This species belongs to the Austropyrgus rectus group, with members characterised by small to medium-sized, narrow to broad shells, with spires of average length to very elongate, a straight outline and typically flattened to slightly convex whorls. The coiled oviduct has one or more bends, loops or twists.
Austropyrgus procerus differs from the other members of this group in the following combination of characters: shell narrow, with elongated spire; large columellar muscle; osphradium near middle of ctenidium; pallial vas deferens strongly undulating or longitudinally S-shaped at prostate.
Austropyrgus procerus Clark, Miller & Ponder, 2003
Class Gastropoda
Infraclass Caenogastropoda
Order Littorinida
Suborder Rissoidina
Superfamily Truncatelloidea
Family Tateidae
Genus Austropyrgus Cotton, 1942
Original name: Austropyrgus procerus Clark, Miller & Ponder, 2003. In Clark, S. A., Miller, A. C. & Ponder, W. F. (2003). Revision of the snail genus Austropyrgus (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae): A morphostatic radiation of freshwater gastropods in southeastern Australia. Records of the Australian Museum Supplement 28: 1–109.
Type locality: Blizzards Creek at Youngs Road, south of Irishtown (in seeping gully), Tasmania.
In streams on water weeds, hard substrata (rocks etc.) and crawling on litter and sediment. Can be locally abundant. Assumed to feed by scraping bacteria and microalgae. Lay solitary capsules containing a single egg. Direct development.
This species is known from a number of small streams and rivers of north-western Tasmania.
Although most species of Austropyrgus are geographically isolated and have restricted ranges, a few - such as A. procerus - have somewhat wider ranges.
Clark, S. A., Miller, A. C. & Ponder, W. F. (2003). Revision of the snail genus Austropyrgus (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae): a morphostatic radiation of freshwater gastropods in southeastern Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 28: 1–109.
