Pila is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of large freshwater snail

Freshwater snail

A freshwater snail is one kind of freshwater mollusc, the other kind being freshwater clams and mussels, i.e. freshwater bivalves. Specifically a freshwater snail is a gastropod that lives in a watery non-marine habitat. The majority of freshwater gastropods have a shell, with very few exceptions....

s with an operculum

Operculum (gastropod)

The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n apple snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae

Ampullariidae

Ampullariidae, common name the apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum...

.

Distribution

Distribution of the genus Pila include Africa, Madagascar, southern Asia and Indo-Pacific islands.

Species

Species within the genus Pila include:

subgenus Pila

• Pila africana (v. Martens, 1886)
• Pila ampullacea
  Pila ampullacea
  Pila ampullacea, is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the applesnails.- Further reading :* http://www.applesnail.net/content/species/pila_ampullacea.htm...
  
   (Linnaeus, 1758) - type species
• Pila brohardi (Granger, 1892)
• Pila cecillei (Philipi, 1848)
• Pila conica (Gray, 1828)
• Pila globusa (Swainson, 1828)
• Pila occidentalis
  Pila occidentalis
  Pila occidentalis is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the applesnails. This species is found in Angola, Namibia, and Zambia....
  
   (Mousson, 1887)
• Pila ovata (Oliver, 1804)
• Pila pesmei (Morelet, 1889)
• Pila polita (Deshayes, 1830)
• Pila saxea (Reeve, 1856)
• Pila scutata (Housson, 1848)
• Pila speciosa
  Pila speciosa
  Pila speciosa is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the applesnails. This species is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia....
  
   Philippi, 1849
• Pila virens (Lamarck)
• Pila wernei (Philipi, 1851)

subgenus Turbinicola Annandale & Prashad, 1921

• Pila aperta (Prashad, 1925)
• Pila (Turbinicola) saxea (Annandale & Prashad, 1921)

Human use

The shell of Pila sp. is used in traditional ethnomedicine

Ethnomedicine

Ethnomedicine is a sub-field of ethnobotany or medical anthropology that deals with the study of traditional medicines: not only those that have relevant written sources Ethnomedicine is a sub-field of ethnobotany or medical anthropology that deals with the study of traditional medicines: not only...

 for weakness by Saharia

Saharia

Saharia, Sahar, Sehariya, or Sahariya is an indigenous tribe in the Madhya Pradesh province of India. The Saharias are mainly found in the districts of Morena,sheopur, Bhind, Gwalior, Datia, Shivpuri, Vidisha and Guna districts of Madhya Pradesh and Baran district of Rajasthan.-Etymology:The...

 people in Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, India.