''Radix natalensis'' 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 ...

, an aquatic gastropod mollusc 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 superfam ...

. This species occurs widely in Africa. It is a major

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 '' Fasciola gigantica'' in Africa. Placement of this species in the genus ''Radix'' was confirmed by Correa et al. (2010).

Distribution

''Radix natalensis'' is a widespread species in Africa, occurring from northern Africa to southern Africa: * Northern Africa: Algeria, Tunisia,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, Sudan. There are also findings of distribution of ''Radix natalensis'' in Algeria 8–10,000 years ago. In

it has been detected in water bodies of the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to ...

. * Western Africa:

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

, Sarr A., Kinzelbach R. & Diouf M. (2011, in press). "Diversité spécifique et écologie des mollusques continenatux de la basse vallée du Ferlo (Sénégal). pecific diversity and ecology of continental molluscs from the Lower Ferlo Valley (Senegal). ''MalaCo'' 7: 8 pp
PDF
. * Eastern Africa: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, Malawi,

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...

, Zambia and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. * Central Africa: Angola,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. * Southern Africa: Botswana, Namibia,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and Rhodesia. *

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

The

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

is in "pools in

Port Natal Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

", which today is

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa.

Description

''Radix natalensis'' was described by the German scientist and traveller Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss in 1848. The shape 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 ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

is elongate ovoid.Wright C. A. (1963). "The freshwater gastropod mollusca of Angola". '' Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)'' 10(8): 447–528. 16 plates
page 493
The shell is colorless or light brown in color. The height of the

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

covers about 3/4 of the shell height. The lip of the aperture is thin and sharp. The umbilicus is closed. The width of the shell is about 5.75–7 mm. The height of the shell is 4.6–19.2 mm. The

reproductive system The reproductive system of an organism, also known as the genital system, is the biological system made up of all the anatomical organs involved in sexual reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are al ...

and

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

was described by Wright (1963
in detail

Ecology

''Radix natalensis'' lives in permanent water bodies. They prefer clear, slow-running water with low salinity and abundant vegetation. An estimated density of ''Radix natalensis'' in a natural habitat in Tanzania was 34 snails per m². The snails lived mainly in the shallow water in depths of 0–4 cm, mainly between 20–30 cm from the shoreline. They prefer plant

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commu ...

or bedrock as a substrate. Laboratory experiments have shown that some larger snails of ''Radix natalensis'' can survive on a wooden surface without water for up to 21 days. Some smaller snails of ''Radix natalensis'' have survived desiccation on a soil surface up to 60 days on "black" soil. Some smaller snails of ''Radix natalensis'' were able to survive for up to 90 days on soil among sedges ''(

Cyperus ''Cyperus'' is a large genus of about 700 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions. Description They are annual or perennial plants, mostly aquatic and growing in still or slow-moving ...

)'' or in the "black" soil exposed to sun or in the soil with stones.

Parasites

This species has been found to be an

of both ''

Fasciola hepatica ''Fasciola hepatica'', also known as the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitism, parasitic trematode (fluke or flatworm, a type of helminth) of the class (biology), class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects the liver ...

'' and '' Fasciola gigantica''. Overall, rates of snail infection vary between 10% and 40%. The highest infection rate was found to be in summer and this may be a factor responsible for lowering snail density in this season. Parasites of ''Radix natalensis'' include: * ''

'' * '' Fasciola gigantica''Soliman M. F. M. (2008). "Epidemiological review of human and animal fascioliasis in Egypt". ''

The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries The ''Journal of Infection in Developing Countries'' is a monthly peer-reviewed open-access medical journal that covers the biomedical area related to infectious diseases, especially in developing countries and researchers from these countries a ...

'' 2(3): 182–189
abstractPDF
/ref> * '' Trichobilharzia'' sp. * some

cercaria A cercaria (plural cercariae) is the larval form of the trematode Trematoda is a Class (biology), class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate parasite, obligate internal Parasitism, parasites with a complex biological life cycle, l ...

from

Echinostomatidae Echinostomatidae is a family of trematodes in the order Plagiorchiida, first described in 1899.Fuhrmann, O. (1928). ''Zweite Klasse des Cladus Platyhelminthes: Trematoda''. Berlin & Leipzig: Kükenthal's Handbuch der Zoologie. Subdivisions Th ...

* some xiphidiocercaria from Plagiorchiidae * four

trematode Trematoda is a Class (biology), class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate parasite, obligate internal Parasitism, parasites with a complex biological life cycle, life cycle requiring at least two Host_(biology), hosts. The intermedia ...

