Latia

Latia is a genus of very small, air-breathing freshwater snails or limpets, aquatic pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Chilinoidea.[5]

For the village in Iran, see Latia, Iran.

Latia
Latia neritoides shells
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Hygrophila
Superfamily:	Chilinoidea
Family:	Latiidae Hutton, 1882[1]
Genus:	Latia Gray, 1850[2][lower-alpha 1]
Diversity[3][4]
one or three extant species, one fossil species
Synonyms
Pelex Gould, 1852

Latia is the only genus in the family Latiidae.

Species in this genus are the only freshwater bioluminescent molluscs in the world.[6]

Taxonomy

The family Latiidae has been classified within the superfamily Chilinoidea, itself belonging to the clade Hygrophila within the informal group Basommatophora in the informal group Pulmonata (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).[5]

There are no subfamilies in the family Latiidae (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).[5]

Latia is the only genus in the family Latiidae, in other words Latiidae is a monotypic family and Latia is the type genus of the family Latiidae. This genus was previously placed instead in a larger family of freshwater limpets, the Ancylidae.

Distribution

This genus is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand.

Habitat

This genus lives in clean running streams and rivers.[7]

Shell description

Shell is ancyliform, with the apex marginal, and situated at the left posterior side, incurved, small.[8]

Aperture is very large, oval. The margin of the aperture is thin and sharp; posteriorly with a narrow, thin, concave lamina, its right edge bent down and free, forming a thin and sharp-edged vertical lamella.[8]

Anatomy

This genus is remarkable by the absence of a jaw.[8]

Animal has eyes at the outer bases of the tentacles. The foot is elongated oval. The pulmonary cavity, its opening on the right side. Visceral commissure is long. There is no jaw. Central tooth of radula is bicuspidate, laterals are unicuspidate and marginals are tricuspidate.[8]

Life habits

These freshwater limpets are capable of secreting a bioluminescent substance when disturbed.[6] Theories vary as to the purpose of the bioluminescence, but indicate it is a defence mechanism. One theory is that when disturbed by a predator, Latia release the bioluminescent slime, and the predator chases the light rather than the snail. Another theory is that the slime will attach to the predator causing confusion and alarm, or indeed, making the predator vulnerable and visible to other nocturnal predators.[9][10] As the Latia release the slime when feeling threatened, it is conceivable Latia could be used as a monitor for illegal pollution dumping[10] or other water quality issues.

Species

Species in the genus Latia include:

• Latia climoi Starobogatov, 1986 - the type species
• Latia lateralis (Gould, 1852)
• † Latia manuherikia Marshall, 2011 - from the Early–Middle Miocene[4]
• Latia neritoides Gray, 1850

Notes

1. Gray's paper was read on 11 December 1949, and presumably not published until 1850 notwithstanding the date of the journal.

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference[8]

1. Hutton F. W. (1882). Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 14: 156.
2. Gray, J. E., Esq. (1849). "Description of a new Genus and Several New Species of Terrestrial, Fluviatile and Marine Molluscous Animals Inhabiting New Zealand". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 17: 164 at 168.
3. Strong E. E., Gargominy O., Ponder W. F. & Bouchet P. (2008). "Global Diversity of Gastropods (Gastropoda; Mollusca) in Freshwater". Hydrobiologia 595: 149-166. hdl:10088/7390 doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9012-6.
4. Marshall B. A. (2011). "A new species of Latia Gray, 1850 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Hygrophila: Chilinoidea: Latiidae) from Miocene Palaeo-lake Manuherikia, southern New Zealand, and biogeographic implications". Molluscan Research 31(1): 47-52. abstract.
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. BERNARD J. BOWDEN (1950). SOME OBSERVATIONS ON A LUMINESCENT FRESHWATER LIMPET FROM NEW ZEALAND Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine. Biol Bull 99: 373-380.
7. Powell A. W. B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand, ISBN 0-00-216906-1.
8. Suter H. (1913). Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca. Wellington. pages 615-616.
9. "Underwater Life - Macroinvertibrates - More Information". (Formerly Waitakere City Council) Auckland City Council. 2011. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
10. "School Water Monitoring Project - Latia - the brightest freshwater invertebrate in the world". National Waterways Project - The Royal Society of New Zealand. October 3, 2006. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.

• Marshall, B.A. (2011). A new species of Latia Gray, 1850 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Hygrophila: Chilinoidea: Latiidae) from Miocene palaeo-lake Manuherikia, southern New Zealand, and biogeographic implications. Molluscan Research 31 (1): 47–52.

External links

• Radio interview with scientist Stella McQueen discussing Latia