Lymnaeidae,

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

the pond snails, is a

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

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 ...

of small to large 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 ...

s, aquatic

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 ...

s, that belong to the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

Hygrophila. Lymnaeidae is the only family within the superfamily Lymnaeoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).

Taxonomy

2005 taxonomy

Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) recognized four subfamilies within Lymnaeidae: * subfamily Lymnaeinae Rafinesque, 1815 - synonyms: Amphipepleinae Pini, 1877; Limnophysidae W. Dybowski, 1903; Acellinae Hannibal, 1912; Fossariinae B. Dybowski 1913 * subfamily Lancinae Hannibal, 1914 * † subfamily Scalaxinae Zilch, 1959 * † subfamily Valencieniinae Kramberger-Gorjanovic, 1923 - synonym: Clivunellidae Kochansky-Devidé & Sliskovic, 1972

2013 taxonomy

Vinarski (2013)Vinarski M. V. (2013). "One, two, or several? How many lymnaeid genera are there?". ''Ruthenica'' 23(1): 41-58
PDF
established a new subfamily Radicinae within Lymnaeidae, but be considered position neither of Lancinae nor of extinct genera. * subfamily Radicinae Vinarski, 2013

Cladogram

Correa et al. (2010) examined

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

relationships among 50 taxa of this family using a supermatrix approach (concatenation of the 16S,

internal transcribed spacer Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) is the spacer DNA situated between the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and large-subunit rRNA genes in the chromosome or the corresponding transcribed region in the polycistronic rRNA precursor transcript. I ...

s ITS1 and ITS2 genes) involving both

maximum likelihood In statistics, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a method of estimation theory, estimating the Statistical parameter, parameters of an assumed probability distribution, given some observed data. This is achieved by Mathematical optimization, ...

and

Bayesian inference Bayesian inference is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to update the probability for a hypothesis as more evidence or information becomes available. Bayesian inference is an important technique in statistics, a ...

. Her phylogenetic analysis demonstrates the existence of three deep

clades A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, t ...

of Lymnaeidae representing the main geographic origin of species (America, Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific region). It demonstrates that the nomenclature of most genera in the Lymnaeidae does not reflect evolutionary relationships. A cladogram based on sequences of 16S,

s ITS1 and ITS2 genes showing phylogenic relations of Lymnaeidae by Correa et al. (2010): The nomenclature of genera has been one of the most confusing issues in the Lymnaeidae systematics. Most genus names are not fixed and are based more on phenotypic resemblances than on sound evolutionary and phylogenetic considerations. For instance, a single genus in Lymnaeidae was recognized by Walter (1968), two by Hubendick (1951), and up to 34 genera by others. Results by Correa et al. (2010) indicate that genera in Lymnaeidae do not reflect phylogenetic relationships, to the notable exception of ''

Radix In a positional numeral system, the radix or base is the number of unique digits, including the digit zero, used to represent numbers. For example, for the decimal/denary system (the most common system in use today) the radix (base number) is t ...

'' (including ''

Radix natalensis ''Radix natalensis'' is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Lymnaeidae. This species occurs widely in Africa. It is a major intermediate host for '' Fasciola gigantica'' in Africa. Placement of this s ...

''). The type species of ''Lymnaea'' is ''

Lymnaea stagnalis ''Lymnaea stagnalis'', better known as the great pond snail, is a species of large air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Lymnaeidae. The great pond snail is a model organism to study parasitology, ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758; the type species of '' Stagnicola'' Jeffreys, 1830 is '' Stagnicola palustris'' (= ''Lymnaea palustris''); and the type species of '' Omphiscola'' Rafinesque, 1819 is '' Omphiscola glabra''. However, it is clear that these three species belong to the same clade (C2) and that ''Lymnaea'' is not a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group. Correa et al. (2010) proposed that species of clade C2 should all be called ''Lymnaea'', according to the

principle of priority 270px, '' valid name. Priority is a fundamental principle of modern botanical nomenclature and zoological nomenclature. Essentially, it is the principle of recognising the first valid application of a name to a plant or animal. There are two asp ...

of the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

(ICZN). By extension, ''Stagnicola'' should not be used to name species in clade C1a since the type species belongs to clade C2. Meier-Brook & Bargues (2002) suggested including '' Stagnicola emarginata'', '' Stagnicola elodes'', '' Stagnicola catascopium'' and '' Lymnaea occulta'' within a new genus '' Catascopia'', while '' Stagnicla caperata'' would belong to the genus '' Hinkleyia'' Baker, 1928. The phylogeny by Correa et al. (2010) does not conflict with this nomenclature, although it would seem preferable to identify all species of clade C1a with the same name to reflect the close evolutionary relationships among these species. ''Hinkleyia'' would be the preferable name according to the ICZN. On the other hand, at least four genera names have been used for species of clade C1b: ''Lymnaea'' Lamarck, 1799; ''

Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...

'' Schrank, 1803; '' Fossaria'' Westerlund, 1885; and '' Bakerilymnaea''. In the light of the present results, it would be preferable to unify nomenclature. According to the ICZN, ''Lymnaea'' should be the unified name, but given that the type species belongs to clade C2, ''Galba'' could be a more appropriate name. Finally, as said above, ''Austropeplea'' Cotton, 1942 is not a monophyletic group, and employing the genus '' Kutikina'' Ponder & Waterhouse, 1997 (one species: ''

Kutikina hispida ''Austropeplea'' is a genus of air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails.Bouchet, P. (2015). ''Austropeplea'' Cotton, 1942. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World ...

'') seems unjustified on the basis of the current phylogeny. This would also be consistent with results of Puslednik et al. (2009). It would be preferable to use '' Bullastra'' Pfeiffer, 1839 for all species of clade C3a to fit the ICZN.

Genera

Genera in the family Lymnaeidae include: subfamily Lymnaeinae * '' Acella'' Haldeman, 1841 * '' Aenigmomphiscola'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1981 * '' Bulimnea'' Haldeman, 1841 * '' Corvusiana'' Servain, 1881 - probably a subgenus of '' Stagnicola'' ** subgenus ''Corvusiana'' sensu stricto ** subgenus ''Kuesterilymnaea'' Vinarski, 2003 * ''

Erinna Erinna (; grc-gre, Ἤριννα) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek poet. She is best known for her long poem "The Distaff", a 300-line dactylic hexameter, hexameter lament for her childhood friend Baucis, who had died shortly after her mar ...

'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1858 * ''

'' Schrank, 1803 - synonym: '' Fossaria'' Westerlund, 1885 ** subgenus ''Galba'' sensu stricto ** subgenus ''Bakerilymnaea'' Weyrauch, 1964 ** subgenus ''Sibirigalba'' Kruglov et Starobogatov, 1985 * '' Hinkleyia'' F. C. Baker, 1928 * '' Ladislavella'' B. Dybowski, 1913 - synonym: '' Catascopia'' Meier-Brook & Bargues, 2002 ** subgenus ''Lymnaea'' sensu stricto ** subgenus ''Kazakhlymnaea'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1984 * ''

Lymnaea ''Lymnaea'' is a genus of small to large-sized air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Lymnaeinae ( of the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails.Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2013). Lymnaea Lamarck, 179 ...

'' Lamarck, 1799 - type genus of the family Lymnaeidae * '' Omphiscola'' Rafinesque, 1819 * '' Pseudoisidora'' Thiele, 1931 ** subgenus ''Pseudoisidora'' sensu stricto ** subgenus ''Pseudobulinus'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1993 * '' Pseudosuccinea'' F. C. Baker, 1908 * '' Sphaerogalba'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985 - possibly a synonym of ''Bakerilymnaea'' * '' Stagnicola'' Leach in Jeffreys, 1830 * '' Walhiana'' Servain, 1881 - probably a subgenus of '' Stagnicola'' * '' Walterigalba'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985 - probably a subgenus of '' Hinkleyia'' ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Catascopia'' Meier-Brook & Bargues, 2002: synonym of '' Ladislavella'' B. Dybowski, 1913 * ''Fossaria'' Westerlund, 1885: synonym of ''

'' Schrank, 1803 * ''Limnaea'': synonym of ''

'' Lamarck, 1799 * ''Limneus'' Sandberger, 1875: synonym of ''

'' Lamarck, 1799 * ''Limneus'' auct.: synonym of ''

'' Lamarck, 1799 * ''Limnophysa'' Fitzinger, 1833: synonym of '' Stagnicola'' Jeffreys, 1830 * ''Lymnaeus'': synonym of ''

'' Lamarck, 1799 * ''Nasonia'' F. C. Baker, 1928: synonym of ''Galba (Bakerilymnaea)'' Weyrauch, 1964 represented as ''

'' Schrank, 1803 * ''Truncatuliana'' Servain, 1881: synonym of ''

'' Schrank, 1803 * ''Walterlymnaea'' Starobogatov & Budnikova, 1976: synonym of '' Ladislavella'' B. Dybowski, 1913 subfamily Amphipepleinae Pini, 1877 (synonym: Radicinae Vinarski, 2013) * '' Austropeplea'' B. C. Cotton, 1942 - synonym: ''Kutikina'' Ponder & Waterhouse, 1997 (there was one species ''

''). * '' Bullastra'' Bergh, 1901 * ''

Lantzia ''Lantzia'' is a genus of amphibious pulmonate gastropods in the family Lymnaeidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species ''Lantzia carinata''. It is endemic to montane streams on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion. Habitat ...

'' Jousseaume, 1872 * '' Limnobulla'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985 * '' Myxas'' G. B. Sowerby, 1822 * '' Orientogalba'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985 * '' Pacifimyxas'' Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985 * '' Pectinidens'' Pilsbry, 1911 * ''

'' Montfort, 1810 - type genus of the subfamily Radicinae ** subgenus ''Radix'' sensu stricto ** subgenus ''Peregriana'' Servain, 1881 * '' Cerasina'' Kobelt, 1880 -

taxon inquirendum In biological classification, a ''species inquirenda'' is a species of doubtful identity requiring further investigation. The use of the term in English-language biological literature dates back to at least the early nineteenth century. The term t ...

: maybe it is a synonym of ''Radix'' ;Genera brought into synonymy: * ''Amphipeplea'' Nilsson, 1822: synonym of '' Myxas'' G. B. Sowerby I, 1822 * ''Auriculariana'' Servain, 1881: synonym of ''

'' Montfort, 1810 * ''Cyclolimnaea'' Dall, 1905: synonym of '' Myxas'' G. B. Sowerby I, 1822 * ''Gulnaria'' Turton, 1831: synonym of ''

'' Montfort, 1810 * ''Kutikina'' Ponder & Waterhouse, 1997: synonym of '' Austropeplea'' Cotton, 1942 * ''Neritostoma'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1855: synonym of ''

'' Montfort, 1810 subfamily Lancinae Banbury springs lanx

* '' Idaholanx'' Clark, Campbell & Lydeard, 2017 - with the only species '' Idaholanx fresti'' Clark, Campbell & Lydeard, 2017 * ''

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 ...

'' Clessin, 1880 - type genus of the subfamily Lancinae † subfamily Scalaxinae * '' Scalaxis'' Pilsbry, 1909 - type genus of the subfamily Scalaxinae † subfamily Valencieniinae * † '' Provalenciennesia'' Gorjanović-Kramberger, 1923 * † '' Valenciennius'' Rousseau, 1842 - type genus of the subfamily Valencieniinae ;Genera brought into synonymy: * † ''Provalenciennius'' Gorjanović-Kramberger, 1923: synonym of † ''Provalenciennesia'' Gorjanović-Kramberger, 1923 * † ''Valenciennesia'' Fischer, 1859: synonym of † ''Valenciennius'' Rousseau, 1842 subfamily ? * '' Adelinella'' Wenz, 1922 * † '' Boskovicia'' Brusina, 1894 * † '' Clivunella'' Katzer, 1918 * † '' Corymbina'' Bulowski, 1892 * '' Fisherola'' Hannibal, 1912 * '' Glacilimnea'' Iredale, 1943 * † '' Hiscerus'' Gorjanović-Kramberger, 1923 * '' Peplimnea'' Iredale, 1943 * '' Simlimnea'' Iredale, 1943 * † '' Undulotheca'' Gorjanović-Kramberger, 1923 * † '' Velutinopsis'' Sandberger, 1875 * † '' Zagrabica'' Brusina, 1884

