''Potamopyrgus oppidanus'' is a species of freshwater

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 ...

in the family

Tateidae Tateidae is a family of very small and minute aquatic snails with an operculum, gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Truncatelloidea.Bouchet, P. (2014). Tateidae Thiele, 1925. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.ma ...

. It 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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

where it is found only in one area in the town belt of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

Martin Haase Martin Haase (born 25 October 1962) is a German linguistics professor at the University of Bamberg as well as a linguist, polyglot, and podcaster. Education After secondary school graduation from Helene-Lange-Gymnasium ( Dortmund, 1982), H ...

in 2008 using specimens collected in a stream in Wadestown in Wellington. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

specimen is held at the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Description

This species is approximately 3 mm in length and just over 1 mm in width. The shell is light brown in colour and semi transparent. The colour of the mantle can be patchy and there are two black stripes on the head of the snail.

Distribution

''P. oppidanus'' is endemic to New Zealand and has only be found on

Te Ahumairangi Hill Te Ahumairangi Hill (formerly known as Tinakori Hill) is a hill running for over 100 hectares through the Town Belt of Wellington, New Zealand. It was renamed Te Ahumairangi Hill as part of the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko ...

in the town belt of Wellington. The species was first found in a fountain near Grant Road where it intersects with Wadestown Road. However the stream near the fountain was subsequently rerouted into a manmade stream bed and the snails can no longer be found there.

Habitat

''P. oppidanus'' lives in damp shaded areas in undisturbed leaf litter, stones and woody detritus.

Conservation status

This species has a "Nationally Critical" conservation status under the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

threat classification system. It has been given that status as the total area of occupancy of this species is less than 1 ha (0.01 km2) and it is only found in one location. ''P. oppidanus'' has also been classified by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) as critically endangered. It has a decreasing population and is only found in one location. The IUCN considers ''P. oppidanus'' as under threat from residential and commercial development, ecosystem modification, decline and fragmentation, the possibility of fire and use of fire suppressants, as well as the possibility of pollution in the freshwater habitat of the species. The IUCN recommends that the known site and the surrounding vegetation be protected and that research be undertaken into the distribution of the species as well as life history and ecology as well as threats to the species. A recent survey of the species indicates it is declining in population. The building of illegal

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

tracks through its habitat is having a detrimental effect on its survival. ''

Tradescantia fluminensis ''Tradescantia fluminensis'' is a species of spiderwort native to South America. It is one of several plants known by the common name wandering Jew, but now also commonly called wandering trad. It is also known as small-leaf spiderwort, river s ...

'' is also contributing to this decline as the weed is smothering the snail habitat.

References

External links

Holotype specimen
held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa *''P. oppidanus'' on ''RNZ Critter of the Week''
8 November 2016
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21815293 Endangered biota of New Zealand Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 2008 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Tateidae Endemic molluscs of New Zealand