The New Zealand mud-snail (Also known as the Potamopyrgus antipodarum) is a very small freshwater snail that is an aquatic gastropod mollusk and is in the Hydrobiidae family. These particular species of snail do not have one specific place of origin, and they can be found almost anywhere in the world and they can be in bunches where the population can sometimes be monumental in size. The shell of this snail is very intriguing . The shell contains around 6-8 whorls that really add character and personality to the snail. These ornate shells also act as a defense against predators and sometimes is very effective in protecting the snail. The mud snail has grown in the United States due to the fact that there is no known predator or parasite that can be a threat to the mud snail. But the mud snails, in the United states, bodies are shrinking which they can use to their advantage because the smaller sizes makes them even better a hiding and camouflaging in their habitats. One cool fact about the New Zealand mud-snail is that it can live for about 24 hours without water and they can survive up to 50 day's on just a damp surface.
The Cardiovascular system (Also known as the Circulatory system) of the New Zealand mud-snail is very interesting. The mud-snail has one heart on the left side of its body and is made up of one single auricle and one single ventricle. The single ventricle pumps the blood through an aortic trunk which dispenses the blood throughout the body through a group of arteries and capillaries. Then from the capillaries the blood flows into spaces in the tissues, which are referred to as the hemocoel. Then from the hemocoel the blood flows into veins and back into the auricle.
One cool fact about the Cardiovascular system of the New Zealand mud-snail is that the blood that flows through the system has a compound called hemocyanin and its purpose is to transport oxygen and this compound is very similar to the hemoglobin we as humans have in our blood.