''Stenomelania denisoniensis'' is a very variable species of

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 ...

, an 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 in the family Thiaridae.Australian Faunal Directory: ''Stenomelania denisoniensis''
/ref> ''Stenomelania denisoniensis'' has a long, slender shell and small aperture. This species has a characteristic angled shoulder just below the suture. This shoulder may be strong in some individuals and weak in others even if they are part of the same population.

Biology and ecology

"On and in sediment, rocks and on water weeds in freshwater rivers, streams, lakes and dams. A detritus and algal feeder. ''Stenomelania denisoniensis'' broods larvae in a brood pouch in the head which may contain a dozen shelled juveniles and many unshelled juveniles in different embryonic stages."

Distribution

Distribution of ''Stenomelania denisoniensis'' is endemic to Australia and includes New South Wales and Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia Is found most commonly found in tropical and subtropical Australia (the northern half of the continent).

References

* Brot, A. 1877. ''Die Melaniaceen (Melanidae).'' pp. 193–352 in Küster, H.C., Martini, F.W. & Chemnitz, J.H. (eds). Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet. Nürnberg : Bauer & Raspe Bd 9 Tl 3. * Iredale, T. 1943. ''A basic list of the freshwater Mollusca of Australia.'' The Australian Zoologist 10(2): 188-230 * Smith, B.J. 1992. ''Non-Marine Mollusca''. In, Houston, W.W.K. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Non-marine Mollusca. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 8 xii 408 pp. * Glaubrecht, M., Brinkmann, N. & Pöppe, J. 2009. Diversity and disparity ‘down under’: Systematics, biogeography and reproductive modes of the ‘marsupial’ freshwater Thiaridae (Caenogastropoda, Cerithioidea) in Australia. Zoosystematics and Evolution 85(2): 199-275

External links

Thiaridae Gastropods of Australia Gastropods described in 1877 Freshwater molluscs of Oceania {{Thiaridae-stub