''Iglica soussensis'' is a species of
aquatic subterranean hydrobiid
Hydrobiidae, Common name, commonly known as mud snails, is a large Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of very small Freshwater snail, freshwater and brackish water snails with an Operculum (gastropod), operculum; th ...
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 ...
endemic to wells in the
Souss Plain,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. ''I. soussensis'' is only known from the
type locality, a well in the
Ait Msia village in the area of
Agadir, or described by the IUCN as 'a well at
Tamait Izder south of the
Souss River north of
Temsia
Temsia is a Administrative divisions of Morocco, rural commune of Morocco. It is located on the south bank of the Draa River in the prefecture of Inezgane-Aït Melloul in Souss-Massa region, 20 km southeast of Agadir, the regional capital. It ...
, Morocco'. This species is a stygobiont, being restricted to aquatic subterranean habitats
Description and taxonomic affinities
Shell is high-spired and turriform, with enlarged sutures, elliptic aperture disjunct with simple peristome. Shell is 2.1 mm tall, 0.4 mm wide, 0.4 mm in aperture height, and 0.16 mm in aperture width. With the exception of ''
Iglica seyadi'', the only endemic Moroccan species of this genus, no other ''Iglica'' is found in the region. In addition, ''I. seyadi'' is morphologically closer to ''Heideella.'' The closest species to ''Iglica soussensis'' is ''
I. tellinii'', however specimens differ in several aspects.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q65117598
Iglica (gastropod)
Gastropods described in 2017
Endemic fauna of Morocco