Bulinus is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of small tropical
freshwater snailA 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....
s,
aquaticAn 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...
gastropod mollusks in the
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
PlanorbidaePlanorbidae, common name the ramshorn snails or ram's horn snails, is a family of air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks....
, the ramshorn snails and their allies.
This genus is medically important because several species of
Bulinus function as intermediate
hostsIn biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...
for the
schistosomiasisSchistosomiasis 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...
blood
flukeTrematoda is a class within the phylum Platyhelminthes that contains two groups of parasitic flatworms, commonly referred to as "flukes".-Taxonomy and biodiversity:...
.
Shell description
The shell of species in the genus
Bulinus is sinistral. It has a very large body whorl and a small spire.
Distribution
These snails are widespread in
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
including
Madagascar and the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
This genus has not yet become established in the USA, but it is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an
invasive species"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
which could negatively effect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that this species be given top national
quarantineQuarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
significance in the USA.
Species
Species within the genus
Bulinus have been placed into four
species groupA species group is an informal taxonomic rank into which an assemblage of closely related species within a genus are grouped because of their morphological similarities and their identity as a biological unit with a single monophyletic origin.-Use:...
s: the
Bulinus africanus group,
Bulinus forskalii group,
Bulinus reticulatus group and the
Bulinus truncatus/tropicus complexA species complex is a group of closely related species, where the exact demarcation between species is often unclear or cryptic owing to their recent and usually still incomplete reproductive isolation. Ring species, superspecies and cryptic species complex are example of species complex...
. For the most part, species have been classified on the basis of their morphology although, in recent decades, the study of
ploidyPloidy is the number of sets of chromosomes in a biological cell.Human sex cells have one complete set of chromosomes from the male or female parent. Sex cells, also called gametes, combine to produce somatic cells. Somatic cells, therefore, have twice as many chromosomes. The haploid number is...
, allozymes and DNA methods have all played an increasing role in species discrimination. Morphological characters, whilst adequate to allocate a specimen to a species group are sometimes unreliable when used to classify at higher resolution especially within the
Bulinus africanus group.
There are 37 (or 38 species when the
Bulinus mutandensisBulinus mutandensis is a species of freshwater gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Uganda. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes....
is recognized as a saparate species) species within the genus
Bulinus including:
Bulinus africanus group - 10 species
- Bulinus abyssinicus
Bulinus abyssinicus is a species of tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies....
(Martens, 1866)
- Bulinus africanus
Bulinus africanus 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.- Further reading :* Cridland C. C....
(Krauss, 1848)
- Bulinus globosus
Bulinus globosus 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.- Further reading :* Cridland C. C....
(Morelet, 1866)
- Bulinus hightoni
Bulinus hightoni is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.-Distribution:This species is endemic to Kenya, Africa.-Habitat:...
Brown & Wright, 1978
- Bulinus jousseaumei
Bulinus jousseaumei is a species of tropical freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.Like other planorbids, the shell of the species is sinistral in coiling.-Distribution:...
(Dautzenberg, 1890)
- Bulinus nasutus
Bulinus nasutus is a species of tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.-Distribution:...
(Martens, 1879)
- Bulinus obtusispira
Bulinus obtusispira 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 :...
(Smith, 1882)
- Bulinus obtusus Mandahl-Barth, 1973
- Bulinus ugandae Mandahl-Barth, 1954
- Bulinus umbilicatus Mandahl-Barth, 1973
Bulinus forskalii group - 11 species
- Bulinus barthi
Bulinus barthi is a species of small tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies....
Jelnes, 1979
- Bulinus bavayi (Dautzenberg, 1894)
- Bulinus beccarii (Paladilhe, 1872)
- Bulinus browni
Bulinus browni is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Kenya....
Jelnes, 1979
- Bulinus camerunensis
Bulinus camerunensis is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is endemic to Cameroon....
Mandahl-Barth, 1957
- Bulinus canescens
Bulinus canescens is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is found in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia....
(Morelet, 1868)
- Bulinus cernicus
Bulinus cernicus is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is found in Mauritius and Reunion Island....
(Morelet, 1867)
- Bulinus crystallinus
Bulinus crystallinus is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is found in Angola and Gabon....
(Morelet, 1868)
- Bulinus forskalii
Bulinus forskalii 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 :...
(Ehrenberg, 1831)
- Bulinus scalaris (Dunker, 1845)
- Bulinus senegalensis Müller, 1781 - the type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of the genus
Bulinus reticulatus group - 2 species
- Bulinus reticulatus
Bulinus reticulatus 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....
Mandahl-Barth, 1954
- Bulinus wrighti
Bulinus wrighti is a species of small tropical air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.-Distribution:...
Mandahl-Barth, 1965
Bulinus truncatus/tropicus complex - 14-15 species
- Bulinus angolensis (Morelet, 1866)
- Bulinus depressus Haas, 1936
- Bulinus hexaploidus
Bulinus hexaploidus is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Ethiopia....
Burch, 1972
- Bulinus liratus (Tristram, 1863)
- Bulinus mutandensis
Bulinus mutandensis is a species of freshwater gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Uganda. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes....
Preston, 1913
- Bulinus natalensis
Bulinus natalensis 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....
(Küster, 1841)
- Bulinus nyassanus
Bulinus nyassanus is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is endemic to Malawi....
(E. A. Smith, 1877)
- Bulinus octoploidus Burch, 1972
- Bulinus permembranaceus (Preston, 1912)
- Bulinus succinoides
Bulinus succinoides is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Malawi....
(E. A. Smith, 1877)
- Bulinus transversalis
Bulinus transversalis is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is found in Kenya and Uganda....
(Martens, 1897)
- Bulinus trigonus (Martens, 1892)
- Bulinus tropicus
Bulinus 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...
(Krauss, 1848)
- Bulinus truncatus
Bulinus truncatus is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.-Distribution:Distribution of Bulinus truncatus include:...
(Audouin, 1827)
- Bulinus yemenensis Paggi et al., 1978
External links
- Nalugwa A., Jørgensen A., Nyakaana S. & Kristensen T. K. (2010). "Molecular phylogeny of Bulinus (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) reveals the presence of three species complexes in the Albertine Rift freshwater bodies". International Journal of Genetics and Molecular Biology 2(7): 130-139. abstract, PDF.