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Phantom Cave Snail
The phantom cave snail or phantom cavesnail (''Pyrgulopsis texana'') is a species of very small freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod in the family Hydrobiidae. Distribution This species is endemic to the lower Pecos River basin, Texas, the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori .... Genus transfer When originally described in 1935, the phantom cave snail was assigned to the genus ''Cochliopa''. Following a detailed examination of shell and anatomical characteristics along with genetic sequencing it was transferred to the genus ''Pyrgulopsis'' in 2010. References Further reading * Dundee D. S. & Dundee H. A. (1969). "Notes Concerning Two Texas Molluscs, ''Cochliopa texana'' Pilsbry and ''Lyrodes cheatumi'' Pilsbry (Mollusca: Hydrob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Augustus Pilsbry
Henry Augustus Pilsbry (7 December 1862 – 26 October 1957) was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a century. For much of his career, his authority with respect to the classification of certain substantial groups of organisms was unchallenged: barnacles, chitons, North American terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial mollusks, and others. Biography Pilsbry (frequently misspelled ''Pilsbury'') spent his childhood and youth in Iowa. He was called "Harry" Pilsbry then, and developed an early fascination with the limited variety of mollusks he was able to find. He attended the University of Iowa, and received the Bachelor of Science degree there in 1882, but did not immediately find employment in his field of interest. Instead, Henry Pilsbry worked for publishing firms and newspapers for the next several years, but devoted most of his spare time to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freshwater Snail
Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs to major rivers. The great majority of freshwater gastropods have a shell, with very few exceptions. Some groups of snails that live in freshwater respire using gills, whereas other groups need to reach the surface to breathe air. In addition, some are amphibious and have both gills and a lung (e.g. ''Ampullariidae''). Most feed on algae, but many are detritivores and some are filter feeders. According to a 2008 review of the taxonomy, there are about 4,000 species of freshwater gastropods (3,795–3,972). At least 33–38 independent lineages of gastropods have successfully colonized freshwater environments. It is not possible to quantify the exact number of these lineages yet, because they have yet to be clarified within the Cerit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operculum (gastropod)
The operculum (; ) is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure like a trapdoor that exists in many (but not all) groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails; the structure is found in some marine and freshwater gastropods, and in a minority of terrestrial gastropods, including the families Helicinidae, Cyclophoridae, Aciculidae, Maizaniidae, Pomatiidae, etc. The operculum is attached to the upper surface of the foot and in its most complete state, it serves as a sort of "trapdoor" to close the aperture of the shell when the soft parts of the animal are retracted. The shape of the operculum varies greatly from one family of gastropods to another. It is fairly often circular, or more or less oval in shape. In species where the operculum fits snugly, its outline corresponds exactly to the shape of the aperture of the shell and it serves to seal the entrance of the shell. Many families have opercula that are reduced in size, and which a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aquatic Animal
An aquatic animal is any animal, whether invertebrate or vertebrate, that lives in water for most or all of its lifetime. Many insects such as mosquitoes, mayflies, dragonflies and caddisflies have aquatic larvae, with winged adults. Aquatic animals may breathe air or extract oxygen from water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through the skin. Natural environments and the animals that live in them can be categorized as aquatic (water) or terrestrial (land). This designation is polyphyletic. Description The term aquatic can be applied to animals that live in either fresh water or salt water. However, the adjective marine is most commonly used for animals that live in saltwater, i.e. in oceans, seas, etc. Aquatic animals (especially freshwater animals) are often of special concern to conservationists because of the fragility of their environments. Aquatic animals are subject to pressure from overfishing, destructive fishing, marine pollution, hunting, and cli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. There are many thousands of species of sea snails and slugs, as well as freshwater snails, freshwater limpets, and land snails and slugs. The class Gastropoda contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. The fossil history of this class goes back to the Late Cambrian. , 721 families of gastropods are known, of which 245 are extinct and appear only in the fossil record, while 476 are currently extant with or without a fossil record. Gastropoda (previously known as univalves and sometimes spelled "Gasteropoda") are a major part of the phylum Mollusca, and are the most highly diversified class in the phylum, with 65,000 to 80,000 living snail and slug species. The anatomy, behavior, feeding, and re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrobiidae
