Ear Pond Snail - Radix auricularia

The yellowy beige shell is thin, roundly ovate and very inflated such that the last whorl comprises 90% of its volume. The shell has a rounded and broad spire that pinches in steeply at the apex. The spire is very short compared with the body whorl. The width of the shell is from 12 o18 mm, and the height of the shell is 14 to 24 mm.

Radix balthica is very similar but doesn't have such a large, flared mouth. The other good ID feature is the sharp spire in R. auricularia compared to the relatively blunt spire point in R. balthica - a feature that can be felt with the tip of a finger.

Freshwater ponds, lakes and slow moving streams with muddy bottoms.

All year round.

Widespread in Britain though less common in the far north and the west.

Status in Leicestershire and Rutland not known.