Understanding of Planorbid taxonomy is rudimentary, based on internal anatomy and shell morphology. Planorbids tend to occur in bodies of water with a firm mud bottom, with high levels of decaying organic matter. Most species seem to prefer lakes or ponds. With the exception of Helisoma anceps which occurs more often in river pools, they prefer minimal current. They have been shown to eat bacterial films and algae. Several genera are significant both medically and economically as intermediate hosts for schistosomatid trematode worms

Gastropod anatomy - Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society
Profile - University of Michigan Animal diversity web

Helisoma spp.

Aperture with a thick lip, shell spire with a deep conical depression;

H. anceps - Spire appears deeply indented when viewed from either aspect 9mm

H. trivolvis (aka Planorbella trivolvis) - Spire appears flattened when viewed from one aspect 14mm

Gyraulus spp.

<9mm, aperture with a thin lip, periphery rounded

G deflectus - 4.5 adult body whorls - may have shell sculptures (only Gyraulus sp. with such) 2.9mm

G. parvus - 3.5 adult body whorls - brownish shell, translucent, not planispiral

G. circumstriatus - shell whitish or yellowish, semi-transparent, nearly planispiral (appearing almost the same from both sides)

Promenetus exacuous

<9mm, aperture with a thin lip, periphery acutely angled

Planorbula armigera

discoid, aperature with lamellae or teeth

Species List

** Reported locations based on a limited literature search. Codes indicate presence reported but absence of a code should not be interpreted as a species absence.

S (Lake Superior) based on:

• Vertical distribution of profundal benthos in Lake Superior Sediments. 1982. Ann S. Heuschele. JGLR 8(4)603-613.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Benthic Community Structure and Composition among rocky habitats in the Great Lakes and Keuka Lake, NY. 1987. Michael H. Winnell and David J. Jude. JGLR 13(1)3-17.
• Lake Superior: an invasion coldspot? 2003. Igor A. Grigorovich, Alexei V. Korniushin, Derek K. Gray, Ian C. Duggan, Robert I.Colautti& Hugh J. MacIsaac. Hydrobiologia 499: 191–210.

M (Lake Michigan) based on combination of:

• Trophic Status of Southeastern Lake Michigan Based on the Chironimidae (Diptera). 1985. Michael H. Winnell and D.S. White. JGLR 11(4)540-548.
• The Nearshore Benthic Invertebrate Community of Southern Lake Michigan and its Response to Beach Nourishment. 2004. Eric L. Garza and Richard L. Whitman. J. Great Lakes Res. 30(1):114–122.
• Abundance and biomass of the meiobenthos in nearshore Lake Michigan with comparisons to the macrobenthos. 1983. JGLR 9(4)530-547.

H (Lake Huron) based on:

• Abundance, Biomass, and Species Composition of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Populations in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, 1987-96. Thomas Nalepa, David Fanslow, Margaret Lansing, Gregory Lang, Mark Ford, Gerald Gostenik, and David Hartson. NOAA Technical Memorandum GLERL-122.
• Relationships among zoobenthos, sediments, and organic matter in littoral zones of western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. 1983. Richard A. Cole and Diana L. Weigmann. JGLR 9(4)568-581.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Benthic Community Structure and Composition among rocky habitats in the Great Lakes and Keuka Lake, NY. 1987. Michael H. Winnell and David J. Jude. JGLR 13(1)3-17.
• NOAA Great Lakes Nonindigenous Species List

E (Lake Erie) based on:

• Relationships among zoobenthos, sediments, and organic matter in littoral zones of western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. 1983. Richard A. Cole and Diana L. Weigmann. JGLR 9(4)568-581.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Distribution of some common benthic invertebrates in nearshore Lake Erie, with emphasis on depth and type of substratus. 1988. David R. Barton. JGLR 14(1)34-43.
• Benthic and pelagic secondary production in Lake Erie after the invasion of Dreissena spp. with implications for fish production. 2000. Ora E. Johannsson, Ron Dermott, Donna M Graham, Julie A. Dahl, E. Scott Millard, Debra D. Myles, and Jennifer LeBlanc. JGLR 26(1)31-54.
• Changes in the benthic macroinvertebrate community of the Cleveland Harbor area of Lake Erie from 1978 to 1989. 1993. Kenneth A. Krieger and Lloyd S. Ross. JGLR 19(2) 237-249.
• Lethal and sublethal effects of sponge overgrowth on introduced dreissenid mussels in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River system. 1995. A Ricciardi, FL Snyder, DO Kelch and HM Reiswig. CJFAS 52:2695-2703.
• Changes to the deepwater benthos of eastern Lake Erie since the invasion of Dreissena 1979-1993. 1997. R Dermott and D Kerec. CJFAS 54: 922-930.
• NOAA Great Lakes Nonindigenous Species List

O (Lake Ontario) based on:

• Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Factors influencing changes in the nearshore benthic community on the Canadian site of Lake Ontario. 2000. Bruce W. Kilgour, Robert C. Bailey, and E Todd Howell. JGLR 26(3)272-286.
• Benthic macroinvertebrate communities of southwestern Lake Ontario following invasion of Dreissena. 1994. Timothy W. Stewart and James M. Haynes. JGLR 20(2)479-493.
• Benthic macroinvertebrate communities in southwestern Lake Ontario following invasion of Dreissena: Continuing change. 1999. James M. Haynes, Timothy W. Stewart, and George E. Cook. JGLR 25(4)828-838.
• NOAA Great Lakes Nonindigenous Species List
• Changes to the deepwater benthos of eastern Lake Erie since the invasion of Dreissena 1979-1993. 1997. R Dermott and D Kerec. CJFAS 54: 922-930.

X (Great Lakes coastal wetlands) based on:

• The ecology of invertebrates in Great Lakes coastal wetlands: current knowledge and research needs. 1992. Kenneth A. Krieger. JGLR 18(4)634-650.
• Burton, T.M., D.G. Uzarski and J.A. Genet. 2004.  Invertebrate habitat use in relation to fetch and plant zonation in northern Lake Huron coastal wetlands.  Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management. 7(2): 249-267

W (wave zone = 0-2m) based on: Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.

R (rocky habitats) based on: Benthic Community Structure and Composition among rocky habitats in the Great Lakes and Keuka Lake, NY. 1987. Michael H. Winnell and David J. Jude. JGLR 13(1)3-17.

N (nearshore) based on:

• The Nearshore Benthic Invertebrate Community of Southern Lake Michigan and its Response to Beach Nourishment. 2004. Eric L. Garza and Richard L. Whitman. J. Great Lakes Res. 30(1):114–122.
• Distribution of some common benthic invertebrates in nearshore Lake Erie, with emphasis on depth and type of substratus. 1988. David R. Barton. JGLR 14(1)34-43.
• Factors influencing changes in the nearshore benthic community on the Canadian site of Lake Ontario. 2000. Bruce W. Kilgour, Robert C. Bailey, and E Todd Howell. JGLR 26(3)272-286.

1 = 14-30m based on:

• Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.
• Factors influencing changes in the nearshore benthic community on the Canadian site of Lake Ontario. 2000. Bruce W. Kilgour, Robert C. Bailey, and E Todd Howell. JGLR 26(3)272-286.

2 = 31-50m based on:Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.