Bayardella facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bayardella |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Clade: | Euthyneura |
| Superorder: | Hygrophila |
| Family: | Planorbidae |
| Subfamily: | Miratestinae |
| Genus: | Bayardella Burch, 1977 |
Bayardella is a group of small freshwater snails. They have cool, cylinder-shaped shells. These snails belong to a family called Planorbidae. You can only find them in Australia! Unlike some snails, Bayardella snails don't have a little "door" (called an operculum) to close their shell.
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What They Look Like
The opening of the Bayardella shell is called the aperture. It is usually very long, almost as long as the whole shell! Some shells even look a bit like tiny abalone shells.
Adult Bayardella snails usually have shells that are about 5 to 9 millimeters long. That's less than half an inch! Their shells often have strong spiral lines on the outside layer, which is called the periostracum.
They also have a deep hole in the center of their shell's base. This hole is called the umbilicus. The edge of the shell near the central axis (the columella) is slightly curved. Most Bayardella shells are "left-handed" or sinistral. This means if you hold the shell with the tip pointing up, the opening is on the left side.
Where They Live and How They Survive
Bayardella snails like to live in small streams and waterholes. You can often find them clinging to the underside of stones or pieces of wood, like fallen logs. One type, Bayardella johni, has also been seen in the lower freshwater parts of the Ross River in Townsville, Queensland.
Many of the places Bayardella live can dry up. But these snails are super survivors! They can go into a special sleep called aestivation. During aestivation, they attach themselves to the bottom of rocks or wood. This helps them stay safe and moist until the water returns.
Where You Can Find Them
Bayardella snails are found only in mainland Australia. They live in many different states, including Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales.
However, it's rare to find large groups of them. In the Northern Territory, you might only see a lot of them sometimes. In other places, they usually live in small groups that might disappear if their habitat dries up.
Types of Bayardella Snails
Currently, scientists know about two main types of Bayardella snails:
- Bayardella cosmeta (first described in 1943)
- Bayardella johni (first described in 1977)
The Bayardella johni snail is considered the "type species" for the group. This means it's the main example that helps define what a Bayardella snail is.
The Australian Museum also believes there might be at least one more type of Bayardella snail that hasn't been officially named yet!
