Physical Description
"Does this shell make me look fat?"
When compared to Gastrocopta pentodon, a similar species, G. tappaniana was found to have a wider shell, wider whorl width, and a taller body whorl (Pearce, 2007).
The shell can be described as broadly conical, with the height less than 1.5 times the width. The lower palatal lamella, or the tooth along the outer lip of the aperture, does not protrude deeply into the aperture (Nekola, 2007).
Gastrocopta tappaniana, with an ovate-conic shell shape, consists of four or five whorls and usually has a clear, whitish, or gray colored corneous (Burch, 1962).
This species is only 1.6-2 mm in length with a diameter of 1.1-1.2 mm but is noted to be larger than the similar species, Gastrocopta pentodon (Burch, 1962).
G. tappaniana has only one tooth on the parietal wall and usually six teeth on the columellar, basal and outer margins (Pilsbry, 1948). Also, adults have a reflected lip and well-developed apertural teeth where as juveniles in this species do not (Pearce, 2007).
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