This rather variable species has a smooth ovate-conic to conic shell, with convex whorls and a very narrow or closed umbilicus. A few specimens have weak spiral ridges on the last whorl and this character is variably developed within single samples, with other specimens being completely smooth.
Gabbia vertiginosa (Frauenfeld, 1862)
Class Gastropoda
Infraclass Caenogastropoda
Order Littorinida
Suborder Rissoidina
Superfamily Truncatelloidea
Family Bithyniidae
Original name: Bithynia vertiginosa Frauenfeld, 1862. In Frauenfeld, G.R. v. (1862) Versuch einer Aufzählung der Arten der Gattung Bithynia Lch. und Nematura Bns. nach der kaiserlichen und Cuming’s Sammlung. Verhandlungen der Kaiser-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 12: 1145-1161.
Type locality: " New Holland".
Synonyms: Bithynia schraderi Frauenfeld, 1862; Gabbia australis Tryon, 1865; Bithinia hyalina Brazier, 1875; Gabbia australis suspecta Iredale, 1944.
This species was known as Gabbia australis prior to Ponder's (2003) revision.
Lives in mud in shallow water in ponds, farm dams, swamps and sluggish creeks, including temporary water bodies.
Southeast Queensland to mid-New South Wales (south of Sydney), with most records from western Sydney and the New England tablelands, including the western slopes as far west as the vicinity of Narrabri, New South Wales.
Koch, M. (2004). Observations of the reproduction and population structure of the caenogastropod, Gabbia vertiginosa Frauenfeld, 1862 (Rissooidea: Bithyniidae). Molluscan Research 24: 65-73.
Ponder, W. F. (2003). Monograph of the Australian Bithyniidae (Caenogastropoda: Rissooidea). Zootaxa 230: 1-126.
Ponder, W. F., Clark, S. A. & Dallwitz, M. J. (2000). Freshwater and estuarine molluscs: an interactive, illustrated key for New South Wales. Melbourne, CSIRO Publishing.
Smith, B. J. (1992). Non-marine Mollusca. Pp. i-xii, 1-408 in W. W. K. Houston. Zoological Catalogue of Australia, 8. Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
