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Snails

Apple snail (Ampullariidae). Image: Stephen Moore

Apple snails (Ampullariidae)

The ampullariid snails are not native to New Zealand, but they have been introduced through the aquarium and aquatic plant trades. They h...

Mud snail [Potamopyrgus antipodarum]. Image: Stephen Moore

Mud snail (Potamopyrgus)

[Potamopyrgus] is a genus of native snails, the most common of which ([P. antipodarum]) is our most widespread freshwater snail. They are...

[Austropeplea]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Austropeplea)

[Austropeplea] is a genus of native lymnaeid snails. The lymnaeids lack an operculum (protective shield) that covers the aperture (shell ...

[Glyptophysa]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Glyptophysa)

[Glyptophysa] (formerly [Physastra]) is a native snail genus that appears to have become increasingly rare over recent decades. They are ...

[Gyraulus corinna]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Gyraulus)

[Gyraulus] is a genus of small snails with shells coiled in a flat spiral. The shells are usually pale or semi-transparrent, although lar...

[Halopyrgus]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Halopyrgus)

[Halopyrgus] (formerly [Potamopyrgus]) [pupoides] is a small brown snail related to the more common [Potamopyrgus]. The shell has an obvi...

[Leptopyrgus tainui]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Leptopyrgus)

[Leptopyrgus] is a tiny snail, only about 2mm long. The shell shape is similar to the related [Potamopyrgus], and there is an operculum (...

[Lymnaea]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Lymnaea)

A few species of [Lymnaea] snails have been introduced to New Zealand fresh waters, sometimes accidentally with aquatic plants and someti...

[Physa]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Physa)

[Physa] is a very common introduced snail. They are small, oval, thin-shelled, and they lack any rings of nodules or shouldering around t...

[Planorbarius]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Planorbarius)

[Planorbarius] is an introduced snail with a shell coiled in a “planispiral” way that produces no obvious spire or pointed end. The shell...

[Planorbella]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Planorbella)

[Planorbella] is an introduced snail with a thin and fragile shell that looks as though the spire (or pointed end) has been chopped off. ...

[Pseudosuccinea]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Pseudosuccinea)

[Pseudosuccinea] is one of the introduced lymnaeid snails now common in many parts of New Zealand. The lymnaeids lack an operculum (prote...

[Zemelanopsis]. Image: Stephen Moore

Snail (Zemelanopsis)

[Zemelanopsis] (formerly [Melanopsis]) is a native snail that is usually found in estuaries or in streams near the coast. They are bullet...

[Melanoides]. Image: Stephen Moore

Trumpet snail (Melanoides)

[Melanoides] is an introduced snail commonly kept in tropical aquaria, but it has also been found in geothermally heated streams in the c...