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Ancylus fluviatilis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Superorder: | Hygrophila |
Family: | Planorbidae |
Genus: | Ancylus |
Species: | A. fluviatilis |
Binomial name | |
Ancylus fluviatilis O. F. Müller, 1774 [2] | |
The river limpet [1] [3] (Ancylus fluviatilis) is a species of very small, freshwater, air-breathing limpet, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the tribe Ancylini within the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies.
The 5–8 mm. limpet-like shell has a backwardly directed, conical apex. The shell shape is higher than Acroloxus and Ferrissia . The apex is blunt when seen from above, but appears more pointed from the side. The shell is bent backwards and very weakly to the right side. It is thin and translucent, with reticulate sculpture and fine growth lines. In colour it is light yellowish to reddish brown or dull pale brown. The animal is grey with black dots near the head and almost entirely covered by the shell. The tentacles are triangular with eyes at their base. The genital pore and pneumostome are very small and located at the right side.
The distribution type is Eurosiberian Southern-temperate (the delimitation of various southern and eastern forms which may be given independent species status is not yet understood).
This species occurs in northern, western and central Europe in the following areas:
In large parts of the Mediterranean area (Iberian Peninsula, Italy, etc.) there are marked forms which according to molecular genetics [4] are so far not named as separate species. Such forms are also found in northeastern Africa (coastal areas of Morocco to Tunisia, Hoggar Mountains in Algeria), as well as in the Highlands up to 2240 m above sea level in Ethiopia. [5] [6] It was found in Saudi Arabia (Brown and Wright 1980, Neubert 1998) and Yemen (Al-Safadi 1990) and in Caucasus (Armenia), but it is not known in the Afrotropical region.
This freshwater limpet is a rheophile, which lives in oxygen-rich fast-running waters and also in karst springs. It does not occur in waters which freeze in winter. They need a hard substrate with suitable (not too low and not too rich) algae growth, which is why they are frequent in fresh water in Central Europe especially in rivers and streams. In North America and Western Europe they also occur in lakes. In contrast to many other freshwater snails, the animals tolerate a base-poor acidic environment. Southern European, North African and Middle East representative of the species group can survive exposure due to low water levels, to a certain extent, by forming a protective layer on the underside of the shell. In Central European forms, this is possible only to a limited extent, but they may survive low water levels by adhering firmly on the stone surface.
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is the second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. The lake is shared among four countries—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Zambia—with Tanzania (46%) and the DRC (40%) possessing the majority of the lake. It drains into the Congo River system and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean.
Limpets are a group of aquatic snails with a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. This general category of conical shell is known as "patelliform" (dish-shaped). Existing within the class Gastropoda, limpets are a polyphyletic group.
The Patellogastropoda, common name true limpets and historically called the Docoglossa, are members of a major phylogenetic group of marine gastropods, treated by experts either as a clade or as a taxonomic order.
Ancylus Lake is a name given by geologists to a large freshwater lake that existed in northern Europe approximately from 9500 to 8000 years BC being in effect one of various predecessors to the modern Baltic Sea.
Ancylus is a genus of very small, freshwater, air-breathing limpets. They are aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the tribe Ancylini within the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies.
Planorbidae, common name the ramshorn snails or ram's horn snails, is a family of air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs. Unlike most molluscs, the blood of ram's horn snails contains iron-based hemoglobin instead of copper-based hemocyanin. As a result, planorbids are able to breathe oxygen more efficiently than other molluscs. The presence of hemoglobin gives the body a reddish colour. This is especially apparent in albino animals.
Theodoxus fluviatilis, common name the river nerite, is a species of small freshwater and brackish water snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites.
Latia neritoides is a species of small freshwater snail or limpet, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Latiidae.
Ferrissia neozelanica, also known as Gundlachia neozelanica, is a species of minute freshwater limpet, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk, or micromollusk, in the family Planorbidae.
The Rocky Mountain capshell is a species of freshwater snail in the family Acroloxidae, the river limpets. It is the only member of the family found in North America.
Burnupia is a genus of small freshwater snails or limpets, aquatic gastropod mollusks that are traditionally placed in the family Planorbidae.
Leptoxis ampla, common name the round rocksnail, is a species of freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Pleuroceridae.
The plicate rocksnail, scientific name Leptoxis plicata, is a species of freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae.
Rhodacmea filosa, the wicker ancylid, is a species of small, air-breathing, freshwater snail or limpet, a pulmonate gastropod in the family Planorbidae.
Chaetogaster is a genus belonging to the segmented worms (Annelida). It is classified in the family Naididae in the order Oligochaeta. These are ca. 2–25 mm long transparent worms that are very common in fresh water and often form chains of individuals through asexual multiplication.
Acroloxus lacustris, or the lake limpet, is a small freshwater limpet or snail, a species of aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Acroloxidae.
Lottia scabra or the rough limpet is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lottiidae.
Testudinalia testudinalis, common name the common tortoise limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lottiidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the plant limpet or tortoiseshell limpet.
Emarginula crassa, the thick slit limpet, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets.
Laevapex fuscus, the dusky ancylid, is a species of small, freshwater, air-breathing limpet, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies.