''Valvata sincera'', common name the mossy valvata is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small freshwater snail with 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, an aquatic gastropod

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 ...

in the family

Valvatidae ''Valvatidae'', the valve snails, is a taxonomic family of very small freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks. Taxonomy The family Valvatidae has no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouche ...

, the valve snails.

References

* Turgeon, D.D., et al. 1998. ''Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates of the United States and Canada''. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26

References

Further reading