''Tomichia'' is a genus of very small

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 which have a gill and an operculum,

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 ...

s or

micromollusc A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also r ...

s in the family Tomichiidae.Rosenberg, G. (2010). ''Tomichia'' Benson, 1851. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=405098 on 2011-04-04

Distribution

The distribution of the genus ''Tomichia'' includes South AfricaKameda Y. & Kato M. (2011). "Terrestrial invasion of pomatiopsid gastropods in the heavy-snow region of the Japanese Archipelago". '' BMC Evolutionary Biology'' 11: 118. . and Eastern Zaire. ''Tomichia'' is the only genus of Pomatiopsidae in Africa.

Ecology

This genus occurs is both freshwater and brackish water. There exist

halophilic The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, ...

species of ''Tomichia'' which live in saline lakes such as '' Tomichia ventricosa''.Brown D. S. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance''. Taylor & Francis. .

Species

Brown (1994) recognized 10 species (7 in South Africa and 3 in Central Africa) and one undescribed species. Kameda & Kato (2011) recognized 11 species of ''Tomichia''. Species within the genus ''Tomichia'' include: * '' Tomichia cawstoni'' Connolly, 1939 * '' Tomichia differens'' Connolly, 1939 * ''

Tomichia guillemei ''Tomichia'' is a genus of very small freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Tomichiidae.Rosenberg, G. (2010). ''Tomichia'' Benson, 1851. Accessed through: World Register of Ma ...

'' Leloup, 1953 * ''

Tomichia hendrickxi ''Tomichia'' is a genus of very small freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Tomichiidae.Rosenberg, G. (2010). ''Tomichia'' Benson, 1851. Accessed through: World Register of Ma ...

'' (Verdcourt, 1950) * ''

Tomichia kivuensis ''Tomichia'' is a genus of very small freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Tomichiidae.Rosenberg, G. (2010). ''Tomichia'' Benson, 1851. Accessed through: World Register of Ma ...

'' Mandahl-Barth, 1974 * '' Tomichia natalensis'' Connolly, 1939 * ''

Tomichia rogersi ''Tomichia rogersi'' is a species of very small freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the family Tomichiidae. This species is endemic to South Africa South Africa, officially the ...

'' (Connolly, 1929) * '' Tomichia tristis'' (Morelet, 1889) - critically endangeredKristensen T. K., Stensgaard A-S. & Appleton C. (2007)
''Tomichia tristis''
In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. . Downloaded on 30 May 2011. * '' Tomichia ventricosa'' (Reeve, 1842) - type species * ''

Tomichia zwellendamensis ''Tomichia'' is a genus of very small freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Tomichiidae.Rosenberg, G. (2010). ''Tomichia'' Benson, 1851. Accessed through: World Register of Ma ...

'' (Küster, 1852) * (?)''Tomichia'' n.sp. - reported by Cohen (1986) from

Lake Turkana Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. B ...

References

External links

* Davis G. M. (1981). "Different Modes of Evolution and Adaptive Radiation in the Pomatiopsidae (Prosobranchia: Mesogastropoda)". '' Malacologia'' 21(1-2)
209
262. * Verdcourt B. (1951). "The distribution of the genus ''Tomichia'' Benson in Africa". '' Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines'' 44: 173-174. * Verdcourt B. (1960). "A further collection of ''Tomichia hendrickxi'' (Verdcourt) from the Belgian Congo". '' Basteria'' 24: 3. {{Taxonbar, from=Q7818879 Truncatelloidea Gastropod genera