''Bithynia siamensis'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of a

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks that 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 t ...

with a

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, 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 r ...

and an operculum, an aquatic

prosobranch Prosobranchia was a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Class (biology), subclass of sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. This taxon of gastropods dates back to the 1920s. It has however been proven to be polyphyly, polyphyletic (consis ...

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

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 ...

Subspecies

WHO (1995) recognized the following subspecies: * ''Bithynia siamensis siamensis'' - synonym: ''Bithynia siamensis goniomphalus'' * ''Bithynia siamensis funiculata'' * ''Bithynia siamensis laevis'' ''Bithynia siamensis'' and '' Bithynia funiculata'' (synonym: ''Bithynia goniomphala'') were recognized as 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 an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

Distribution

This species occurs in: *

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

* Laos *

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

* Myanmar *

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

The population of ''Bithynia siamensis'' fluctuates during the year.

Parasites

''Bithynia siamensis'' serves as a first

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 ...

for Southeast Asian liver fluke ''

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 pa ...

''.
PDF part 1PDF part 2
/ref> The number of excretory cells of the

digestive system The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...

is increased in infected ''Bithynia siamensis''. Parasites of ''Bithynia siamensis'' include trematode '' Multicotyle purvisi''.

References

* .

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110723214250/http://www.news.kku.ac.th/eng/news/content/view/134/1/ Bithyniidae Gastropods described in 1856 {{Bithyniidae-stub

Subspecies

Distribution

Parasites

References

Further reading

External links