Myxas glutinosa
Encyclopedia
The glutinous snail, Myxas glutinosa is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail
, an aquatic
gastropod mollusc in the family Lymnaeidae
, the pond snails.
to completely cover the shell when it is in motion, giving the very small animal a glass-like appearance. It also makes the animal sticky to the touch, hence its common name.
According to the IUCN red list it is also native to Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden and Ukraine.
It is rapidly declining or already extinct in many European countries, because of the loss of good habitat.
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....
, an 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 mollusc in the family Lymnaeidae
Lymnaeidae
Lymnaeidae is a taxonomic family of small to large air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks, that belong to the clade Hygrophila....
, the pond snails.
Anatomy
This snail is unusual in that it extends its almost transparent mantleMantle (mollusc)
The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...
to completely cover the shell when it is in motion, giving the very small animal a glass-like appearance. It also makes the animal sticky to the touch, hence its common name.
Distribution
This species is European: it is now rare in western Europe, and even rarer in eastern Europe.- British Isles - listed in List of endangered species in the British Isles
- This species is fully protected in the United Kingdom under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...
since 1981. - List of non-marine molluscs of Great Britain - in one locality in WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
- List of non-marine molluscs of Ireland - extinct in Northern Ireland, still common in the Royal Canal and Grand Canal in central IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
- This species is fully protected in the United Kingdom under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
- Czech Republic - extinct in Bohemia
- Germany - critically endangered (vom Aussterben bedroht)
- Netherlands
- Poland
According to the IUCN red list it is also native to Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden and Ukraine.
Habitat
This species requires pollution-free, extremely clear, calm water, in calcium-rich canals, streams and lakes.It is rapidly declining or already extinct in many European countries, because of the loss of good habitat.
Further reading
- Green, W. A. 1901. Amphipeplea (Lymnaea) glutinosa in the River Bann. Irish NaturalistIrish NaturalistThe Irish Naturalist was a scientific journal that was first published in Dublin, Ireland, in April 1892.-History:The journal owed its establishment to the efforts of several leading Dublin naturalists, notably George H. Carpenter and R. M. Barrington. The first editors were Carpenter and Robert...
10: 132. - Welch, R. J.Robert Welch (photographer)Robert John Welch was an Irish photographer interested in natural history, particularly mollusca. Welch, born in Strabane, County Tyrone, was the son of an accomplished Scottish amateur photographer....
1900. Amphipeplea glutinosa Müller, in Ireland. Irish NaturalistIrish NaturalistThe Irish Naturalist was a scientific journal that was first published in Dublin, Ireland, in April 1892.-History:The journal owed its establishment to the efforts of several leading Dublin naturalists, notably George H. Carpenter and R. M. Barrington. The first editors were Carpenter and Robert...
9: 48.