Hydrobiidae, commonly known as mud snails, is a large cosmopolitan family of very small freshwater and brackish water snails with an operculum; they are in the order Littorinimorpha. Distribution Hydrobiidae are found in much of the world, inhabiting all continents except Antarctica. In Australia alone there are over 260 species in the family. Description These are very small or minute snails, with a shell height of less than 8 mm. The dextrally-coiled shells are smooth (except for growth lines conforming to the shape of the outer lip) and are usually rather nondescript. The shell offers very few robust characteristics to the systematist who is attempting to classify the species within this family. This difficulty is compounded by a high degree of intraspecific variation. Descriptions often have to be based on the characteristics of the operculum, radula and penis. The shell of species within this family varies from planispiral to needle-shaped. The shell may hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pecos River
The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet (3,700 m). The river flows for 926 miles (1,490 km) before reaching the Rio Grande near Del Rio. Its drainage basin encompasses about 44,300 square miles (115,000 km2).Largest Rivers of the United States USGS The name "Pecos" derives from the (Native American language) term for the |
List Of Non-marine Molluscs Of The United States
The non-marine mollusks of the United States are a part of the molluscan fauna of the United States. Freshwater gastropods ;Amnicolidae * ''Amnicola cora'' Hubricht 1979 - Foushee Cavesnail * ''Amnicola dalli'' Pilsbry and Beecher 1892 - Peninsula Amnicola * '' Amnicola decisus'' Haldeman 1845 * ''Amnicola limosus'' Say 1817 - Mud Amnicola * '' Ammicola rhombostoma'' Thompson 1968 - Squaremouth Amnicola * ''Amnicola stygius'' Hubricht 1971 -Stygian Amnicola * '' Colligyrus convexus'' Hershler, Fresh, Liu, and Johannes 2003 - Canary dusky-snail * '' Colligyrus depressus'' Hershler 1999 - Harney Basin Duskysnail * '' Colligyrus greggi'' Pilsbry 1935 - Rocky Mountain Duskysnail * '' Dasyscias franzi'' Thompson and Hersler 1991 - Shaggy Ghostsnail * '' Lyogyrus bakerianus'' Pilsbry 1917 - Baker's Springsnail * '' Lyogyrus browni'' Carpenter 1872 - Slender Duskysnail * '' Lyogyrus granum'' Say 1822 -Squat Duskysnail * '' Lyogyrus latus'' Thompson and Hershler 1991 - cobble Sprite * '' L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molluscs Of The United States
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 additional species. The proportion of undescribed species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied. Molluscs are the largest marine biology, marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organisms. Numerous molluscs also live in freshwater mollusc, freshwater and Terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial habitats. They are highly diverse, not just in size and anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and habitat. The phylum is typically divided into 7 or 8 Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class (biology), classes, of which two are entirely extinct. Cephalopod molluscs, such as squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses, are among the most neurobiology, neurologically advanced of all inve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyrgulopsis
''Pyrgulopsis'' is a genus of freshwater snails with a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Hydrobiidae. Etymology The name ''Pyrgulopsis'' is composed from ''Pyrgula'', another genus of snail, and ''opsis'' = aspect of. Description Generic characters of the genus ''Pyrgulopsis'' are: the shell is minute, conically turreted, somewhat elongated, imperforate and unicarinate. The apex is acute. The aperture is ovate. The edge of the aperture, called the peritreme, is continuous. The operculum is ovate, thin, corneous and spiral, with polar point well forward and approximating the columella. The jaw is thin and membranaceous. The radula is odontophore, with teeth are arranged in transverse rows, according to the formula 3 + 1 + 3. Formula for denticles of rhachidian: . Distribution The distribution of the genus ''Pyrgulopsis'' includes Western and South-western United States. Snails of species in the genus ''Pyrgulopsis'' occur in fresh water and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cave Snails
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos, that extend a relatively short distance into the rock and they are called ''exogene'' caves. Caves which extend further underground than the opening is wide are called ''endogene'' caves. Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the cave environment. Visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called ''caving'', ''potholing'', or ''spelunking''. Formation types The formation and development of caves is known as ''speleogenesis''; it can occur over the course of millions of years. Caves can range widely in size, and are formed by various geological processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion by water, tectonic forces, microorganism ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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