{ { Speciesbox
| image = Viviparus georgianus 02.jpg
| image_caption = A shell of Viviparus georgianus. | status = | taxon = Viviparus georgianus | authority = (I. Lea, 1834)<ref name="Lea 1834">Lea I. (1834). Observations on the genus Unio, together with descriptions of new genera and species. Philadelphia, Printed by J. Kay, jun., & co. [etc.], page 228.</ref> | synonyms =Paludina georgiana}}Viviparus georgianus, common name the banded mystery snail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae, the river snails.
This snail is native to the southeastern United States. The specific epithet georgianus is a reference to the southern State of Georgia, where the type locality is situated.
Original description Viviparus georgianus was originally discovered and described (under the name Paludina georgiana) by Isaac Lea in 1834.
Lea's original text (the type description) reads as follows:
Shell description
Ecology
Habitat
This snail is found in lakes and slow-moving rivers with mud bottoms. The species thrives in eutrophic lentic environments such as lakes, ponds and some low-flow streams. It is usually absent from larger, faster flowing rivers; however, it is able to survive conditions of high water velocity in the St. Lawrence River, and in the United States it may even be better adapted than the introduced species Bithynia tentaculata to such habitats.
Individuals are generally found in a range of habitats, including: regions with silt and mud substrate; communities dominated by diatoms and filamentous algae (not blue-green algae); shallow waters with sand or gravel substrate; soft and hard water; water with pH between 6.3 and 8.5; freshwater habitats only; river reaches more than meanders.Duch T. M. (1976). "Aspects of the feeding habits of Viviparus georgianus". The Nautilus 90(1): 7-10.Pace, G. L. and E. J. Szuch. 1985. An exceptional stream population of the banded apple snail Viviparus georgianus in Michigan, USA. Nautilus 99(2-3):48-53. Viviparus georgianus breeds and lives in shallow waters, often amongst macrophytes, in spring to fall, then moves out to deeper areas in the fall in order to overwinter away from shore. In more open waters, fall migration begins earlier than in smaller lakes and ponds. Most growth generally occurs when waters become warmer in spring and summer, although reduced growth continues in winter.
Life cycle
It is dioecious (it has two distinct sexes), iteroparous (reproducing more than once in a lifetime) and ovoviviparous, laying eggs singly in albumen-filled capsules. Females generally brood eggs for 9–10 months. Fecundity is generally between 4 and 81 young per female, but on average is closer to 11 young/female.Vail. V. A. 1978. Seasonal reproductive patterns in 3 viviparid gastropods. Malacologia 17(1):7-98. Females can brood more than one batch of young at a time, and the number of young in one brood is positively related to the size of the female. Reproductive females are usually larger than 16 mm. Female banded mystery snails live 28–48 and males live 18–36 months.
Feeding habits Viviparus georgianus is known to be a facultative or even obligate filter-feeding detritivore. Because of this, it can be used as a bioindicator of sediment contamination by oil and fertilizer, because its growth, survival and histology are significantly affected by the ingestion of contaminated sediments.
This species grazes on diatom clusters found on silt and mud substrates, but it may also require the ingestion of some grit, in order to be able to break down algae.
The banded mystery snail often lives at high densities, sometimes up to around 864/m2.
Parasites
This snail is host to many parasites in its native habitat, including cercaria, metacercaria, ciliated protozoans, annelids, and chironomid larvae.
Distribution
Indigenous distribution
The banded mystery snail is native to North America, generally found from the northeastern United States to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico primarily in south central Florida, Georgia, Alabama and north, mainly in the Mississippi River system, to Illinois and northwestern Indiana. Massachusetts, Indiana and Connecticut are probably some of the states marking the northern limit of this species' native range.Mills, E. L., J. H. Leach, J. T. Carlton and C. L. Secor. 1993. Exotic species in the Great Lakes: a history of biotic crises and anthropogenic introductions. Journal of Great Lakes Research 19(1):1-54.