''Neothauma '' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...

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 ...

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

in the subfamily Bellamyinae of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Viviparidae Summary Viviparidae, commonly called river snails or mystery snails, are a family of freshwater snails with gills and a protective lid (operculum). Recent studies show that their family tree is messier than expected, with genetic evidence sugg ...

. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Neothauma E. A. Smith, 1880. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=994450 on 2021-09-19

Species

* '' Neothauma jouberti'' Bourguignat, 1888 * † ''

Neothauma jupadwongaensis ''Neothauma '' is a genus of freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum, an aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod Mollusca, mollusc in the subfamily Bellamyinae of the family (biology), family Viviparidae. MolluscaBase eds ...

'' Musalizi, 2017 * ''

Neothauma tanganyicense ''Neothauma '' is a genus of freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum, an aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod Mollusca, mollusc in the subfamily Bellamyinae of the family (biology), family Viviparidae. MolluscaBase eds ...

'' E. A. Smith, 1880 Brown D. S. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance''.

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...

. . ;Taxa inquirenda: * ''Neothauma bridouxianum'' Grandidier, 1885 * ''Neothauma servainianum'' Grandidier, 1885 ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Neothauma bicarinatum'' Bourguignat, 1885: synonym of ''Neothauma tanganyicense var. bicarinatum'' Bourguignat, 1885 * ''Neothauma ecclesi'' Pain & Crowley, 1964: synonym of '' Bellamya ecclesi'' (Crowley & Pain, 1964) (original combination) * ''Neothauma giraudi'' Bourguignat, 1885: synonym of ''Neothauma tanganyicense'' E. A. Smith, 1880 (junior synonym)

Distribution

This freshwater snail is only found in

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

, where it is the largest gastropod, and occurs in all four of the bordering countries —

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

— although

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

shells have been discovered at

Lake Edward Lake Edward (locally Rwitanzigye or Rweru) is one of the smaller African Great Lakes. It is located in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, ...

and in the Lake Albert basin. The type locality is the East shore of Lake Tanganyika, at

Ujiji Ujiji is the oldest town in western Tanzania and is located in Kigoma-Ujiji District of Kigoma Region. Originally a Swahili settlement and then an Arab slave trading post by the mid-nineteenth century nominally under the Sultanate of Zanziba ...

History

The genus ''Neothauma'' previously contained several species, but most were reassigned to other genera.

Description

The width of the

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

is . The height of the shell is .

Ecology

This species lives in depths of up to . There is conflicting information relating to its feeding behavior, with one study referring to it as a

detritus In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...

-feeder, another saying that it actively preys on endobenthic organisms, and finally that it feeds on particulate organic filtered while the snail is buried. The shells of dead ''Neothauma tanganyicense'' often form carpets over large areas, and are used by a number of other animals, such as

cichlid fish Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with only ...

( shell dwellers), and

freshwater crab Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight family (biology), families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine c ...

s of the genus ''

Platythelphusa ''Platythelphusa'' is a genus of freshwater crabs endemic to Lake Tanganyika. It has been placed in a number of families, including a monotypic family, Platythelphusidae, as well as Potamidae and its current position in the Potamonautidae, and ha ...

''. Juvenile snails live in the sediment in order to avoid predators.

References

External links

*
Bourguignat (1890), "Histoire malacologique du Lac Tanganika (Afrique equaltoriale)"
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3319970 Viviparidae Gastropods described in 1880 Monotypic gastropod genera Taxa named by Edgar Albert Smith Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Snails of Lake Tanganyika