61. Gyraulus laevis (Alder, 1838)

Findings in Serbia.

Gyraulus laevis: Jaeckel et al. (1958); Frank et al. (1990); Arambašić (1994); Paunović et al. (2012 a); Marković et al. (2013); Novaković (2015 pers. comm.).

Gyraulus (Torquis) laevis: Karaman (2001).

Common name. Shiny ramshorn, smooth ramshorn.

Morphology. Small-sized snail (up to 5 mm diameter). Shell is flat and shiny, irregularly striated without spiral liner or keel. For more details see Welter-Schultes (2012: 63, figure in the middle of the page).

Distribution and ecology. Holarctic species up to 1500 m.a.s.l. (in Serbia up to 120 m. a.s.l.) Inhabits standing and slow-flowing waters with a muddy substrate, plenty of vegetation and higher oxygen content (Welter-Schultes 2012). Scarce findings in Serbia include the Danube and Sava Rivers along with some smaller watercourses near Belgrade (Ralja River) and Subotica (Plazović River).

Other remarks. The species is quite rare and highly localized across its distribution range. It is critically endangered in Germany and Switzerland, endangered in Ireland, Netherlands, Austria and Poland, vulnerable in Norway and Denmark (Welter-Schultes 2012). On the IUCN Red List of threatened species it has been assessed as LC (Vavrova et al. 2011 b).

Genus Planorbis O. F. Müller, 1773