Gyraulus albus, common name white ramshorn, is a small species of freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.
Gyraulus albus is the type species of the genus Gyraulus.
Distribution Palearctic: Belgium Czech Republic Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. [Annotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics]". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, Suppl. 1: 1-37. PDF. - least concern (LC) Germany Hungary Netherlands Gittenberger E., Janssen A. W., Kuijper W. J., Kuiper J. G. J., Meijer T., van der Velde G. & de Vries J. N. (2004). Nederlandse zoetwatermollusken. Nederlandse Fauna 2. KNNV uitgeverij . 288 pp., . 152-153 . Poland Slovakia Great Britain Ireland
Habitat This small snail lives in various types of freshwater habitats among weed and on bottom mud. It doesn't require a high level of calcium.
Description The shell of this species is rather small, reaching a height of 1.3 - 1.8 mm and a width of 4 – 7 mm. This shell has a discoid shape with 4 - 4½ body whorls that expand in the direction of the aperture. This aperture and the whorls are curved and do not have a keel.
The shell of this species is white (sometimes darkened by mud deposits) and has a characteristic spiral sculpture.
References
Further reading V. Pfleger & June Chatfield, A guide to the snails of Britain and Europe; Hamlyn Publishing Group, London, 1988;
External links Gyraulus albus at AnimalBase