''Bithynia funiculata'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

with a

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...

and an operculum, an aquatic 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 es ...

in the family

Bithyniidae Bithyniidae is a family of small freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Bithyniidae Gray, 1857. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Ma ...

Taxonomy

Previously (for example

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

1995) considered this taxon to be a subspecies of ''

Bithynia siamensis ''Bithynia siamensis'' is a species of a freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic prosobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Bithyniidae. Subspecies WHO (1995) recognized the following subspecies: * ''Bithynia siamensis s ...

'', however, ''Bithynia funiculata'' is treated as a separate species in the 2012

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

Distribution

Distribution of this species includes: *

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Ecology

''Bithynia funiculata'' is an

intermediate host In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include a ...

for: * The

cat liver fluke The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

Opisthorchis tenuicollis ''Opisthorchis'' is a genus of flukes in the family Opisthorchiidae. Species Species in the genus ''Opisthorchis'' include: * ''Opisthorchis chabaudi'' Bourgat & Kulo, 1977 * ''Opisthorchis felineus'' (Rivolta, 1884) * ''Opisthorchis gomtii' ...

'' * This species transfers

echinostomiasis ''Echinostoma'' is a genus of trematodes (flukes), which can infect both humans and other animals. These intestinal flukes have a three-host life cycle with snails or other aquatic organisms as intermediate hosts, and a variety of animals, inc ...

. * Some references also mention also the trematode ''

Opisthorchis viverrini ''Opisthorchis viverrini'', common name Southeast Asian liver fluke, is a food-borne trematode parasite from the family Opisthorchiidae that infects the bile duct. People are infected after eating raw or undercooked fish. Infection with the par ...

'' as a first intermediate host.

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

(1995). ''Control of Foodborne Trematode Infection''. WHO Technical Report Series. 849
PDF part 1PDF part 2
page 125.

References

Bithyniidae Gastropods described in 1927 {{Bithyniidae-stub