Tulotoma magnifica, common name the Alabama live-bearing snail or tulotoma, is an endangered species of large freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae.
Taxonomy Tulotoma is a monotypic genus, in other words, this is the only species in the genus.
Distribution This species is endemic to the Coosa River-Alabama River system in Alabama, United States.
Description The shell of this species is large, solid, thick and imperforate. The shape of the shell is obtusely conic. The spire is elevated. The whorls are flattened, nodulous and carinated. The peristome is thin and continuous.Walker B. (1918). "A synopsis of the classification of the freshwater Mollusca of North America, north of Mexico, and a catalogue of the more recently described species, with notes". Miscellaneous Publications 6: 214 pp., 1 plate, 233 figures. page 26. The shell can grow fairly large, to more than in height. The operculum is concentric, subtriangular, with the inner margin reflected and forming an elevated marginal fold.
It is a species with a moderate foot, not produced beyond the snout. The snout is small. The radula is multicuspid.
References
External links Tulotoma magnifica at U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service webpage Raines B. (25 July 2011). "A good news snail story: This Alabama snail's recovering from brink of extinction". blog.al.com Paper on the rediscovery of this species