Pleurocera acuta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pleurocera acuta
Apertural view of a shell of Pleurocera acuta
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Sorbeoconcha
Superfamily:	Cerithioidea
Family:	Pleuroceridae
Genus:	Pleurocera
Species:	P. acuta
Binomial name
Pleurocera acuta Rafinesque, 1831

The sharp hornsnail, officially known as Pleurocera acuta, is a small freshwater snail. It's a type of mollusk that lives in water. Like many snails, it has a gill to breathe underwater. It also has a special "door" called an operculum that can close its shell opening. This snail belongs to a family called Pleuroceridae, also known as hornsnails.

What Does It Look Like?

The sharp hornsnail has a cool shell! It can have as many as 14 whorls. These are the spiral turns that make up the snail's shell. The shell of this snail can grow to be about 37 millimeters long. That's about the length of a small paperclip!

Where Do They Live?

Pleurocera acuta is originally from the United States. You can find it in rivers and streams that flow into the Ohio River and the Great Lakes. It also lives in the Mississippi River basin, stretching west into states like Kansas and Nebraska.

In some parts of the Midwestern United States, this snail is considered "threatened." This means its numbers are getting low, and people are working to protect it.

Sometimes, these snails can spread to new places. For example, Pleurocera acuta has been found in the Lower Hudson River area and Oneida Lake in New York State. Scientists believe they probably got there through the Erie Canal, which connects different waterways.

Life in the Water

Sharp hornsnails love to live in freshwater rivers and streams. They often burrow into the sand and mud at the bottom of these waterways. This helps them stay safe and find food.

When it's springtime, these snails lay their eggs. This is how new baby snails are born and the population grows.