Pomacea columellaris

Pomacea columellaris is a South American species of freshwater snail in the apple snail family, Ampullariidae.^[2]

Pomacea columellaris
Shell of Pomacea columellaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Architaenioglossa
Family:	Ampullariidae
Genus:	Pomacea
Species:	P. columellaris
Binomial name
Pomacea columellaris (A. Gould, 1848)
Synonyms[1]
Ampullaria columellaris Gould, 1848 Ampullaria robusta Philippi, 1852 Pomacea (pomacea) columellaris (A. Gould, 1848)· accepted, alternate representation

Taxonomy

Pomacea columellaris was originally described as Ampullaria columellaris by Augustus Addison Gould in 1848, based on a holotype shell collected during the United States Exploring Expedition from 1838-1842.^[3] They were named for their notable columella, comparable to those of Helix land snails.^[4] In 1904, Dall proposed a section or subgenus of Ampullaria (later treated as synonymous with Pomacea) called Limnopomus,^[5] with A. columellaris as the type species.^[6] After 1991, Limnopomus was also considered synonymous with Pomacea.^[7][8]

Shell description

The species has a heavy, oval shell with a sharp spire.^[9] Its operculum is corneous and able to retract inside the shell's aperture.^[9][10] They lack an umbilicus^[4] and are often yellow in color.^[10]

Distribution

P. columellaris is found in rivers in the highlands of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador (Pastaza Province),^[11] and Peru.^[5]