Biomphalaria pfeifferi
Encyclopedia
Biomphalaria pfeifferi is a species
of air-breathing freshwater snail
, an aquatic
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family
Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.
This snail is a medically important pest, because of transferring the disease schistosomiasis
.
Distribution of Biomphalaria pfeifferi include:
The type locality is Umgani-Valley, Natal, South Africa
(in the times of the description it was the British Colony of Natal
).
showing phylogenic relations of species in the genus Biomphalaria:
using anaerobic respiration
.
have a molluscicide
effect on Biomphalaria pfeifferi.
Ethanolic extract of the fruits of Dalbergia sissoo
(family Leguminosae) exhibited molluscicidal effect against eggs of Biomphalaria pfeifferi.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of air-breathing freshwater snail
Freshwater snail
A freshwater snail is one kind of freshwater mollusc, the other kind being freshwater clams and mussels, i.e. freshwater bivalves. Specifically a freshwater snail is a gastropod that lives in a watery non-marine habitat. The majority of freshwater gastropods have a shell, with very few exceptions....
, an aquatic
Aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.
This snail is a medically important pest, because of transferring the disease schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...
.
Distribution
Biomphalaria pfeifferi is an African species. It has recently expanded its native range.Distribution of Biomphalaria pfeifferi include:
- Western Africa: Senegal
The type locality is Umgani-Valley, Natal, South Africa
Natal, South Africa
Natal is a region in South Africa. It stretches between the Indian Ocean in the south and east, the Drakensberg in the west, and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. The main cities are Pietermaritzburg and Durban...
(in the times of the description it was the British Colony of Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
).
Phylogeny
A cladogramCladogram
A cladogram is a diagram used in cladistics which shows ancestral relations between organisms, to represent the evolutionary tree of life. Although traditionally such cladograms were generated largely on the basis of morphological characters, DNA and RNA sequencing data and computational...
showing phylogenic relations of species in the genus Biomphalaria:
Ecology
Biomphalaria pfeifferi can survive up to 16 hours in anaerobic waterHypoxia (environmental)
Hypoxia, or oxygen depletion, is a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic environments as dissolved oxygen becomes reduced in concentration to a point where it becomes detrimental to aquatic organisms living in the system...
using anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration is a form of respiration using electron acceptors other than oxygen. Although oxygen is not used as the final electron acceptor, the process still uses a respiratory electron transport chain; it is respiration without oxygen...
.
Parasites
Parasites of Biomphalaria pfeifferi include the following 11 species found in Tanzania:- Schistosoma mansoniSchistosoma mansoniSchistosoma mansoni is a significant parasite of humans, a trematode that is one of the major agents of the disease schistosomiasis. The schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni is intestinal schistosomiasis....
- undescribed clinostomatid
- two species undescribed strigea
- Cercaria porteri
- Cercaria blukwa
- two species of undescribed echinostome
- Cercaria lileta
- Cercaria obscurior
- Cercaria bulla
Toxicology
The seeds of the tree Balanites aegyptiacaBalanites aegyptiaca
Balanites aegyptiaca is a species of tree, classified either as a member of the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East....
have a molluscicide
Molluscicide
Molluscicides, also known as snail baits and snail pellets, are pesticides against molluscs, which are usually used in agriculture or gardening to control gastropod pests like slugs and snails that can damage crops by feeding on them....
effect on Biomphalaria pfeifferi.
| Substance | Route | LC50 | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powder of crude kernels of Balanites aegyptiaca Balanites aegyptiaca Balanites aegyptiaca is a species of tree, classified either as a member of the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East.... |
immersion(?) | 60 ppm | |
| Acetone Acetone Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory... extract of powder of the kernels of Balanites aegyptiaca |
immersion(?) | 172,40 ppm | |
| Ethanol Ethanol Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a... extract of the powder of kernels of Balanites aegyptiaca |
immersion(?) | 84,15 ppm |
Ethanolic extract of the fruits of Dalbergia sissoo
Dalbergia sissoo
Dalbergia sissoo, known as Shisham, is an erect deciduous tree, native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is also called sissoo, sisu, sheesham, tahli and sometimes referred to as Indian Rosewood. It is state tree of Punjab state and provincial tree of Punjab province...
(family Leguminosae) exhibited molluscicidal effect against eggs of Biomphalaria pfeifferi.
Further reading
- Nguma J. F., McCullough F. S. & Masha E. (March 1982) "Elimination of Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Bulinus tropicusBulinus tropicusBulinus tropicus is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.- Distribution :Distribution of Bulinus tropicus includes:* Namibia...
and Lymnaea natalensis by the ampullarid snail, Marisa cornuarietis, in a man-made dam in northern Tanzania". Acta Tropica 39(1): 85-90. - Utzinger J. & Tanner M. (2000). "Microhabitat preferences of Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Lymnaea natalensis in a natural and a man-made habitat in southeastern Tanzania". Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 95(3): 287-294. , doi:10.1590/S0074-02762000000300002.
- Wright C. A. (1963). "The freshwater gastropod mollusca of Angola". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 10(8): 447-528. 16 plates. page 455.