''Radix balthica'', common name the wandering snail, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Lymnaeidae Lymnaeidae, common name the pond snails, is a taxonomic family of small to large air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks, that belong to the clade Hygrophila. Lymnaeidae is the only family within the superf ...

, the pond snails.Neubauer, Thomas A.; Rosenberg, G.; Gofas, S. (2014). Radix balthica (Linnaeus, 1758). In: MolluscaBase (2016). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=248264 on 2017-01-10

Taxonomy

The taxonomic status of certain species in the genus ''Radix'' has been disputed. Remigio (2002) reported sequence divergence within the 16S mitochondrial gene of ''

Radix peregra ''Peregriana peregra'' is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod in the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails. Distribution and habitat This small pond snail is found in Europe, Newfoundland and northern A ...

'' and '' Radix ovata''. Furthermore, the shell morphology and alloenzyme data indicated that ''Radix peregra'' and ''Radix ovata'' are distinct. In contrast, Bargues et al. (2001) considered on the basis of ITS-2 sequence analysis, that ''R. peregra'', ''R. ovata'', and ''R. balthica'' are in fact a

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

species.

Distribution

All of eastern Europe to western Siberia, as well as north Africa, Asia Minor and Afghanistan. Eurosiberian Wide Temperate . This species is found in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an countries and islands including: * Countries surrounding the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

* Romania *

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* British Isles:

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. nnotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics. ''

Malacologica Bohemoslovaca ''Malacologica Bohemoslovaca'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all aspects of malacology. It was published by the Slovak Academy of Sciences since 2005. It is published by the Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of ...

'', Suppl. 1: 1-37
PDF
*

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Genetics

The complete

mitochondrial genome Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial ...

of ''Radix balthica'' has been obtained by

shotgun sequencing In genetics, shotgun sequencing is a method used for sequencing random DNA strands. It is named by analogy with the rapidly expanding, quasi-random shot grouping of a shotgun. The chain-termination method of DNA sequencing ("Sanger sequencing ...

and has been released in 2010.Feldmeyer B., Hoffmeier K. & Pfenninger M. (2010). "The complete mitochondrial genome of ''Radix balthica'' (Pulmonata, Basommatophora), obtained by low coverage shot gun next generation sequencing". ''

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. The journal is edited by E.A. Zimmer. Indexing The journal is indexed in: * EMBiology *Journal Citation Reports *Scopus ...

'' 57(3): 1329-1333. . The length of the mitochondrial DNA is 13,993

nucleotide Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecule ...

s, containing 37

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

Biology

''Radix balthica'' live in rivers, creeks, streams, streamlets and stagnant waters. They have a high degree of tolerance to pH levels, salinity concentrations and temperature conditions, but prefer calcareous waters (Welter-Schulte 2009). Reproduction: These snails are hermaphroditic, like all species of Lymnaeidae , but have separate sexual apertures and are not inbreeding . During copulation, the snail taking the role of a male overlaps onto another individual, presenting its penis to the opening of the recipient snail. Several individuals can overlap in this way - some simultaneously playing the role of a male and female . The eggs are laid in gelatinous cords, about 1 centimeter in length, on hard substrates such as rocks, wood or aquatic plants. The offspring develop via yolk-rich eggs, from which the developed animalcules hatch as miniature versions of the parents (there is no larval stage) . Copulation and oviposition takes place from March when the snails are about 1 year old . This species has a generation length of approximately 1 year . Respiration: ''Radix balthica'' breathe air through a lung, while also absorbing oxygen from the water through their skin. Their short, broad tentacles increase the surface area of the skin, allowing increased oxygen absorption . Their blood contains

haemocyanin Hemocyanins (also spelled haemocyanins and abbreviated Hc) are proteins that transport oxygen throughout the bodies of some invertebrate animals. These metalloproteins contain two copper atoms that reversibly bind a single oxygen molecule (O2) ...

, giving the head and foot a pale green color. They can adjust their density by movements of the muscles in the mantle and quickly rise to the surface of the water or quickly drop down in the water column . Food: ''Radix balthica'' feed on algae and bacterial

biofilm A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular ...

s on hard substrates, as well as feeding on detritus. Mainly green algae and protozoans are consumed in some habitats, and in other habitats mainly detritus may be consumed. ''Radix balthica'' do not eat plants that are in good health . Parasites of ''Radix balthica'' include trematode '' Aspidogaster limacoides''.

References

External links

''Radix balthica''
at

Animalbase AnimalBase is a project brought to life in 2004 and is maintained by the University of Göttingen, Germany. The goal of the AnimalBase project is to digitize early zoological literature, provide copyright-free open access to zoological works, and pr ...

taxonomy,short description, distribution, biology,status (threats), images * Pfenninger M., Salinger M., Haun T. & Feldmeyer B. (2011). "Factors and processes shaping the population structure and distribution of genetic variation across the species range of the freshwater snail ''Radix balthica'' (Pulmonata, Basommatophora)". ''

BMC Evolutionary Biology ''BMC Ecology and Evolution'' (since January 2021), previously ''BMC Evolutionary Biology'' (2001–2020), is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all fields of evolutionary biology, including phylogenetics and palaeontology ...

'' 11: 135. . {{Taxonbar, from=Q742937 Lymnaeidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus