''Idaholanx fresti'', the Banbury Springs limpet or Banbury Springs lanx, is a rare species of

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

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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

in the family

Lymnaeidae Lymnaeidae, common name the pond snails, is a taxonomic family of small to large air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks, that belong to the clade Hygrophila. Lymnaeidae is the only family within the superfamily ...

. It is the only species in the genus ''Idaholanx''. First discovered in 1988, the species was formally described and named in 2017.

Distribution

This freshwater limpet is

endemic 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 elsew ...

to the US State of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, where it is known from a 10-kilometer stretch of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

. It is found in four complexes of springs along the Snake River in south-central Idaho: Thousand Springs, Box Canyon Springs, Banbury Hot Springs, and Briggs Springs.USFW
Banbury Springs Lanx Five-year Review.
September 2006.

Description

This snail is cinnamon red in color. The shell is conical in shape. It is up to 7.1 millimeters long by 6 wide and up to 4.3 millimeters tall. This snail is similar in its morphology to species in the genus ''

Lanx A ''lanx'' (Latin for dish) was a large ancient Roman serving platter.Lysons, Daniel & Lysons, Samuel"Antiquities: British and Roman" Magna Britannia vol 5, 1817, pp. CCIII-CCXVIII. Accessed November 26, 2007. Particularly ornamented ones were used ...

'', but

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts of ...

reveals that it is genetically more similar to the genus '' Fisherola''.

Habitat

''Idaholanx fresti'' lives in fast flowing, clean, cold water springs. It needs highly oxygenated water.

Conservation

In 1992 it was federally listed as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of the United States.USFWS
Determination of endangered or threatened status for five aquatic snails in South Central Idaho.
''Federal Register'' December 14, 1992. This species is endemic to Idaho. It only exists at four places: Thousand Springs, Box Canyon Springs, Briggs Springs and Banbury Springs. It is threatened by habitat modification, spring flow reduction, groundwater quality, and invasive species.

Diet

Dead plants and diatoms.

References

External links

https://idfg.idaho.gov/species/taxa/25757 Endangered fauna of the United States Lymnaeidae Natural history of Idaho Gastropods described in 2017 Monotypic gastropod genera {{Lymnaeidae-stub