Classification
Columella simplex
(Gould, 1841)
Latin: columella=pillar, simplex=simple
High Spire Column Snail
Domain: Eukarya
Columella simplex is in the domain Eukarya
because it is made of eukaryotic cells which have
membrane bound organelles including mitochondria.
Their cells also divide by mitosis and have cycles
of reproduction and recombination.
Kingdom: Animalia
This organism is multicellular and heterotrophic,
which classifies it as an animal.
Phylum: Molluska
Columella simplex is a triploblastic
eucloelomate, meaning it has three tissue layers and
a true coelom derived from the mesoderm. It
has bilateral symmetry and its basic body plan
consists of a mantle, a visceral mass, and a
muscular foot. Mollusks have an excretory
system with nephridium where water flushes out the
waste.
Class: Gastropoda
This organism is a gastropod because it has an open
circulatory system, a single shell, and 180 degree
twisting of its visceral mass called torsion.
Order: Stylommatophora
This organism is in the order Stylommatophora
because it is a terrestrial pulmonate snail.
It has a lung to breathe air and no gills.
Family: Vertiginidae
Columella simplex is a whorl snail.
They have small shells that are oval to cylindrical.
The snails have two tentacles with eyes at the ends
of them (Nordsieck, 2010).
Genus: Columella
To be classified under Columella, the shell must
have up to 7 whorls, and its shape is mainly
cylindrical. The shells are up to 4 mm in
height and 2.3 mm in diameter (Schultes, 2006).
Species: Columella simplex
Its shell is yellow- to red- brown and mainly smooth
with slight striae (Hubricht, 1985). The shell
has a width between 1.8 and 2.1 mm. It has 5 ½
whorls and no teeth in its aperture (Dourson, 2006).
It is tapered with a conical apex, and the adult
form of the shell is taller than wide (Nekola &
Coles, 2010)