Leptoxis carinata

Leptoxis carinata, common name the crested mudalia, is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Pleuroceridae.

Crested Mudalia
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Family:	Pleuroceridae
Genus:	Leptoxis
Species:	L. carinata
Binomial name
Leptoxis carinata (Bruguière, 1792)
Synonyms[3]
Anculosa carinata Leptoxis nickliniana Melania nickliniana Mudalia carinata Nitocris carinata Spirodon carinata

Shell description

Leptoxis carinata has a strong globose shell, with highly variable sculpture. In various creeks and rivers throughout its range, populations may be found with spiral cords, a single carina or keel, variously developed, or lacking sculpture.

Distribution

This species occurs in unpolluted large creeks and high-gradient rivers in the Atlantic drainages of the United States, from New York to North Carolina.^[4][2]

Ecology

Habitat

Leptoxis carinata is found in high-gradient streams, generally in the faster flowing riffles and drops, where it clings firmly to large stones and bedrock exposures.

Life cycle

Leptoxis carinata is semelparous biennial.^[5]

This species, unlike softer shelled physid snails, grows very slowly, and has the lowest intrinsic rate of increase (this means that populations grow very slowly), along with Elimia virginica, in this environment.^[6]