Distribution

Lymnaeidae snails occur worldwide, however, most species occur in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

and

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

regions. An unidentified fragmentary lymnaeid from deposits of the Meyer Desert Formation (reported in 2003) was the first

recorded from

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Description

This family exhibits a great diversity in

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

morphology but extremely homogeneous anatomical traits. Diversity of shell morphology is linked to substantial eco-

phenotypic plasticity Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment. Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompa ...

. Hubendick (1951)Hubendick B. (1951). "Recent Lymnaeidae, their variation, morphology, taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution". ''Kungl Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar'' 3: 1-223. illustrated this point by compiling up to 1143 species names, a large number of which he synonymized. In contrast, the anatomy of their reproductive tracts (including prostate, penis and preputium) is extremely homogeneous.

Immunological Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

, cytogenetical, enzyme

electrophoresis Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric fie ...

studies, and DNA-based approaches have demonstrated extensive

homoplasy Homoplasy, in biology and phylogenetics, is the term used to describe a feature that has been gained or lost independently in separate lineages over the course of evolution. This is different from homology, which is the term used to characterize ...

in anatomical characters.

Ecology

Lymnaeidae are of major medical and

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

importance since they act as vectors of parasites (

helminths Parasitic worms, also known as helminths, are large macroparasites; adults can generally be seen with the naked eye. Many are intestinal worms that are soil-transmitted and infect the gastrointestinal tract. Other parasitic worms such as ...

, mainly

trematodes Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive host ...

, e.g., ''

Fasciola ''Fasciola'', commonly known as the liver fluke, is a genus of parasitic trematodes. There are two species within the genus ''Fasciola'': ''Fasciola'' ''hepatica'' and ''Fasciola'' ''gigantica'', as well as hybrids between the two species. Bot ...

'' liver flukes) that severely affect human populations and livestock, and cause important economic losses. Lymnaeids serve as intermediate hosts of at least 71 trematode species distributed among 13 families, including some species of

Schistosomatidae Schistosomatidae is a family (biology), family of digenetic trematodes with Parasitic life cycles, complex parasitic life cycles. Immature developmental stages of schistosomes are found in molluscs and adults occur in vertebrates. The best studie ...

and

Echinostomatidae Echinostomatidae is a Family (biology), family of Trematoda, trematodes in the Order (biology), order Plagiorchiida, first described in 1899.Fuhrmann, O. (1928). ''Zweite Klasse des Cladus Platyhelminthes: Trematoda''. Berlin & Leipzig: Kükentha ...

, with implications for human health, and '' Paramphistomum daubneyi'', which is of veterinary interest. The most emblematic case of parasite transmitted by lymnaeids is ''

Fasciola hepatica ''Fasciola hepatica'', also known as the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitic trematode (fluke or flatworm, a type of helminth) of the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects the livers of various mammals, inc ...

'' (Digenea: Fasciolidae), the agent of

fascioliasis Fasciolosis is a helminth, parasitic worm infection caused by the common liver fluke ''Fasciola hepatica'' as well as by ''Fasciola gigantica''. The disease is a plant-borne Trematoda, trematode zoonosis, and is classified as a Neglected tropic ...

. Mollusks, generally lymnaeids, are required as intermediate hosts to complete the life cycle of ''Fasciola hepatica''. At least 20 species of Lymnaeidae have been described as potential vectors of fascioliasis.

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from the reference

External links

* {{Authority control Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque