Classification

Domain-Eukarya
Members of the domain Eukarya have a true nucleus and membrane bound organelles.

Kingdom-Animalia
Organisms in this kingdom are all multicellular and depend on the consumption of other organisms for nutrients. These organisms are separated from plants because they lack cell walls, allowing most animals to be able to move.

Phylum-Mollusca
Molluscs are characterized as having head, foot, and visceral mass contained within the body. Within the phylum, many modifications have been made to the foot among the different species. Most also have a shell that is secreted by epidermal tissue, but some have greatly reduced, or lost completely, their shell.

Class-Gastropoda
The muscular foot in this class is used for movement along a substrate in nearly all species. All gastropods go through torsion (the rotation of the body so the anus is above the head), but some groups, such as slugs and nudibranchs, reverse the process before maturation.

Order-Stylommatophora
All of the gastropods in this order are air-breathing and have two pairs of tentacles that cannot be retracted with the anterior pair bearing the eyes at the tip. There are a few slugs in this group but the majority of these organisms secrete shells and live on land.

Family-Pupillidae
Family Pupillidae is made up of tiny, air-breathing land snails.

Genus-Vertigo
The latin root Vert means to turn and the term vertigo is associated with dizziness or a sensation of whirling. Thus, this genus has a characteristic shell shape involving 5-6 whorls with the last one being rounded.

Species-nylanderi
This snail is named after Olaf Nylander, who discovered it in the early 1900's.