Hebetancylus excentricus

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Hebetancylus excentricus, the excentric ancylid, is a small freshwater snail that breathes air. It belongs to the family Planorbidae (ram’s horn snails and their relatives) and has a conservation status of Secure (NatureServe).

Classification at-a-glance:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Mollusca
- Class: Gastropoda
- Superorder: Hygrophila
- Family: Planorbidae
- Genus: Hebetancylus
- Species: H. excentricus

Description:
- A tiny, aquatic snail with a limpet-like appearance.

Distribution:
- Widely found across North and Central America and the Caribbean.
- In North America, its main range runs from Florida to Texas, with scattered populations in ponds and backwaters along the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain up to North Carolina.
- Likely dispersed in part by migratory waterfowl.

Habitat:
- Common on rocks in fast-flowing streams.
- Also found on rocks and submerged vegetation in lakes and backwaters, and on submerged sticks, logs, and debris.

Life cycle:
- In some populations (notably in Louisiana and Texas), one, two, or three generations per year have been observed, but more generations do not necessarily increase overall population growth.