Pseudosuccinea columella, the American ribbed fluke snail, is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails.

This snail is an intermediate host for Fasciola hepatica, the liver fluke, a parasite of livestock, especially sheep.

Distribution Indigenous Pseudosuccinea columella is native to North America."Pseudosuccinea columella (Say)". Last updated 19 September 2004, accessed 28 March 2011. and Europe. The indigenous distribution of Pseudosuccinea columella reaches from New Brunswick and south Manitoba throughout the eastern US to Central and South America.

The exact type locality for this species is unknown, but it is somewhere in the Philadelphia area, US.

Introduced This snail has been introduced to Australia and Europe.

The non-indigenous distribution of Pseudosuccinea columella includes: western US (distribution map in the US) Puerto Rico Venezuela Brazil: Rio Grande do SulAgudo-Padrón A. I. (14 May 2009). "Recent Terrestrial and Freshwater Molluscs of Rio Grande do Sul State, RS, Southern Brazil Region: A Comprehensive Synthesis and Check List". Visaya April 2009, pages 1–13. PDF . Argentina Australia South AfricaAppleton C. C., Forbes A. T. & Demetriades N. T. (2009). "The occurrence, bionomics and potential impacts of the invasive freshwater snail Tarebia granifera (Lamarck, 1822) (Gastropoda: Thiaridae) in South Africa". Zoologische Mededelingen 83. http://www.zoologischemededelingen.nl/83/nr03/a04 – since 1942 Zimbabwe Mudavanhu, A., Schols, R., Goossens, E. et al. One Health monitoring reveals invasive freshwater snail species, new records, and undescribed parasite diversity in Zimbabwe. Parasites Vectors 17, 234 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-024-06307-4Schols, R., Carolus, H., Hammoud, C. et al. Invasive snails, parasite spillback, and potential parasite spillover drive parasitic diseases of Hippopotamus amphibius in artificial lakes of Zimbabwe. BMC Biol 19, 160 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-021-01093-2 other countries in Africa Pacific islands

Europe: Switzerland (Basel) Austria (Villach) Hungary Greece (Nómos Florina) Menorca (a Spanish island) France – in the wild Portugal, Madeira Island – in the wildFerreira, P. 2014 PhD Thesis, Universidade Nova de Lisboa Czech Republic as a "hothouse alien" Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. [Annotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics]". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca Suppl. 1: 1–37. PDF. Latvia as a "hothouse alien"Stalazs A. (2002). "List of snail species in Latvia". Last modifications 21 August 2002, accessed 28 March 2011.

Description The shell quite closely resembles shells in the genus Succinea, which belongs to a different family.

The shell of Pseudosuccinea columella is horny brown, thin, translucent, fragile and very finely striated. The apex is pointed. The shell has 3.5–4 weakly convex whorls with a shallow suture. The last whorl predominates. The aperture is ovate. The upper palatal margin descends steeply. The columellar margin is reflected only at its upper section; the lower columellar margin sharp and straight.

The width of the shell is 8–13 mm. The height of the shell is 15–20 mm.

The animal is dusky with whitish spots. The eyes are small and black and are located at the inner base of the tentacles.

The haploid number of chromosomes is 18 (n=18).

Habitat In North America, Pseudosuccinea columella lives in stagnant waters, at the edges of lakes, ponds, muddy and sluggish streams, among lily pads and reeds on sticks and mud.

In Europe it occurs predominantly in greenhouses, but also sometimes in outdoor habitats (Austria, Hungary). It needs warm water and does not survive Central European winter temperatures. It is also found above the water on floating leaves of aquatic plants; in northern Greece it was found in a spring near a road.

Parasites Parasites of Pseudosuccinea columella include: In North America, Pseudosuccinea columella is major intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica.Torgerson P. & Claxton J. (1999). "Epidemiology and Control". In: Dalton J. P. (ed.) "Fasciolosis". CAB International, Wallingford, pp. 113–149.First report of larval stages of Fasciola hepatica in a wild population of Pseudosuccinea columella from Cuba and the Caribbean, Journal of Helminthology, 2011, 85 (1), p. 109–111 The species also serve as a snail host for Fascioloides magna.Krull W. H. (1933). "New snail hosts for Fasciola magna (Bassi, 1875) Stiles, 1894". J. Parasitol. 20: 107–108. Also serves as host for Fasciola gigantica & Fasciola nyanzae Also serves as a host for the cercariae of the trematode Telorchis sp.

References This article incorporates public domain text from the reference "Species summary for Pseudosuccinea columella". AnimalBase, last modified 25 March 2011, accessed 28 March 2011.

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