''Limnotrochus'' is a
monotypic genus in the family
Paludomidae
Paludomidae, common name paludomids, is a family of freshwater snails, gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha.
Distribution
The distribution of the Paludomidae includes Asia and Africa.
Taxonomy
The following three subfamilies have be ...
containing the single
species ''Limnotrochus thomsoni'', a
tropical 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 ...
with
gills and an
operculum,
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 ...
mollusk.
[Brown D. S. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance''. Taylor & Francis. .] It is
endemic to
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...
.
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
''thomsoni'' is in honor of explorer
Joseph Thomson Joseph or Joe Thomson is the name of:
*J. J. Thomson (1856–1940), physicist
* Joseph Thomson (cricketer) (1877-1953), Australian cricketer
*Joseph Thomson (explorer) (1858–1895), African explorer
* Joseph Angus Thomson (1856–1943), Australian ...
.
Distribution
''Limnotrochus thomsoni'' is endemic to
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...
and is found in all countries surrounding the lake:
Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Tanzania, and
Zambia.
The
type locality is Lake Tanganyika.
Description
The shell measures 14 mm in width and 19 mm in height.
Ecology and threats
''Limnotrochus thomsoni'' lives in depths 4–30 m on silt and sandy bottoms of Lake Tanganyika. It is potentially threatened by
sedimentation.
References
Further reading
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q307554
Paludomidae
Monotypic gastropod genera
Freshwater snails of Africa
Snails of Lake Tanganyika
Gastropods described in 1880
Taxa named by Edgar Albert Smith
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot