Classification

Scientific Name: Vertigo gouldii

Common Name: Variable Vertigo

      The genus name comes from Latin; a whirling round, from vertere, to turn (Collins English Dictionary)

      The species name is in honor of Augustus Addison Gould (1805-1866), malacologist and Boston physician. (Royal British Columbia Museum)

Domain Eukarya

Kingdom Anamalia*

      Found in the Kingdom Animalia because they are eukaryotic, multicellular organisms, heterotrophic, and motile. (Wikipedia, 2011)

Phylum Mollusca*

      Found in the Phylum Mollusca because they have bilateral symmetry, a body without a cavity but more than two cell layers, tissues and organs and a body that is highly variable in form. (Ramel) They have a complete digestive system, may possess a shell or spicules and an open circulatory system. (Ramel) They also contain a pair of kidneys and other organs for gas exchange. (Ramel) They usually reproduce sexually, feed on a variety of materials, and live in moist environments. (Ramel)

Class Gastropoda*

      Vertigo gouldii is found in the Class Gastropoda because of its distribution and diversification of habitats. (Wikipedia Gastropoda, 2011) They are also distinguished by torsion, a well-defined head with sensory tentacles, and a ventral foot.(Wikipedia Gastropoda, 2011) Most will have a coiled shell and have an open circulatory system. (Wikipedia Gastropoda, 2011)

Order Pulmonata*

      Variable Vertigo is found in the Order Pulmonata because they have the ability to breathe air with a pallial lung instead of gills and are hermaphroditic. (Wikipedia Pulmonata, 2011)

Family Vertiginidae*

      They are found in the Family Vertiginidae they lack a pair of tentacles, in other words, they only have one longer upper pair. (Örstan, 2005)

Genus Vertigo*

Found in the Genus Vertigo because it contains minute, air-breathing land snails. (Wikipedia Vertigo (gastropod), 2011)

Species: Vertigo gouldii*

      Species named by Amos Binney in 1843 after Augustus A. Gould, an early American malacologist. (Örstan, 2005) It is distinguished by a shell covered in fine striae that separates it from other closely related species. (Örstan, 2005)

*Click here for Reference