Tulotoma magnifica, common name Alabama Live-bearing Snail or tulotoma, is a species of freshwater gastropod in the Viviparidae

Viviparidae

Viviparidae, sometimes known as the river snails or mystery snails, are a family of large operculate freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks....

 family. It is endemic to Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Description

The shell

Gastropod shell

The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...

 is large, solid, thick and imperforate. The shape of the shell is obtusely conic. The spire

Spire (mollusc)

A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...

 is elevated. Whorls

Whorl (mollusc)

A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...

 are flattened, nodulous and carinated. The peristome is thin and continuous.


The 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...

 is concentric, subtriangular, with the inner margin reflected forming an elevated marginal fold.

Animal with a moderate foot, not produced beyond the snout. The snout

Snout

The snout, or muzzle, is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw.-Terminology:The term "muzzle", used as a noun, can be ambiguous...

 is small. Radula

Radula

The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...

is multicuspid.

External links

• Tulotoma magnifica at U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service webpage
• Raines B. (25 July 2011). "A good news snail story: This Alabama snail's recovering from brink of extinction". blog.al.com