snails.

Description

The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

dextral Sinistral and dextral, in some scientific fields, are the two types of chirality ("handedness") or relative direction. The terms are derived from the Latin words for "left" (''sinister'') and "right" (''dexter''). Other disciplines use different ...

and globose-conic.Hamilton-Bruce R. J., Smith B. J. & Gowlett-Holmes K. L. (2002). "Descriptions of a new genus and two new species of viviparid snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Viviparidae) from the Early Cretaceous (middle-late Albian) Griman Creek Formation of Lightning Ridge, northern New South Wales". ''

Records of the South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, ...

'' 35: 193–203
PDF
/ref> The shell has up to five

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is subovate. The operculum is

corneous Corneous is a biological and medical term meaning horny, in other words made out of a substance similar to that of horns and hooves in some mammals. The word is generally used to describe natural or pathological anatomical structures made out o ...

and

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center point ...

. Colour is usually yellow, olive green, brown, cream or white and sometimes may have darker spiral bands. Head-foot with long tentacles with eyes on short processes at their outer bases; often pigmented with multiple different colours.

Distribution

The genus of Notopala is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Notopala is found in all states and territories except

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. It occurs throughout

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, northern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and in the Murray-Darling Basin in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Habitat and ecology

Generally occurs on fine

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

and/or on and under rocks and logs. Members of Notopala are thought to be grazers of

periphyton Periphyton is a complex mixture of algae, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces in most aquatic ecosystems. The related term Aufwuchs (German "surface growth" or "overgrowth") refers to the col ...

and occur in slow moving or still waters. Some species are able to

aestivate Aestivation ( la, aestas (summer); also spelled estivation in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and a ...

in mud during dry periods.

Species

Species within the genus ''Notopala'' include: * † '' Notopala albascopularis'' (Etheridge, 1902) - synonym: ''Viviparus'' (?) ''albascopularis'' Etheridge, 1902Kear B. P., Hamilton-Bruce R. J., Smith B. J. & Gowlett-Holmes K. L. (2003). "Reassessment of Australia's oldest freshwater snail, ''Viviparus'' (?) ''albascopularis'' Etheridge, 1902 (Mollusca : Gastropoda : Viviparidae), from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian, Wallumbilla Formation) of White Cliffs, New South Wales". ''

Molluscan Research 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 est ...

'' 23(2): 149–158.
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- from

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

Wallumbilla Formation The Wallumbilla Formation is an Aptian geologic formation found in Australia. Plesiosaur and theropod remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from its strata. Description The formation is present in the Northern Territory, Que ...

, New South Wales * '' Notopala ampullaroides'' (Reeve, 1863) * ''Notopala essingtonensis'' (Frauenfeld, 1862) * '' Notopala hanleyi'' (Frauenfeld, 1864) * '' Notopala kingi (A. Adams & Angas, 1864)'' ** ''Notopala kingi'' ''kingi'' (A. Adams & Angas, 1864) ** '' Notopala kingi suprafasciata'' (Tryon, 1866) * '' Notopala sublineata'' Conrad, 1850 ** '' Notopala sublineata sublineata'' Conrad, 1850River Snail (''Notopala sublineata'')
accessed 26 September 2010 ** '' Notopala sublineata alisoni'' (Brazier, 1979) * † '' Notopala wanjacalda'' Cotton, 1935 - from

upper Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within ...

near Sunnyside, South Australia * '' Notopala waterhousii'' (Adams & Angus, 1864) * '' Notopala tricincta'' (E. A. Smith, 1882) Note: "Banded species of ''Notopala'' occur in several parts of northern

and

that are similar to ''N. essingtonensis, N. tricincta'' and ''N. kingi'' but are thought to be different species (W. Ponder, unpublished studies). These should be identified simply as ''Notopala'' sp." The type species of the genus ''Notopala'' is ''

Paludina ''Viviparus'', common name the river snails, is a genus of large, freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks.Bouchet, P. (2014). Viviparus Montfort, 1810. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.ma ...

hanleyi'' Frauenfeld, 1862, by original designation

References

External links

*https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Notopala * http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/freshwater_molluscs/Freshwater_Oct18/Media/Html/notopala.htm {{Taxonbar, from=Q7063226 __FORCETOC__ Viviparidae Gastropods of Australia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot