Theodoxus Explained

Theodoxus is a genus of nerites, small water snails with an operculum, some of which live in freshwater, and some in both freshwater and brackish water, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Neritidae, the nerites.[1]

Distribution

The distribution of the genus Theodoxus includes Europe and northern Africa and also extends east to southern Iran. No other species within Neritidae have sympatrical distribution with Theodoxus. The distribution of the genus Theodoxus is an exception within Neritidae, because Neritidae live primarily in the southern hemisphere. Species within Theodoxus are the only Neritidae snails, that live in temperate climate.

Bunje & Lindberg (2007) presented the first phylogenetic hypothesis of the clade Theodoxus.[2] The evolution of the genus Theodoxus was affected by separating of Mediterranean Sea and Paratethys sea in Miocene.[2]

Description

The shell in this genus is semiovular with a flat apertural plain. There is no umbilicus. The columella and inner whorls are dissolved.

Species in the genus Theodoxus are highly variable in size, in color pattern of the periostracum, in details of the operculum and in the radula, and all these factors can make identification to species level very challenging.[3]

Ecology

These animals live on stones, and often also under stones, in up to 5–6 m depth or deeper, feeding on algal covers. Theodoxus needs rough surfaces in order to be able to digest its food, so a stony substrate is necessary. Green algae are not consumed; Theodoxus has no cellulases. These snails lay egg capsules containing 30-70 eggs each, usually on the shells of other Theodoxus animals; only one juvenile grows, the other eggs serve as food.

Species

There were no systematic review of the genus Theodoxus as of 2007.[2] Bunje (2004) noted at least 34 extant taxa at species level in the genus Theodoxus. IUCN Red List (2015) provided conservation status for 23 species of Theodoxus.[4]

Species within the genus Theodoxus include:

Subgenus Brusinaella Andrusov, 1912[5]
Subgenus Calvertia Bourguignat, 1880[6]
Subgenus Neritonyx Andrusov, 1912[7]
Subgenus Ninniopsis Tomlin, 1930[8]
Subgenus Neritaea Roth, 1855[9]
Subgenus Theodoxus Montfort, 1810
Subgenus ?
Synonyms:

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference [29]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Bouchet, P. (2014). Theodoxus Montfort, 1810. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=153531 on 2014-11-17.
  2. Bunje P. M. & Lindberg D. R. (2007). "Lineage divergence of a freshwater snail clade associated with post-Tethys marine basin development". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42(2): 373–387. .
  3. Zettler M. L., Frankowski J., Bochert R. & Röhner M. (2004). "Morphological and ecological features of Theodoxus fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1758) from Baltic brackish water and German freshwater populations". Journal of Conchology 38(3): 305-316. .pdf PDF.
  4. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. . Downloaded on 23 March 2015. (Searching for "Theodoxus".)
  5. Andrussov (1912). Verh. Russ. min. Ges. St. Pétersburg (2)49: 4
  6. Bourguignat (1880). Etude Foss. Tert. Quat. Vallée Cettina, page 44.
  7. Andrussov (1912). Verh. Russ. min. Ges. St. Pétersburg (2)49: page 4 (Brusinaella) and page 1 (Neritonyx).
  8. [John Read le Brockton Tomlin|Tomlin J. R. le B.]
  9. Roth (1855). Malak. Bl. 2: 56.
  10. https://web.archive.org/web/20121012140940/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=429843 "Neritaea"
  11. Van Damme, D. . Ghamizi, M. . 2010 . Theodoxus niloticus . 2010 . e.T184690A8314592 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T184690A8314592.en . 17 November 2021.
  12. http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/list/species?taxongenus=2903 "Species in genus Theodoxus "
  13. Schütt H. (1965). "Zur Systematik und Ökologie türkischer Süßwasserprosobranchier". Zoologische Mededelingen 41(3): 43-72, Plate 1. abstract, PDF.
  14. https://web.archive.org/web/20121012140931/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=429852 "Theodoxus "
  15. Anistratenko V. V. (2005). "Lectotypes for Tricolia pullus, Gibbula divaricata and Theodoxus fluviatilis (Mollusca, Gastropoda) revisited". Vestnik zoologii 39(6): 3-10. PDF .
  16. Bunje . P. M. E. . Pan-European phylogeography of the aquatic snail Theodoxus fluviatilis (Gastropoda: Neritidae) . 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02703.x . Molecular Ecology . 14 . 14 . 4323–4340 . 2005 . 16313596 . PDF.
  17. Anistratenko O. Y., Starobogatov Y. I. & Anistratenko V. V. (1999). "Mollusks of the genus Theodoxus (Gastropoda, Pectinibranchia, Neritidae) from the Black and the Azov seas basin". Vestnik Zoologii 33: 11-19.
  18. Zettler, M. . Van Damme, D. . 2010 . Theodoxus meridionalis . 2010 . e.T165354A6005925 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T165354A6005925.en . 17 November 2021.
  19. Kantor Yu I., Vinarski M. V., Schileyko A. A. & Sysoev A. V. (published online on March 2, 2010). "Catalogue of the continental mollusks of Russia and adjacent territories". Version 2.3.1.
  20. WoRMS (2010). Theodoxus coronatus (Leach, 1815). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216264 on 2011-04-11
  21. Van Damme, D. . Ghamizi, M. . 2010 . Theodoxus maresi . 2010 . e.T21727A9314600 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T21727A9314600.en . 17 November 2021.
  22. Van Damme, D. . Ghamizi, M. . 2010 . Theodoxus marteli . 2010 . e.T184623A8302935 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T184623A8302935.en . 17 November 2021.
  23. Van Damme, D. . Ghamizi, M. . 2010 . Theodoxus numidicus . 2010 . e.T21728A9314774 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T21728A9314774.en . 17 November 2021.
  24. Zettler M. L. (2007). "A redescription of Theodoxus schultzii (Grimm, 1877), an endemic neritid gastropod of the Caspian Sea". Journal of Conchology 39(3): 245-252. abstract.
  25. Glöer P. (2002). Die Süßwassergastropoden Nord- und Mitteleuropas. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands, ConchBooks, Hackenheim, 326 pp., .
  26. Goodwin D. R. (2006). "The Discovery of Neritina (Theodoxus ) cariosa (Wood, 1828) on the Island of Maui, Hawaii (Gastropoda: Neritidae)". Visaya Net 11 pp. PDF.
  27. Mansoorian A. (2001). "Freshwater Gastropod of Khuzestan Province, South-West Iran". Iranian Int. J. Sci. 2(2): 9 pp. PDF.
  28. Glöer P. & Pešić V. (2012). "The freshwater snails (Gastropoda) of Iran, with descriptions of two new genera and eight new species". ZooKeys 219: 11-61, .
  29. http://www.animalbase.uni-goettingen.de/zooweb/servlet/AnimalBase/home/genus?id=741 "Genus summary for Theodoxus "