The non-marine molluscs of the country of Turkey are a part of the molluscan fauna of Turkey. The biodiversity of non-marine molluscs of Turkey is richer than in surrounding European states.Şereflişan H., Yildirim M. Z. & Şereflişan M. (2009). "The gastropod fauna and their abundance, and some physicochemical parameters of Lake Gölbaşı (Hatay, Turkey)". Turkish Journal of Zoology 33(3): 287-296. abstract , PDF
There are at least 825 species of non-marine molluscs living in the wild in Turkey. An approximate guess to the total number, however, is of about 1030 non-marine molluscs in Turkey (see the table below).
There are a total of 825 species of gastropods, which breaks down to 95 (counted 80 "Prosobranchia" only and at least 15 other freshwater snails from this list) taxa of freshwater gastropods (including brackish water species),Yildirim M. Z., Koca S. B. & Kebapçi U. (2006). "Supplement to the Prosobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) Fauna of Fresh and Brackish Waters of Turkey". Turkish Journal of Zoology 30: 197-204. PDF and 730 species (and subspecies) of land gastropods. There is also relevant number of freshwater bivalves living in the wild in Turkey.
According to Gümüş et al. (2009), the Turkish malacofauna of land gastropods currently comprises 730 valid species and subspecies of terrestrial snails, belonging to 36 families.
Gümüş et al. (2009) stated that Turkey has a very rich freshwater malacofauna with a very large proportion of endemic species. Those authors estimated that Turkey is inhabited by at least 300 species of freshwater molluscs.
+ Summary table of species in the wild of Turkey Mollusc Number Freshwater gastropods at least 95 taxa (80 species and subspecies of "Prosobranchia" include brackish waters + 15 other freshwater snails from this list) Land gastropods 730 valid species and subspecies and estimation is over 1.000 including species and subspecies waiting to be recovered Total gastropods 825 Bivalves ?? non-marine molluscs at least 825 gastropods plus unknown number of freshwater bivalves. (730 taxa of land gastropods + approximate guess 300 freshwater molluscs = gives approximate guess of about 1030 taxa of non-marine molluscs.)
There are also significant numbers of non-indigenous species, including bivalves and various synanthropic gastropods and bivalves.
Land gastropods overview
A country such as Turkey, with a highly variable relief and a diversified climate and vegetation, can support a similarly rich and diversified malacofauna of terrestrial gastropods. Consequently, the recent changes in both land use and climate (which is gradually shifting from semi-arid and winter-cold Central Turkey to a subtropical periphery with high humidity during winter) have immediately affected the malacofauna, causing area shifts following the unstable environmental conditions, including depletion or even complete loss of some populations. Increasing pasture farming leads to a loss of forest vegetation, and thus to a loss of those molluscan species which are adapted to such conditions.
The recent rise of average summer temperature resulting from global warming may particularly affect the Mediterranean species. Gümüş et al. (2009) speculated that both the average length of the dry summer period and the absolute temperature are rising, and that the aestivation period of species adapted to the Mediterranean drought is now too long. The animals die from starvation or desiccation, and several species or subspecies may already be approaching the verge of extinction.
As far as nomenclature, an average of two to three additional synonym names for each taxon are available to land gastropods in Turkey.
The degree of endemism for the area of Turkey is about 65%. The degree of endemism on the species level is relatively high and is comparable to that of Greece, which houses the highest number of terrestrial snail taxa in Europe, with a similarly high value of endemism. In Turkey, several pulmonate families reach a maximum of biodiversity. The biodiversity has been able to develop there without any major interruptions since the Pliocene.
The malacofauna of some areas, such as the inner Anatolian steppe areas, and many of the densely forested mountain ranges, is incompletely ascertained or almost completely unknown. As research progresses, records of species new to science can be expected, and the knowledge of the ranges of already-known taxa will increase. Another accretion in taxa numbers may be caused by the resolution of cryptic species clusters with the help of DNA sequencing methods, the Barcoding Project, and other related activities.
History of malacozoology of terrestrial gastropods The first species from the Turkish terrestrial malacofauna were described by Guillaume-Antoine Olivier (1756–1814), who, amongst others, collected natural history objects in the Middle East. For example he named the following species: Multidentula ovularis (Olivier, 1801) and Bulgarica denticulata (Olivier, 1801) from "Ghemlek" (= Gemlik in the Bay of Mudanya) or Assyriella guttata (Olivier, 1804) from Urfa. Olivier G. A. (1801–1807). Voyage dans l’Empire Othoman, l’Egypte et la Perse, fait par ordre du Gouvernement, pendant les six premières années de la République. Tome premier: 432 pp. (1801); Atlas, 1st. livraison: VII pp., pl. 1–17 (1801); Tome second: 466 pp. (1804); Atlas, 2d livraison: VII pp., pl. 18–32 (1804); Tome troisième: 566 pp. (1807); Atlas, 3d livraison: VIII pp., pl. 34–50 (1807). Paris (Agasse). After Olivier, the area was visited by the German Johannes Rudolf Roth and his party, Roth J. R. (1839). Molluscorum species, quas in itinere per Orientem facto comites clariss. Schubert doctores M. Erdl et J.R. Roth collegerunt. Dissertatio inauguralis. München (Wolf): 26 pp., pl. 1–2. and then was target of other scientists, naturalists and collectors like Bellardi, Boissier, Dubois de Montpereux, Frivaldsky, Huet de Pavillon, Parreyss, Schläfli, Sievers and others. Their collections went to the most prolific malacologists interested in the area like Jules René Bourguignat, Jean de Charpentier, Heinrich Carl Küster, Johann Rudolf Albert Mousson, Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer and Emil Adolf Rossmässler. In the second half of the 19th century, the famous German malacologists Oskar Boettger and Wilhelm Kobelt from the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt intensified the malacological research in Turkey, with contributions by Gottfried Nägele, Otto von Retowski and Carl Agardh Westerlund. After Kobelt’s death in 1916, the "Golden Age" of malacology was finished except for some contributions by Paul Hesse, Wassili Adolfovitch Lindholm and Otto W. von Rosen. After almost 50 years of scientific silence, it was the "Netherlands biological expedition to Turkey 1959", which again shifted the focus of malacologists to Turkey.Anonymus (1963). "Concise survey of localities and collection numbers of zoological and botanical specimens, collected by the Netherlands biological expedition to Turkey 1959". Zoologische Mededelingen 38(8): 129–151, Leiden. Since then, the malacological science received an enormous boost and stimulated both international as well as Turkish scientists to deepen the knowledge of the Turkish malacofauna. During this period, which now lasts about 50 years, one third of the number of taxa accepted today as valid has been added! Some of the most active contributors to this success should be mentioned here (in alphabetic order of the surnames): R. A. Bank; G. Falkner; L. Forcart; E. Gittenberger; Z. P. Erőss; Z. Fehér; B. A. Gümüş; B. Hausdorf; V. Hudec; H.P.M.G. Menkhorst; L. Németh; E. Neubert; H. Nordsieck; B. Páll-Gergely; W. Rähle; A. Riedel; H. Schütt; R. Şeşen; M.I. Szekeres; A. Wiktor and M. Z. Yıldırım.
Freshwater gastropods
Neritidae
Theodoxus fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1758) Theodoxus fluviatilis fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1789) Theodoxus fluviatilis euxinus (Clessin, 1885) Theodoxus heldreichi (Martens, 1879) Theodoxus heldreichi heldreichi (Martens, 1879) Theodoxus heldreichi fluvicola Schütt & Seşen, 1992 Theodoxus anatolicus (Recluz, 1841) Theodoxus syriacus (Bourguignat, 1852) Theodoxus altenai Schütt, 1965 Theodoxus jordani (Sowerby, 1832) Theodoxus cinctellus (Martens, 1874)
Viviparidae
Viviparus mamillatus (Küster, 1852) Viviparus contectus (Millet, 1813) Viviparus viviparus costae (Mousson, 1863)
Thiaridae
Melanoides tuberculata (O. F. Müller, 1774) - red-rimmed melania
Melanopsidae Melanopsis praemorsa (Linnaeus, 1789) Melanopsis praemorsa praemorsa (Linnaeus, 1789) Melanopsis praemorsa ferussaci Roth, 1839 Melanopsis praemorsa maximalis Schütt, 1974 Melanopsis buccinoidea (Olivier, 1801) Melanopsis costata (Olivier, 1804) Melanopsis costata costata (Olivier, 1804) Melanopsis costata chantrei Locard, 1921 Melanopsis nodosa Férussac, 1823 Esperiana esperi (A. Férussac, 1823) Esperiana sangarica Schütt, 1974 Microcolpia daudebartii stussineri Schütt, 1974
Bithyniidae
Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus, 1758) Bithynia leachii (Sheppard, 1823) Bithynia pseudemmericia Schütt, 1964 Bithynia phialensis (Conrad, 1852) Bithynia badiella (Küster, 1852)Serpil Odabaşı & Deniz Anıl Odabaşı (2017). "Bithynia kayrae n. sp. (Gastropoda: Bithyniidae), a new species from freshwaters of Biga Peninsula (northwestern Anatolia, Turkey)". Archiv für Molluskenkunde 146(1): 3–8. Bithynia kayrae Odabaşı & Odabaşı, 2017 Bithynia pentheri Sturany, 1905 Bithynia pesici - Note: listed by Şereflişan (2009), but not listed by Yildirim (2006) Bithynia timmii Odabaşı & Arslan, 2015 Bithynia yildirimi Glöer & Georgiev, 2012 Pseudobithynia adiyamanensis Gürlek, 2017 Pseudobithynia pentheri (Sturany, 1904) Pseudobithynia yildirimi (Odabaşı, Kebapçı & Akbulut, 2013)
Hydrobiidae
Potamopyrgus antipodarum J. E. Gray, 1843 - non-indigenousDemir M. (2003). "Shells of Mollusca Collected from the Seas of Turkey". Turkish Journal of Zoology 27: 101-140. PDF - New Zealand mud snail Ecrobia ventrosa (Montagu, 1803) Hydrobia stagnorum (Gmelin, 1790) Peringia ulvae (Pennant, 1777) Hydrobia soosi (Wagner, 1928) Hydrobia anatolica Schütt, 1965 Pseudamnicola bilgini Schütt, 1993 Pseudamnicola cirikorum Odabaşi, Odabaşi & Acar, 2019 Pseudamnicola geldiayana Schütt, 1970 Pseudamnicola intranodosa Schütt, 1993 Pseudamnicola radeae Odabaşi, Odabaşi & Acar, 2019 Pyrgorientalia zilchi (Schütt, 1964) Grossuana kayrae Odabaşi, Odabaşi & Acar, 2019 Isparta felei Yildirim, Koca, Gürlek & Glöer, 2018Mehmet Zeki Yildirim, Seval Bahadir Koca, Mustafa Emre Gürlek & Peter Glöer (2018). "A new genus and a species from Turkey, Isparta felei n.gen. n.sp. (Gastropoda: Truncatelloidea: Hydrobiidae)". Ecologica Montenegrina 18: 115-119. Kirelia carinata Radoman, 1973 Kirelia murtici Radoman, 1973 Falsipyrgula pfeiferi (Weber, 1927) Falsipyrgula beysehirana (Schütt, 1965) Falsipyrgula schuetti Yildirim, 1999 Horatia parvula (Naegele, 1894) Pseudorientalia ceriti Gürlek, 2017 Pseudorientalia natolica (Küster, 1852) Pseudorientalia natolica natolica (Küster, 1852) Pseudorientalia natolica smyrnensis Schütt, 1970 Falsibelgrandiella bunarica Radoman, 1973 Tefennia tefennica Schütt & Yildirim, 2003 - Tefenni spring snail Orientalina caputlacus Schütt, 1993 Turkorientalia anatolica Radoman, 1973 Sheitanok amidicus Schütt & Şeşen, 1991 Graecoanatolica lacustristurca Radoman, 1973 Graecoanatolica tenuis Radoman, 1973 Graecoanatolica kocapinarica Radoman, 1973 Graecoanatolica conica Radoman, 1973 Graecoanatolica brevis Radoman, 1973 Graecoanatolica pamphylica (Schütt, 1964) Heleobia longiscata (Bourguignat, 1856) Belgrandiella edessana Schütt, 1993 Belgrandiella cavernica Boettger, 1957 Belgrandiella adsharica (Lindholm, 1913) Sadleriana affinis (Frauenfeld, 1863) Sadleriana byzanthina (Küster, 1852) Sadleriana byzanthina byzanthina (Küster, 1852) Sadleriana byzanthina demirsoyii Yildirim & Morkoyunlu, 1997