[4][7][5][6] This species was originally described as Amnicola antipodarum in 1843 by John Edward Gray: Inhabits New Zealand, in fresh water.

Shell ovate, acute, subperforated (generally covered with a black earthy coat); whorls rather rounded, mouth ovate, axis 3 lines; operculum horny and subspiral: variety, spire rather longer, whorls more rounded.

[8] It has now spread widely and has become naturalised, and an invasive species in many areas including: Europe (since 1859 in England), Australia (including Tasmania), Asia (Japan[9] and Iraq[10]), and North America (USA and Canada[11][9]), most likely due to inadvertent human intervention.

[6] Although the exact means of transmission is unknown, it is likely that it was introduced in water transferred with live game fish and has been spread by ship ballast or contaminated recreational equipment such as wading gear.

[21] Fish populations then suffer because the native snails and insects are their main food source.

They can however survive for up to 50 days on a damp surface,[22] giving them ample time to be transferred from one body of water to another on fishing gear.

[23] Mudsnails have now spread from Idaho to most western states of the U.S., including Wyoming, California, Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Colorado.

[30] The snails in the Great Lakes represent a different line from those found in western states, and were probably introduced indirectly through Europe.

[31] A heavy cold snap in 2013, combined with a drawdown in water level in preparation, was roughly estimated to have killed 40–60% of the mudsnail population.

In 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that the New Zealand mudsnail had infested watersheds in the Santa Monica Mountains, posing serious threats to native species and complicating efforts to improve stream-water quality for the endangered Southern California Distinct Population Segment of steelhead.

[34] According to the article, the snails have expanded "from the first confirmed sample in Medea Creek in Agoura Hills to nearly 30 other stream sites in four years."

In the summer of 2015 an industrial-scale wetland rehabilitation project was undertaken in northeast Boulder to rid the area of a mud snail infestation.

[citation needed] The snail tolerates siltation, thrives in disturbed watersheds, and benefits from high nutrient flows allowing for filamentous green algae growth.

It occurs amongst macrophytes and prefers littoral zones in lakes or slow streams with silt and organic matter substrates, but tolerates high flow environments where it can burrow into the sediment.

[4][6][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] In the Great Lakes, the snail reaches densities as high as 5,600 per m2 and is found at depths of 4–45 m on a silt and sand substrate.

[4][6][49] Potamopyrgus antipodarum is a grazer-scraper, feeding on plant and animal detritus, epiphytic and periphytic algae, sediments and diatoms.

Asexual reproduction allows all members of a population to produce offspring and avoids the costs involved in finding mates.

As predicted, sexual reproduction dominates in shallow water, due to its advantages in parasite resistance.

[6][59][60] In their native habitat, these parasites sterilize many snails, keeping the populations to a manageable size.

[4] It can respond to chemical stimuli in the water, including the odor of predatory fish, which causes it to migrate to the undersides of rocks to avoid predation.