Hi Everyone

Does anyone know how to distinguish between Planorbella sp. and
Planorbarius sp.? I have been sent some young freshwater pulmonate
gastropods of the family Planorbidae. They have been selectively bred for
different colour forms (red/spotted shells) to make attractive pets. The
thing is, the person who orginally bred them cannot be sure if they are
Planorbarius corneus, or Planorbella duryi. I can't tell from looking at
pictures of ramshorns in the books. I want to put them in outdoor ponds,
but P. duryi is not native here and I don't want to introduce an alien
species into the wild (plus our climate's a bit chilly for it).

If anyone's interested I've posted pics of the two colour forms here:

http://www.waysideaquatics.co.uk/ramshorns%20001.jpg

http://www.waysideaquatics.co.uk/ramshorns%20002.jpg

Many thanks,
Anna Robinson
England

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------