biology

Neoplanorbis smithii

Neoplanorbis smithii is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Neoplanorbis smithii rather than just read about it. In short: Neoplanorbis smithii, commonly known as the angled flat-top snail, was a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae. First described in 1908, this species was endemic to the Coosa River in Alabama but is now considered likely to be extinct following the damming of its habitat.

Key takeaways

Neoplanorbis smithii belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Neoplanorbis smithii to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Neoplanorbis smithii from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Neoplanorbis smithii, commonly known as the angled flat-top snail, was a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae. First described in 1908, this species was endemic to the Coosa River in Alabama but is now considered likely to be extinct following the damming of its habitat.

Taxonomy and history Neoplanorbis smithii was described in 1908 by Bryant Walker based on type material collected near Higgin's Ferry on the Coosa River in Chilton County, Alabama. This description, alongside the descriptions of Neoplanorbis carinatus and N. umbilicatus, were published in volume 21 of the journal The Nautilus. Walker reported that these three Neoplanorbis species were first discovered in the wild by Herbert H. Smith in 1907 and that they were plentiful in suitable areas of the Coosa River at this time – several hundred individuals of N. smithii were found at the type locality – however, all three species were highly localized, with Walker writing that they "may be abundant on one shoal and not found at all on another. And on the same shoal, it is frequently restricted to one side of the river or the other". Some subsequent publications misspelled the specific epithet smithii as "smithi". Following extensive damming of the Coosa River, a survey conducted in June of 1959 by Paul F. Basch and John B. Burch failed to locate any Neoplanorbis snails in the Coosa. In 2000 N. smithii was assessed for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as extinct, with NatureServe and the American Fisheries Society assessing the species as extinct in 2004 and 2013 respectively.

Distribution and habitat Neoplanorbis smithii was endemic to the Coosa River in Alabama, where it was restricted to shoal habitats. It lived under rocks in moderate currents.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Neoplanorbis smithii

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Neoplanorbis smithii claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Neoplanorbis smithii before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Neoplanorbis smithii ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Neoplanorbis smithii

In research: Neoplanorbis smithii appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Neoplanorbis smithii in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Neoplanorbis smithii is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Endemic fauna of Alabama, Extinct animals of the United States, Extinct gastropods, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Neoplanorbis smithii outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Neoplanorbis smithii in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Neoplanorbis smithii means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Neoplanorbis smithii out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Neoplanorbis smithii in simple terms?

Why does Neoplanorbis smithii matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Neoplanorbis smithii?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Neoplanorbis smithii.