Interrupted rocksnail
Encyclopedia
The interrupted rocksnail, scientific name †Leptoxis foremanii, is a species
of freshwater snail
with a gill and an operculum
, an aquatic
gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae
.
This species is endemic to the United States
. It was formerly believed to be extinct, and remains classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. However, in 1997, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist discovered one specimen in the Oostanaula River
in Georgia
. Scientists from the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute subsequently began collecting Interrupted Rocksnails from the Oostanaula in order to reintroduce them to other rivers where they had formerly lived. In 2004, 3,000 of the snails were reintroduced to the Coosa River
in Alabama
.
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 freshwater snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
with a gill and an operculum
Operculum (gastropod)
The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...
, 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...
gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae
Pleuroceridae
Pleuroceridae, common name pleurocerids, is a family of small to medium-sized freshwater snails, aquatic gilled gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cerithioidea.These snails have an operculum and typically a robust high-spired shell....
.
This species is endemic to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was formerly believed to be extinct, and remains classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. However, in 1997, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist discovered one specimen in the Oostanaula River
Oostanaula River
The Oostanaula River is a principal tributary of the Coosa River, about long, in northwestern Georgia in the United States. Via the Coosa and Alabama rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mobile River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Its name is said to come from a Cherokee Indian term...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Scientists from the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute subsequently began collecting Interrupted Rocksnails from the Oostanaula in order to reintroduce them to other rivers where they had formerly lived. In 2004, 3,000 of the snails were reintroduced to the Coosa River
Coosa River
The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long altogether.The Coosa River is one of Alabama's most developed rivers...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.