Opacuincola dulcinella

Opacuincola dulcinella is a critically endangered species of freshwater snail endemic to New Zealand.

Opacuincola dulcinella
Conservation status
Nationally Critical (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Clade:	Caenogastropoda
Clade:	Hypsogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Tateidae
Genus:	Opacuincola
Species:	O. dulcinella
Binomial name
Opacuincola dulcinella Martin Haase, 2008[2]
Synonyms
Hydrobiidae sp. 11 (M.174101)

Habitat

This snail has been found in two caves in very close proximity within a 1 km² area in Pohara, Takaka . The population trend of this snail is unknown at present but it is regarded as potentially threatened by urban development and groundwater removal and contamination.[3]

Conservation status

In November 2018 the Department of Conservation classified Opacuincola dulcinella as Nationally Critical under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[1] The species was judged as meeting the criteria for Nationally Critical threat status as a result of it occupying a total area of less than 1 hectare. It is found in what is regarded as one location and is also classified as Data Poor under the threat classification system.[1]

References

1. Grainger, N.; Harding, J.; Drinan, T.; Collier, K.; Smith, B.; Death, R.; Makan, T.; Rolfe, J. (November 2018). "Conservation status of New Zealand freshwater invertebrates, 2018" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 28: 1–29 – via Department of Conservation.
2. Haase, Martin (February 2008). "The radiation of hydrobiid gastropods in New Zealand: A revision including the description of new species based on morphology and mtDNA sequence information". Systematics and Biodiversity. 6 (1): 99–159. doi:10.1017/S1477200007002630.
3. Collier, K. "Opacuincola dulcinella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 1 September 2015.old-form url

External links

• Image of the holotype specimen held at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa