Bulinus
Encyclopedia
Bulinus is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of small tropical freshwater snail
Freshwater snail
A freshwater snail is one kind of freshwater mollusc, the other kind being freshwater clams and mussels, i.e. freshwater bivalves. Specifically a freshwater snail is a gastropod that lives in a watery non-marine habitat. The majority of freshwater gastropods have a shell, with very few exceptions....

s, aquatic
Aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...

 gastropod mollusks in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Planorbidae
Planorbidae
Planorbidae, common name the ramshorn snails or ram's horn snails, is a family of air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks....

, the ramshorn snails and their allies.

This genus is medically important because several species of Bulinus function as intermediate hosts
Host (biology)
In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...

 for the schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...

 blood fluke
Trematoda
Trematoda is a class within the phylum Platyhelminthes that contains two groups of parasitic flatworms, commonly referred to as "flukes".-Taxonomy and biodiversity:...

.

Shell description

The shell of species in the genus Bulinus is sinistral. It has a very large body whorl and a small spire.

Distribution

These snails are widespread in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 including Madagascar and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.

This genus has not yet become established in the USA, but it is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 which could negatively effect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

 significance in the USA.

Species

Species within the genus Bulinus have been placed into four species group
Species group
A species group is an informal taxonomic rank into which an assemblage of closely related species within a genus are grouped because of their morphological similarities and their identity as a biological unit with a single monophyletic origin.-Use:...

s: the Bulinus africanus group, Bulinus forskalii group, Bulinus reticulatus group and the Bulinus truncatus/tropicus complex
Species complex
A species complex is a group of closely related species, where the exact demarcation between species is often unclear or cryptic owing to their recent and usually still incomplete reproductive isolation. Ring species, superspecies and cryptic species complex are example of species complex...

. For the most part, species have been classified on the basis of their morphology although, in recent decades, the study of ploidy
Ploidy
Ploidy is the number of sets of chromosomes in a biological cell.Human sex cells have one complete set of chromosomes from the male or female parent. Sex cells, also called gametes, combine to produce somatic cells. Somatic cells, therefore, have twice as many chromosomes. The haploid number is...

, allozymes and DNA methods have all played an increasing role in species discrimination. Morphological characters, whilst adequate to allocate a specimen to a species group are sometimes unreliable when used to classify at higher resolution especially within the Bulinus africanus group.

There are 37 (or 38 species when the Bulinus mutandensis
Bulinus mutandensis
Bulinus mutandensis is a species of freshwater gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Uganda. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes....

is recognized as a saparate species) species within the genus Bulinus including:

Bulinus africanus group - 10 species
  • Bulinus abyssinicus
    Bulinus abyssinicus
    Bulinus abyssinicus is a species of tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies....

    (Martens, 1866)
  • Bulinus africanus
    Bulinus africanus
    Bulinus africanus is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.- Further reading :* Cridland C. C....

    (Krauss, 1848)
  • Bulinus globosus
    Bulinus globosus
    Bulinus globosus is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.- Further reading :* Cridland C. C....

    (Morelet, 1866)
  • Bulinus hightoni
    Bulinus hightoni
    Bulinus hightoni is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.-Distribution:This species is endemic to Kenya, Africa.-Habitat:...

    Brown & Wright, 1978
  • Bulinus jousseaumei
    Bulinus jousseaumei
    Bulinus jousseaumei is a species of tropical freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.Like other planorbids, the shell of the species is sinistral in coiling.-Distribution:...

    (Dautzenberg, 1890)
  • Bulinus nasutus
    Bulinus nasutus
    Bulinus nasutus is a species of tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.-Distribution:...

    (Martens, 1879)
  • Bulinus obtusispira
    Bulinus obtusispira
    Bulinus obtusispira is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.- Distribution :...

    (Smith, 1882)
  • Bulinus obtusus Mandahl-Barth, 1973
  • Bulinus ugandae Mandahl-Barth, 1954
  • Bulinus umbilicatus Mandahl-Barth, 1973


Bulinus forskalii group - 11 species
  • Bulinus barthi
    Bulinus barthi
    Bulinus barthi is a species of small tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies....

    Jelnes, 1979
  • Bulinus bavayi (Dautzenberg, 1894)
  • Bulinus beccarii (Paladilhe, 1872)
  • Bulinus browni
    Bulinus browni
    Bulinus browni is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Kenya....

    Jelnes, 1979
  • Bulinus camerunensis
    Bulinus camerunensis
    Bulinus camerunensis is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is endemic to Cameroon....

    Mandahl-Barth, 1957
  • Bulinus canescens
    Bulinus canescens
    Bulinus canescens is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is found in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia....

    (Morelet, 1868)
  • Bulinus cernicus
    Bulinus cernicus
    Bulinus cernicus is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is found in Mauritius and Reunion Island....

    (Morelet, 1867)
  • Bulinus crystallinus
    Bulinus crystallinus
    Bulinus crystallinus is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is found in Angola and Gabon....

    (Morelet, 1868)
  • Bulinus forskalii
    Bulinus forskalii
    Bulinus forskalii is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.- Distribution :...

    (Ehrenberg, 1831)
  • Bulinus scalaris (Dunker, 1845)
  • Bulinus senegalensis Müller, 1781 - the type species
    Type species
    In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

     of the genus


Bulinus reticulatus group - 2 species
  • Bulinus reticulatus
    Bulinus reticulatus
    Bulinus reticulatus is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies....

    Mandahl-Barth, 1954
  • Bulinus wrighti
    Bulinus wrighti
    Bulinus wrighti is a species of small tropical air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.-Distribution:...

    Mandahl-Barth, 1965


Bulinus truncatus/tropicus complex - 14-15 species
  • Bulinus angolensis (Morelet, 1866)
  • Bulinus depressus Haas, 1936
  • Bulinus hexaploidus
    Bulinus hexaploidus
    Bulinus hexaploidus is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Ethiopia....

    Burch, 1972
  • Bulinus liratus (Tristram, 1863)
  • Bulinus mutandensis
    Bulinus mutandensis
    Bulinus mutandensis is a species of freshwater gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Uganda. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes....

    Preston, 1913
  • Bulinus natalensis
    Bulinus natalensis
    Bulinus natalensis is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies....

    (Küster, 1841)
  • Bulinus nyassanus
    Bulinus nyassanus
    Bulinus nyassanus is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is endemic to Malawi....

    (E. A. Smith, 1877)
  • Bulinus octoploidus Burch, 1972
  • Bulinus permembranaceus (Preston, 1912)
  • Bulinus succinoides
    Bulinus succinoides
    Bulinus succinoides is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Planorbidae family. It is endemic to Malawi....

    (E. A. Smith, 1877)
  • Bulinus transversalis
    Bulinus transversalis
    Bulinus transversalis is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.This species is found in Kenya and Uganda....

    (Martens, 1897)
  • Bulinus trigonus (Martens, 1892)
  • Bulinus tropicus
    Bulinus tropicus
    Bulinus tropicus is a species of a tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.- Distribution :Distribution of Bulinus tropicus includes:* Namibia...

    (Krauss, 1848)
  • Bulinus truncatus
    Bulinus truncatus
    Bulinus truncatus is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.-Distribution:Distribution of Bulinus truncatus include:...

    (Audouin, 1827)
  • Bulinus yemenensis Paggi et al., 1978

External links

  • Nalugwa A., Jørgensen A., Nyakaana S. & Kristensen T. K. (2010). "Molecular phylogeny of Bulinus (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) reveals the presence of three species complexes in the Albertine Rift freshwater bodies". International Journal of Genetics and Molecular Biology 2(7): 130-139. abstract, PDF.
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