Afropomus balanoidea

Afropomus balanoidea is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails and their allies.

Afropomus balanoidea
A drawing of an apertural view of the shell of Afropomus balanoidea

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
informal group Architaenioglossa
Superfamily:
Ampullarioidea
Family:
Ampullariidae
Subfamily:
Afropominae
Genus:
Afropomus

Species:
A. balanoidea
Binomial name
Afropomus balanoidea
(Gould, 1850)[3]
Synonyms
  • Ampullaria balanoidea Gould, 1850
  • Afropomus balanoideus (Gould, 1850)

Afropomus balanoidea is the only species in the genus Afropomus.[4] Afropomus is the type genus of the subfamily Afropominae.[5]

Based on the anatomy, mainly that of the reproductive system, Afropomus appears to be a primitive genus within the Ampullariidae.[4] This basal position of Afropomus within Ampullariidae has also been confirmed by molecular phylogeny.[6]

Subspecies

Subspecies of Afropomus balanoidea include:

  • Afropomus balanoidea balanoidea (Gould, 1850)
  • Afropomus balanoidea nimbae Binder, 1963[4] This subspecies from the Ivory Coast has a higher spire.

Distribution

The distribution of Afropomus balanoidea includes:

The type locality is Cape Mount in Liberia.[4]

Its presence in Ghana is uncertain.[1]

Description

The shape of the shell is ovate.[4]

The width of the shell is 20 mm.[4][7] The height of the shell is 22–23 mm.[4][7]

Ecology

Afropomus balanoidea lives in clean water in ditches, creeks and small rivers.[1][4] It requires a high concentration of oxygen.[1]

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References
  1. Kristensen T. K. & Stensgaard A-S. (2006). Afropomus balanoidea. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 13 May 2011.
  2. Pilsbry H. A. & Bequaert J. C. (1927). "The aquatic mollusks of the Belgian Congo, with a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 53(2): 69-602. PDF. page 171.
  3. Gould A. A. (1850). "Dr. Gould exhibited to the Society a number of new species of shells from Africa, recently presented by Dr. Perkins". Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History III: 193-197. pages 196-197.
  4. Brown D. S. (1994). Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-7484-0026-5.
  5. Bouchet, Philippe; Rocroi, Jean-Pierre; Frýda, Jiri; Hausdorf, Bernard; Ponder, Winston; Valdés, Ángel & Warén, Anders (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". Malacologia. Hackenheim, Germany: ConchBooks. 47 (1–2): 1–397. ISBN 3-925919-72-4. ISSN 0076-2997.
  6. Jørgensen A., Kristensen T. K. & Madsen H. (2008). "A molecular phylogeny of apple snails (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda, Ampullariidae) with an emphasis on African species". Zoologica Scripta 37(3): 245-252. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2007.00322.x.
  7. Morelet A. (1851). "En outre des coquilles ...". Journal de Conchyliologie 2: page 266-269, plate 7, figure 8.
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