Spring snails

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Spring snails
Bythinella austriaca from Lower Austria

Bythinella austriaca from Lower Austria

Systematics
Order : Sorbeoconcha
Subordination : Hypsogastropoda
Partial order : Littorinimorpha
Superfamily : Littorinoidea
Family : Sea snails (Hydrobiidae)
Genre : Spring snails
Scientific name
Bythinella
Moquin-Tandon , 1856

The spring snails or source screw ( Bythinella ) are a class of very small, in fresh water of live snails from the family of hydrobiidae (Hydrobiidae).

features

The right-hand wound cases are only about 4 mm high. They have about four to five turns, usually rapidly increasing. The top of the soft body is often pigmented and the foot is pale yellow. The snout is short and incised in the middle. On the top of the head are two slender, bristle-shaped feelers. The eyes are at the base of the antennae. The animals are of separate sex. The housing can be closed with an operculum (cover).

Geographical distribution and habitat

The distribution of the genus extends from Spain across Central Europe and the Balkans to Turkey . Numerous species are known from France, where research has recently been carried out in great detail. In Southeastern Europe - where a higher number of endemic species would be expected - the state of knowledge is still incomplete.

The species of the genus live in springs and the streams that flow from them, less often in caves or in the groundwater .

Taxonomy

The taxon was established by Moquin-Tandon in 1856. Type species is Bulimus viridis Poiret, 1801 by a decision of the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature.

Currently (2015) more than 80 species and subspecies of the genus Bythinella are recognized as valid taxa. Due to the difficult differentiation between the individual species, which is mainly based on the sexual organs or by sequencing the DNA, new, previously undescribed species can also be expected. According to the current state of knowledge, the following species occur in Austria, Germany and neighboring areas:

supporting documents

literature

  • Georg von Frauenfeld : About the paludines from the group of Paludina viridis Poir. Meeting reports of the mathematical and natural science class of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, 22 (2): 569–578, Vienna, 1857 (p. 574)
  • Peter Glöer: The freshwater gastropods of Northern and Central Europe . In: Friedrich Dahl (founder): The animal world of Germany , 73rd part. 327 p., ConchBooks: Hackenheim, 2002.
  • Andrzej Falniowski, Magdalena Szarowska: Sequence-based species delimitation in the Balkan Bythinella Moquin-Tandon, 1856 (Gastropoda: Rissooidea) with general mixed Yule coalescent model. Folia Malacologica 21 (2): 55-66, 2009 doi : 10.12657 / folmal.021.006

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Moquin-Tandon, A. 1855. Histoire naturelle des mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de la France contenant des études générales sur leur anatomie et leur physiologie et la description particulière des genres, des espèces et des variétés. Tome second. - pp. 1-646, atlas 1-92, Pl. I-LIV [= 1-54]. Paris, Baillière, 1855-56.
  2. ↑ Opinion 2161 (Case 3321): Bythinella Moquin-Tandon, 1856 (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia, Rissooidea): usage conserved by the designation of Bulimus viridis Poiret, 1801 as the type species. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 63 (4): 276, 2006 Online at www.biodiversitylibrary.org .

Web links

Commons : Spring snails ( Bythinella )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files