''Biomphalaria pfeifferi'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of air-breathing
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 ...
, an
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 anim ...
pulmonate
Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includ ...
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. T ...
mollusk
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 species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Planorbidae, the
ram
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
's horn snails.
This snail is a medically important
pest,
because of transferring the disease
schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...
.
Distribution
''Biomphalaria pfeifferi'' is an
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n species. It has recently expanded its native range.
Distribution of ''Biomphalaria pfeifferi'' include:
* Western Africa:
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
[ Sarr A., Kinzelbach R. & Diouf M. (2011, in press). "Diversité spécifique et écologie des mollusques continenatux de la basse vallée du Ferlo (Sénégal). pecific diversity and ecology of continental molluscs from the Lower Ferlo Valley (Senegal). ''MalaCo'' 7: 8 pp]
PDF
.
* Eastern Africa: Kenya
[
The type locality is Umgani-Valley, Natal, South Africa] (in the times of the description it was the British Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to ...
).
Phylogeny
A cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...
showing phylogenic relations of species in the genus ''Biomphalaria'':
Ecology
''Biomphalaria pfeifferi'' can survive up to 16 hours in anaerobic water using lactic acid fermentation
Lactic acid fermentation is a metabolic process by which glucose or other six-carbon sugars (also, disaccharides of six-carbon sugars, e.g. sucrose or lactose) are converted into cellular energy and the metabolite lactate, which is lactic acid ...
.
In Kenya, ''B. pfeifferi'' is positively associated with the common blue water-lily ''Nymphaea caerulea
''Nymphaea nouchali'' var. ''caerulea'', is a water lily in the genus ''Nymphaea'', a botanical variety of ''Nymphaea nouchali''.
It is an aquatic plant of freshwater lakes, pools and rivers, naturally found throughout most of the eastern half ...
'' (the two species occur together).[
]
Parasites
Parasites of ''Biomphalaria pfeifferi'' include the following 11 species found in Tanzania:
* ''Schistosoma mansoni
A paired couple of ''Schistosoma mansoni''.
''Schistosoma mansoni'' is a water-borne parasite of humans, and belongs to the group of blood flukes (''Schistosoma''). The adult lives in the blood vessels ( mesenteric veins) near the human inte ...
''
* undescribed clinostomatid
* two species undescribed strigea
* '' Cercaria porteri''
* '' Cercaria blukwa''
* two species of undescribed echinostome
* '' Cercaria lileta''
* '' Cercaria obscurior''
* '' Cercaria bulla''
Control
In Kenya, releasing the edible American crayfish ''Procambarus clarkii
''Procambarus clarkii'', known variously as the red swamp crayfish, Louisiana crawfish or mudbug, is a species of cambarid crayfish native to freshwater bodies of northern Mexico, and southern and southeastern United States, but also introduc ...
'' as an introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
has helped eliminate the mollusc, which it feeds on, as well as provided a new source of food and income,[ but may also be impacting the environment by reducing the amount of native ]aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
s.
The seeds of the tree ''Balanites aegyptiaca
''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East.
There are many comm ...
'' have a molluscicide
Molluscicides () – also known as snail baits, snail pellets, or slug pellets – are pesticides against molluscs, which are usually used in agriculture or gardening, in order to control gastropod pests specifically slugs and snails which damag ...
effect on ''Biomphalaria pfeifferi''.[Hamidou T. H., Kabore H., Ouattara O., Ouédraogo S., Guissou I. P. & Sawadogo L. (2002) "Efficacy of '']Balanites aegyptiaca
''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East.
There are many comm ...
''(L.) DEL Balanitaceae as Anthelminthic and Molluscicid Used by Traditional Healers in Burkina Faso". International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases 2002. page 37
PDF
/ref>
Ethanolic extract of the fruits of ''Dalbergia sissoo
''Dalbergia sissoo'', known commonly as North Indian rosewood or ''shisham'', is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. ''D. sissoo'' is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery leav ...
'' (family ) exhibited molluscicidal effect against eggs of ''Biomphalaria pfeifferi''.[Adenusi A. A. & Odaibo A. B. (2009). "Effects of varying concentrations of the crude aqueous and ethanolic". ''African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative medicines'' 6(2)]
abstract
PDF
References
Further reading
*
*
* Wright C. A. (1963). "The freshwater gastropod mollusca of Angola". ''Bulletin of the British Museum
''Bulletin of the Natural History Museum'', formerly known as ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)'' is a series of scientific journals published by the British Museum, and later by the Natural History Museum of London. Titles in the ...
(Natural History)'' 10(8): 447-528. 16 plates
page 455
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4915160
Biomphalaria
Gastropods described in 1848
Taxa named by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss