| Rocky Mountain capshell | |
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| Species: | A. coloradensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Acroloxus coloradensis J. Henderson, 1930 | |
The Rocky Mountain capshell (Acroloxus coloradensis) 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. [2]
This snail has a flat brown and white shell with the apex on the posterior left side. It has clear growth lines and radial striae. It can be up to 5 millimeters long, 2.9 wide, and 1.2 tall. [2]
The Rocky Mountain capshell is native to the Rocky Mountains of North America. It has been recorded in high-altitude ponds and lakes in Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming in the United States and British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec in Canada. [3] It has also recently been found in some slowly flowing portions of the Beaver River in Alberta. [4] Fossil specimens have been found in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. [3] The species occurs mainly at elevations between 8,500 and 10,000 feet. Below this altitude lake floor substrates are too fine, while above the abundance of calcium and other essential ions is too low. [4]
The diet of the snail is not well known, but it probably consumes microphytes, various microscopic algae. [4]
Like all other pulmonates, this snail is hermaphroditic, [2] and may fertilize itself or mate with other individuals. Its reproductive habits are poorly known, but they may be similar to those of other river limpets. [5]
This is a relict species of isolated glacial mountain habitat, and its very small populations are scattered in widely separated locations. The populations have undergone bottlenecks. Its western and eastern populations are disjunct. Threats to the species include the loss and degradation of its alpine lake habitat from urbanization, particularly in parts of Colorado, pollution, drought, and recreation. Potential threats that are likely but have not yet been confirmed for the species include logging, mining, grazing, and exotic species. [3]
Its overall NatureServe conservation status is G3 (vulnerable). Its state and province statuses are S1 (critically imperiled) in Colorado and Montana, S2 (imperiled) in Alberta, and S3 (vulnerable) in British Columbia. [3]
The rainbow trout is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to freshwater to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.
The Californiagolden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita or Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita), is a species of trout native to California. The golden trout is normally found in the Golden Trout Creek, Volcano Creek, and the South Fork Kern River. The Golden trout is the official freshwater state fish of California since 1947.
The Arctic grayling is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. T. arcticus is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Missouri River drainage in Montana. In the U.S. state of Arizona, an introduced population is found in the Lee Valley and other lakes in the White Mountains. They were also stocked at Toppings Lake by the Teton Range and in lakes in the high Uinta Mountains in Utah, as well as alpine lakes of the Boulder Mountains (Idaho) in central Idaho.
The North American river otter, also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that only lives on the North American continent, along its waterways and coasts. An adult North American river otter can weigh between 5.0 and 14 kg. The river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur.
The sauger is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye. The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes. It is the most migratory percid species in North America. Saugers have two dorsal fins; the first is spiny and the posterior dorsal fin is soft-rayed. Their paired fins are in the thoracic position and their caudal fin is truncated, which means squared off at the corners, a characteristic of the family Percidae. Another physical characteristic of saugers is their ctenoid scales, which are common in advanced fishes. Saugers have a fusiform body structure, and as a result are well adapted predatory fishes and are capable of swimming into fast currents with minimal drag on their bodies. They may be distinguished from walleyes by the distinctly spotted dorsal fin, by the lack of a white splotch on the caudal fin, by the rough skin over their gills, and by their generally more brassy color, or darker color in some regions. The typical sauger is 300 to 400 g in weight.
The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout. It is a freshwater fish in the salmon family. Native only to a few U.S. states, their original range was upstream of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River and tributaries in Wyoming, also across the Continental Divide in Yellowstone Lake and in the Yellowstone River as well as its tributaries downstream to the Tongue River in Montana. The species is also found in Idaho, Utah and Nevada.
The New Zealand mud snail is a species of very small freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum. This aquatic gastropod mollusk is in the family Tateidae.
The westslope cutthroat trout, also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish. This subspecies is a species of concern in its Montana and British Columbia ranges and is considered threatened in its native range in Alberta.
The river limpet 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.
Acroloxus is a genus of very small, air-breathing, freshwater snails, or more precisely limpets, aquatic pulmonate gastropods in the family Acroloxidae.
Fluvidona anodonta or more commonly known as the North Pine River freshwater snail is a species of minute freshwater snail that is endemic to Australia. Originally discovered in 1892 by Hedley & Musson, the snail is highly elusive and only has been sighted four times since its discovery. The snail is 2 mm long and 1 mm wide with the shell colouring being of a yellow-whiteish shade. Fluvidona anodonta resides within the Moreton Bay Region, specifically in four river systems within the D'Aguilar National Park, Queensland. The four river systems are the South Pine River headwaters, the North Pine River headwaters, Kobble Creek and Low Branch Creek. The snail is found under deeply submerged rocks within permanent freshwater systems.
Beddomeia waterhouseae, also known as Claytons Rivulet freshwater snail, is a species of freshwater snail in the family Tateidae. This species is endemic to northern Tasmania in Australia. The holotype specimen was found in a very small tributary of Little Clayton's Rivulet and is held at the Australian Museum. B. waterhouseae is small and as an adult has a shell measuring between 1.7 to 3.7 mm in length. The shell shape is ovate-conic to broadly conic and has a thin inner lip and no columellar bulge. This species feeds on algae and detritus on rocks. The female of the species lay single eggs in capsules made of sand grains and attached to the underside of rocks or wood. B. waterhouseae is considered vulnerable by the IUCN as it has a very small range and is sensitive to water quality and so may be threatened by disturbances of its habitat. Other threats include habitat loss. Conservation activities such as assessment of the aquatic ecosystem and vegetal surveys are being undertaken in an attempt to preserve this species.
Burnupia crassistriata is a species of small freshwater snail or limpet, an aquatic gastropod mollusk which was traditionally placed in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies.
Acroloxus lacustris, or the lake limpet, is a small freshwater limpet or snail, a species of aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Acroloxidae.
Gillia altilis, common name the Buffalo pebblesnail, is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk with an operculum in the family Lithoglyphidae.
The ecology of the Rocky Mountains is diverse due to the effects of a variety of environmental factors. The Rocky Mountains are the major mountain range in western North America, running from the far north of British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico in the southwestern United States, climbing from the Great Plains at or below 1,800 feet (550 m) to peaks of over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). Temperature and rainfall varies greatly also and thus the Rockies are home to a mixture of habitats including the alpine, subalpine and boreal habitats of the Northern Rocky Mountains in British Columbia and Alberta, the coniferous forests of Montana and Idaho, the wetlands and prairie where the Rockies meet the plains, a different mix of conifers on the Yellowstone Plateau in Wyoming and in the high Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico, and finally the alpine tundra of the highest elevations.
There are 14 species of amphibians and 5 species of reptiles known to occur in Mount Rainier National Park.
Acroloxus egirdirensis is a species of very small freshwater snail, which because of their shape are known as limpets, aquatic pulmonate gastropods in the family Acroloxidae.
