Bithynia tentaculata, common names the mud bithynia, common bithynia, or faucet snailKipp R. M. & Benson A. (2008). Bithynia tentaculata. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=987 Revision Date: 2/28/2007. is a relatively small species of freshwater snail in the family Bithyniidae.
Taxonomy Bithynia tentaculata is the type species of the genus Bithynia.
Forms of Bithynia tentaculata include: Bithynia tentaculata f. codia Bithynia tentaculata f. excavata Bithynia tentaculata f. gigas Bithynia tentaculata f. producta Menke, 1828 † Bithynia tentaculata tellinii Sacco, 1886
The variety † Bithynia tentaculata var. allobrogica Fontannes, 1881: synonym of † Bithynia minor Locard, 1878
Distribution Indigenous distribution The distribution of Bithynia tentaculata is Palearctic.Horsák M., Juřičková L. & Picka J. (2013). Měkkýši České a Slovenské republiky. Molluscs of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Kabourek, Zlín, 264 pp., page 28-29. The species occurs in:
Northern Europe: Scandinavia
Central Europe: Czech Republic – least concern (LC) Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. [Annotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics]". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, Suppl. 1: 1–37. PDF. Germany – common species overall in Germany, but is listed as endangered (gefährdet) in Saxony and in Thuringia Glöer P. & Meier-Brook C. (2003). Süsswassermollusken. DJN, pp. 134, page 106, Bithynia tentaculata www.mollbase.de, Verbreitungsatlas Schleswig-Holstein 1991, accessed 19 October 2008. Poland Slovakia
Western Europe: British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland NetherlandsBithynia tentaculata.
Eastern Europe: Ukraine
Southeastern Europe: Bulgaria – There is southern distribution border of Bithynia tentaculata in northern Bulgaria. Croatia
Bithynia tentaculata has been mentioned from Greece, but it does not occur there. It probably does not occur in Turkey and in Iran.
Nonindigenous distribution Bithynia tentaculata is nonindigenous in the United States and in Canada.
Great Lakes Region: Bithynia tentaculata was first recorded in Lake Michigan in 1871, but was probably introduced in 1870. It spread to Lake Ontario by 1879, the Hudson River by 1892, and other tributaries and water bodies in the Finger Lakes region during the 20th century. It was introduced to Lake Erie sometime before 1930. This snail's range extends in 1992 from Quebec and Wisconsin to Pennsylvania and New York. It has been recorded from Lake Huron, but only a few individuals were found in benthic samples from Saginaw Bay in the 1980s and 1990s.Nalepa T. F., Fanslow D. L., Lansing M. B., Lang G. A., Ford M., Gostenik G. & Hartson D. J. (2002). Abundance, Biomass, and Species Composition of Benthic Macroinvertebrates Populations in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, 1987–1996. NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystem Research, Michigan, Ann Arbor. 32 pp.
In the Mid-Atlantic Region it is found in Lake Champlain and is widespread across New York, south to the Potomac River in Virginia. It is established in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.
Description
The height of shell is usually no larger than 12–15 mm. The snail is sexually mature by the time the height of shell reaches 8 mm in size.Jokinen E. (1992). The Freshwater Snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of New York State. The University of the State of New York, The State Education Department, The New York State Museum, Albany, New York 12230. 112 pp.Mackie G. L., White D. S. & Zdeba T. W. (1980). A guide to freshwater mollusks of the Laurentian Great Lakes with special emphasis on the genus Pisidium. Environmental Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, Minnesota 55804. 144 pp.Peckarsky B. L., Fraissinet P. R., Penton M. A. & Conklin Jr. D. J. (1993). Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Northeastern North America. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York State. 442 pp.Pennak R. (1989). Fresh-water Invertebrates of the United States, 3rd ed. Protozoa to Mollusca. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, New York State. 628 pp.
The width of the shell is 5–7 mm.
The faucet snail has a shiny pale brown shell, oval in shape, with a relatively large and rounded spire consisting of 5–6 somewhat flattened whorls, no umbilicus, and a very thick lip.Clarke A. H. (1981). The freshwater molluscs of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. 447 pp. The aperture is less than half the height of the shell.
Adult Bithynia tentaculata possess a white, calcareous, tear-drop to oval-shaped operculum with distinct concentric rings. The operculum of juveniles, however, is spirally marked. The operculum (on the back of the foot) is always situated very close to the aperture of the shell. The animal itself has pointed, long tentacles and a simple foot with the right cervical lobe acting as a channel for water.
Ecology Habitat This snail lives in slow-running freshwater habitat such as low-velocity rivers, and standing-water bodies such as lakes. The species flourishes in calcium-rich waters.
It is commonly found in freshwater ponds, shallow lakes, and canals. This species is found on the substrate in fall and winter (including gravel, sand, clay, mud or undersides of rocks) and on aquatic macrophytes (including milfoil, Myriophyllum spicatum and muskgrass, Chara spp.) in warmer months. It lives mostly in shoals, but is also found at depths of up to 5 m. Bithynia tentaculata inhabits intertidal zones in the Hudson River But in general, this snail inhabits waters with pH of 6.6–8.4, conductivity of 87–2320 μmhos/cm, Ca2+ of 5–89 ppm, and Na+ of 4–291 ppm. It can potentially survive well in water bodies with high concentrations of K+ and low concentrations of NO3−. In the Saint Lawrence River, it tends to occur in relatively unpolluted, nearshore areas and amongst dreissenid mussel beds.
Feeding habits This species functions as both a scraper and a collector-filterer, grazing on algae on the substrate, as well as using its gills to filter suspended algae from the water column. When filter feeding, algae is sucked in, condensed, and then passed out between the right tentacle and exhalant siphon in pellet-like packages which are then eaten. The ability to filter feed may play a role in allowing populations of the faucet snail to survive at high densities in relatively eutrophic, anthropogenically influenced water bodies. Bithynia tentaculata feeds selectively on food items. The faucet snail is known in Eurasia to feed on black fly larvae.
Life cycle
Bithynia tentaculata is dioecious (it has two separate sexes) and lays its eggs on rocks, wood and shells in organized aggregates arranged in double rows, in clumps of 1 to 77. Egg-laying occurs from May to July when water temperature is or higher, and sometimes a second time in October and November by females born early in the year. The density of eggs on the substrate can sometimes reach . Fecundity may reach up to 347 eggs and is greatest for the 2nd year class. Eggs hatch in three weeks to three months, depending on water temperature. Oocytes develop poorly at temperatures of . Growth usually does not occur from September to May. The lifespan varies regionally and can be anywhere from 17 to 39 months.
The faucet snail has the potential to be a good biomonitor for contaminants such as Cd, Zn, and methylmercury (MeHg) because there are good correlations between environmental concentrations and snail tissue concentrations with respect to these toxic compounds.
Parasites In its native Eurasian habitat, the faucet snail is host to many different species of digeneans, cercariae, metacercariae, cysticercoids, and other parasites.
As first intermediate host for Prosthogonimus ovatusProsthogonimus ovatus (Parasite Species Summary) As an intermediate host for Sphaeridiotrema globulusSauer J. S., Cole R. A. & Nissen J. M. (2007). "Finding the exotic faucet snail (Bithynia tentaculata): Investigation of waterbird die-offs on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge." U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007–1065, 3 p. As first intermediate hosts and as second intermediate host for Cyanthocotyle bushiensis."Cyanthocotyle bushiensis (Parasite Species Summary)" As second intermediate host for Echinostoma revolutum"Echinostomum revolutum (Parasite Species Summary)". As intermediate host for Syngamus trachea"Syngamus trachea (Parasite Species Summary)" Capillariidae, probably Capillaria obsignata Bithynia tenataculata is a suspected intermediate host for Leyogonimus polyoon"Chapter 35 – Miscellaneous Parasitic Diseases – Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases ".
Parasites of Bithynia tentaculata include trematode Aspidogaster conchicola.
Other interspecific relationship Natural dispersal of this snail is known to occur by passive transport in birds.
Bithynia tentaculata is capable of detecting the presence of molluscivorous leeches through chemoreception and of closing its operculum to avoid predation.
References This article incorporates public domain text from the reference
External links
Bithynia tentaculata at www.science.mcmaster.ca
Bithynia tentaculata Species account and photograph at Mollusc Ireland.