Coxiella (gastropod) explained
Coxiella is a genus of aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Tomichiidae. These snails that live in saline lakes, and have gills and an operculum.
Distribution
The distribution of genus Coxiella includes Tasmania[1] and Australia: southern Australia, central Australia and northern Queensland.
Species
Davis (1979)[1] recognized 10 species (9 in Australia) and one subrecent species Coxiella badgerensis in Tasmania.[1]
Species within the genus Coxiella include:
subgenus Coxiella
- † Coxiella badgerensis (Johnston, 1879) - subrecent[1]
- Coxiella exposita Iredale, 1943[1]
- Coxiella glabra MacPherson, 1957[1]
- Coxiella glauertii MacPherson, 1954[1]
- Coxiella minima MacPherson, 1954[1]
- Coxiella molesta Iredale, 1943[1]
- Coxiella pyrrhostoma (Cox, 1868)[1]
- Coxiella striata (Reeve, 1842)[1]
- Coxiella striatula (Menke, 1843) - type species[1]
subgenus Coxielladda Iredale & Whitley, 1938[2]
- Coxiella gilesi (Angas, 1877)[1]
Ecology
This genus consists of halophilic species which occur in temporal and permanent saline lakes.[3] [4]
Coxiella snails are iteroparous.[3] When the saline lake dries out, adults of Coxiella are able to survive.[3]
Notes and References
- Davis G. M. (1979). "The origin and evolution of the gastropod family Pomatiopsidae, with emphasis on the Mekong river Triculinae". Academy of natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Monograph 20: 1-120. . at Google Books.
- Iredale T. & Whitley (1938). S. Aust. Nat. 18(4): 66.
- Williams W. D. & Mellor M. W. (1991). "Ecology of Coxiella (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Prosobranchia), a snail endemic to Australian salt lakes". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 84(1-4): 339-355. .
- Kameda Y. & Kato M. (2011). "Terrestrial invasion of pomatiopsid gastropods in the heavy-snow region of the Japanese Archipelago". BMC Evolutionary Biology 11: 118. .
