''Dianella'' is a little-known
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of small
freshwater snails with a
gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
and an
operculum,
aquatic gastropod molluscs in the family
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, ...
.
Distribution
These are European freshwater snails; they occur in southeastern Europe, from northern Italy, through the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
and the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
Description
Their relatively big shell has an onic or turriform shape with a common, prominent, spiral
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
. The
radula shows a rhachidian tooth with no basal cusps. Their stomach has a caecal appendix at its pyloric end. They have a Hydrobia-like central nervous system, a simple penis and a characteristic, big seminal receptacle at the end of a prominent spiral of the coiled oviduct.
Species
Species within the genus ''Dianella'' include:
[The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. . Downloaded on 31 July 2014.]
*
† ''
Dianella gracilis''
(Pavlović, 1903)
*''
Dianella schlickum''
Schütt, 1962
*''
Dianella thiesseana''
Kobelt, 1878
;Species brought into synonymy:
*
† ''Dianella crassa''
(Burgerstein, 1877): synonym of
† ''
Prososthenia crassa''
Burgerstein, 1877
*
† ''Dianella nodosa''
(Burgerstein, 1877): synonym of
† ''
Prososthenia nodosa''
Burgerstein, 1877
*
† ''Dianella reticulata''
(Burgerstein, 1877): synonym of
† ''
Prososthenia reticulata''
Burgerstein, 1877
*
† ''Dianella suessi''
(Burgerstein, 1877): synonym of
† ''
Prososthenia suessi''
Burgerstein, 1877
References
* Gude, G.K. (1913). ''On some preoccupied molluscan names (generic and specific).'' Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London. 10, 292-293. page(s): 292
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18351630
Hydrobiidae