It has long been known (Troschel, 1845;Pelseneer, 1895;Prashad, 1925Prashad, , 1932) that ampullariid or "pilid" snails possess "amphibious" respiratory structures, one part of the mantle cavity containing a ctenidium (the characteristic molluscan gill) and another part being modified as a gas-filled lung cavity. This double adaptation for aquatic and aerial respiration in Pomacea urccus is probably most important during the rainy season (Burky and Burky, in preparation).Respiration is amphibious in both its structural (Andrews, 1965) and its behavioral (Burky and Burky, in preparation) aspects. In addition, the annual sequence of rainy and dry seasons of the Venezuelan plains dictates an amphibious way of life for Pomacea urceus (Burky, in preparation) .
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