Its only member species is Indoplanorbis exustus, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.

[7] The invasive nature and ecological tolerance of Indoplanorbis exustus add to its importance in veterinary and medical science.

In spite of its long history and wide geographical range, it is thought that Indoplanorbis includes only a single species.

[5][7][12][14] In contrast to Asia, the well documented appearance of the snail in Africa (e.g., Nigeria[8] and Ivory Coast[15]) and more recently (2002) in the Lesser Antilles,[14] is almost certainly the result of introductions through human activities over the last 50–100 years.

[7] Morgan et al. (2002)[18] attributed the occurrence of Indoplanorbis in India to colonization (from Africa) via the Middle East land connection.

[7] The results by Liu et al. (2010) indicated a radiation beginning in the late Miocene with a divergence of an ancestral bulinine lineage into Assam and peninsular India clades.

[7] The snail may also occur in semi-permanent pools formed in flooded areas of fields, where it can survive the dry season buried in mud.

[24] Indoplanorbis is of economic importance in that it is responsible for the transmission of several species of the genus Schistosoma which infect cattle and cause reduced livestock productivity.

[7] Indoplanorbis exustus is best known as the intermediate host responsible for the transmission of Schistosoma nasale and S. spindale, as well as other trematodes such as Echinostoma spp.

[7] Cercarial dermatitis results from the cutaneous allergic reaction in people exposed to larval schistosomes (cercariae) shed by infected snails into freshwater bodies such as lakes, ponds, and paddy fields.

[7] Aqueous extract of a common medicinal plant of India Euphorbia tithymaloides (Euphorbiaceae) has molluscicidal activity against Indoplanorbis exustus.

[28] The molluscicidal activity of latex of Cascabela thevetia, Alstonia scholaris and Euphorbia pulcherrima against Indoplanorbis exustus was examined by Singh & Sunil (2005).