Lymnaea stagnalis
Encyclopedia
Lymnaea stagnalis, better known as
the great pond snail, is a species
of large air-breathing freshwater snail
, an aquatic
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family
Lymnaeidae
.
. It is widely distributed, and is common in many countries and islands including:
The height of an adult shell
of this species ranges from 45–60 mm. The width of an adult shell ranges from 20-30 (34) mm.
, memory
and neurobiology.
Lymnaea stagnalis has a relatively simple central nervous system
(CNS) consisting of a total of ~20,000 neuron
s, many of them individually identifiable, organized in a ring of interconnected ganglia. Most neurons of the Lymnaea stagnalis central nervous system are large in size (diameter: up to ~100 μm), thus allowing electrophysiological dissection of neuronal networks that has yielded profound insights in the working mechanisms of neuronal networks controlling relatively simple behaviors such as feeding, respiration, locomotion, and reproduction. Studies using the central nervous system of Lymnaea stagnalis as a model organism
have also identified novel cellular and molecular mechanisms in neuronal regeneration, synapse formation, synaptic plasticity, learning and memory formation, the neurobiology of development and aging, the modulatory role of neuropeptide
s, and adaptive responses to hypoxic
stress.
Lymnaea stagnalis is simultaneously hermaphroditic species and can mate in the male and female role, but within one copulation only one sexual role is performed at a time. Lymnaea stagnalis perform more inseminations in larger groups and prefer to inseminate novel over familiar partners. Such higher motivation to copulate when a new partner is encountered is known as the Coolidge effect
and has been demonstrated in hermaphrodites fistly in 2007.
for:
Other parasites of Lymnaea stagnalis include:
Lymnaea stagnalis has been experimentally infected with Elaphostrongylus rangiferi.
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
the great pond snail, is a species
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 large 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 (biology)
In 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...
Lymnaeidae
Lymnaeidae
Lymnaeidae is a taxonomic family of small to large air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks, that belong to the clade Hygrophila....
.
Distribution
The distribution of this species is HolarcticHolarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...
. It is widely distributed, and is common in many countries and islands including:
- British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland
- Canada (Alberta province)
- Cambodia
- Czech Republic - least concern (LC)
- Germany - distributed in whole Germany but in 2 states in red list (Rote Liste BRD)
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Russia - Sverdlovsk oblastSverdlovsk OblastSverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...
- Slovakia
- Sweden (Skåne)
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
Shell description
Gastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
of this species ranges from 45–60 mm. The width of an adult shell ranges from 20-30 (34) mm.
Nervous system
Lymnaea stagnalis is widely used for the study learningLearning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
, memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
and neurobiology.
Lymnaea stagnalis has a relatively simple central nervous system
Nervous system of gastropods
The nervous system of gastropods consists of a series of paired ganglia connected by major nerve cords, and a number of smaller branching peripheral nerves.The brain of a gastropod consists of three pairs of ganglia, all located close to the oesophagus...
(CNS) consisting of a total of ~20,000 neuron
Neuron
A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...
s, many of them individually identifiable, organized in a ring of interconnected ganglia. Most neurons of the Lymnaea stagnalis central nervous system are large in size (diameter: up to ~100 μm), thus allowing electrophysiological dissection of neuronal networks that has yielded profound insights in the working mechanisms of neuronal networks controlling relatively simple behaviors such as feeding, respiration, locomotion, and reproduction. Studies using the central nervous system of Lymnaea stagnalis as a model organism
Model organism
A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo models and are widely used to...
have also identified novel cellular and molecular mechanisms in neuronal regeneration, synapse formation, synaptic plasticity, learning and memory formation, the neurobiology of development and aging, the modulatory role of neuropeptide
Neuropeptide
Neuropeptides are small protein-like molecules used by neurons to communicate with each other. They are neuronal signaling molecules, influence the activity of the brain in specific ways and are thus involved in particular brain functions, like analgesia, reward, food intake, learning and...
s, and adaptive responses to hypoxic
Hypoxia (medical)
Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...
stress.
Habitat
This large snail lives only in freshwater: it prefers slowly running water, and standing water bodies.Life cycle
Coolidge effect
In biology and psychology, the Coolidge effect is a phenomenon—seen in nearly every mammalian species in which it has been tested—whereby males exhibit continuous sexual activity if they are introduced to receptive sexual partners, but will eventually stop having sex if the partner has already...
and has been demonstrated in hermaphrodites fistly in 2007.
Parasites
Lymnaea stagnalis is an intermediate hostIntermediate host
A secondary host or intermediate host is a host that harbors the parasite only for a short transition period, during which some developmental stage is completed. For trypanosomes, the cause of sleeping sickness, humans are the primary host, while the tsetse fly is the secondary host...
for:
- Moliniella anceps (Molin, 1859) Hubner, 1939
Other parasites of Lymnaea stagnalis include:
- Echinoparyphium recurvatum
- Opisthioglyphe ranae
- Plagiorchis elegans
- Diplostomum pseudospathaceum
- Echinostoma revolutumEchinostoma revolutumEchinostoma revolutum is a fluke that can be a parasite in humans. It causes the disease echinostomiasis.- Distribution :Echinostoma revolutum is the most widely distributed species of all 20 Echinostomatidae species and it is found from Asia and Oceania to Europe and the Americas.Echinostomiasis...
- Trichobilharzia szidati
Lymnaea stagnalis has been experimentally infected with Elaphostrongylus rangiferi.
External links
- Hoffer J. N. A., Ellers J. & Koene J. M. (2010). "Costs of receipt and donation of ejaculates in a simultaneous hermaphrodite". BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: 393. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-393.
- Pesticides Database - Chemical Toxicity Studies
- Lymanea - Scholarpedia article
- http://www.lymnaea.org/ - Lymnaea stagnalis Sequencing Consortium