Potamopyrgus
Encyclopedia
Potamopyrgus is a genus
of minute freshwater snail
s with an operculum
, aquatic
gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family
Hydrobiidae
.
and south eastern Australia
.
However, one species within this genus, P. antipodarum, has been accidentally introduced in many countries worldwide, especially in Europe
and North America
, and has become a problematic invasive species
.
Genus
In 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 minute 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...
s with 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...
, 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 molluscs or micromolluscs 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...
Hydrobiidae
Hydrobiidae
Hydrobiidae, common name mud snails, is a large cosmopolitan taxonomic family of very small freshwater snails and brackish water snails that have an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the clade Littorinimorpha.- Distribution :...
.
Distribution
This genus is endemic to New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and south eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
However, one species within this genus, P. antipodarum, has been accidentally introduced in many countries worldwide, especially in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and has become a problematic invasive species
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....
.
Species
Species within the genus Potamopyrgus include:- Potamopyrgus antipodarum J. E. Gray, 1843 - (syn. Potamopyrgus jenkinsi)
- Potamopyrgus corolla (GouldAugustus Addison GouldAugustus Addison Gould was an American conchologist and malacologist.-Biography:...
) (Type species) - Potamopyrgus cresswelli Climo, F. M., 1974 - (syn. Potamopyrgus gardneri, Potamopyrgus manneringi)
- Potamopyrgus dawbini PowellArthur William Baden PowellDr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...
, A. W. B., 1955 - Potamopyrgus estuarinus (Winterbourn, 1971)
- Potamopyrgus melvilli (Hedley, C., 1916)
- Potamopyrgus oscitansPotamopyrgus oscitansPotamopyrgus oscitans is a species of minute freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Hydrobiidae. This species is endemic to Australia.-References:...
IredaleTom IredaleTom Iredale was an English-born ornithologist and malacologist who had a long association with Australia, where he lived for most of his life. He was an autodidact who never went to university and lacked formal training...
, 1944 - Potamopyrgus pupoides HuttonFrederick Wollaston HuttonCaptain Frederick Wollaston Hutton, FRS, was an English scientist who applied the theory of natural selection to explain the origins and nature of the natural history of New Zealand.- Biography :...
, 1882 - Potamopyrgus subterraneus SuterHenry SuterHenry Suter was a New Zealand zoologist, naturalist, palaeontologist, and malacologist.- Biography :...
, 1905 - Potamopyrgus troglodytes (Climo, F. M., 1974)