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e in Zambia Predators of ''Radix natalensis'' include leeches ''

Helobdella nilae ''Helobdella'' is a genus of leeches in the family Glossiphoniidae, the freshwater jawless leeches. They occur worldwide.Kutschera, U., et al. (2013)Description of a new leech species from North America, ''Helobdella austinensis'' n. sp.(Hirudine ...

'' and '' Alboglossiphonia conjugata''. Snails of the non-indigenous species '' Marisa cornuarietis'' eliminated ''Radix natalensis'' and other two native snail species from a small pond in Tanzania in an experiment in 1982. Oil extract of the gum myrrh ''

Commiphora myrrha The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the ...

'' has molluscicidal activity against ''Radix natalensis''.

Phylogeny

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

shows the phylogenic relations of species in the genus ''Radix'':

Synonyms

* ''Limnaea (Biformiana) cameroni'' Bourguignat, 1890 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea (Biformiana) kynganica'' Bourguignat, 1890 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea (Biformiana) zanzibarica'' Bourguignat, 1890 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea (Limosiana) alexandrina'' Bourguignat, 1883 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea (Limosiana) alexandrina var. gracilis'' Bourguignat, 1883 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea (Raffrayana) raffrayi'' Bourguignat, 1883 * ''Limnaea (Stagnaliana) caillaudi'' Bourguignat, 1883 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea acroxa'' Bourguignat, 1883 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea aethiopica'' Bourguignat, 1883 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea africana'' Bourguignat, 1883 * ''Limnaea africana var. azaouadensis'' Germain, 1909 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea africana var. elata'' Germain, 1919 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea africana var. gouidimouniensis'' Germain, 1916 (basionym) * ''Limnaea africana var. kambaensis'' Germain, 1911 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea africana var. kouloaensis'' Germain, 1911 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea anceyana'' Preston, 1910 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea arabica'' E. A. Smith, 1894 * ''Limnaea benguellensis'' Morelet, 1867 (original combination) * ''Limnaea bocageana'' Morelet, 1867 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea caillaudi'' Bourguignat, 1883 Bourguignat J. R. (1883). "Histoire malacogie de l'abyssinie". '' Annales Des Sciences Naturelles (Zoologie)'' (6)15
1
162
89Plate 10
figs. 100–101.(a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea chudeaui'' Germain, 1907 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea damarana'' O. Boettger, 1910 (junior subjective synonym) * ''Limnaea debaizei'' Bourguignat, 1887 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea electa'' E. A. Smith, 1882 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea elmeteitensis'' E.A. Smith, 1894 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea gravieri'' Bourguignat, 1885 * ''Limnaea hovarum'' Tristram, 1863 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea humerosa'' E. von Martens, 1897 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea jouberti'' Bourguignat, 1888 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea kempi'' Preston, 1912 (junior synonym) * ''Limnaea laurenti'' Bourguignat, 1888 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea lavigeriana'' Bourguignat, 1888 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea natalensis'' F. Krauss, 1848 (superseded combination) * ''Limnaea nyansae'' E. von Martens, 1892 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea orophila''

Morelet Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet (26 August 1809 – 9 October 1892) was a French naturalist, born in Lays, Doubs. He was a member of the Commission to Algeria, primarily as a natural artist, drawing any natural findings. He collected specimens in ...

, 1864 (junior synonym) * ''Limnaea suarezensis'' Dautzenberg, 1895 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea undussumae'' E. von Martens, 1897 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea undussumae var. courteti'' Germain, 1904 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaea vignoni'' Germain, 1909 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaeus auricularius var. ribeirensis'' Reibisch, 1865 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaeus benguellensis'' Morelet, 1867 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaeus bocageanus'' Morelet, 1867 (a junior synonym) * ''Limnaeus dakaensis'' Sturany, 1898 * ''Limnaea perrieri'' Bourguignat, 1881 * ''Limnaea raffrayi'' Bourguignat, 1883 * ''Lymnaea vatonnei'' Bourguignat, 1868 * ''Lymnaea'' (''Radix'') ''natalensis'' * ''Limnaeus natalensis'' Krauss, 1848 ** ''Limnaeus natalensis var. exsertus'' von Martens, 1866 (junior synonym)

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-3.0 text from the reference.

External links

* * See pages 110, 111–114, 568. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5412202 Lymnaeidae Gastropods described in 1848 Taxa named by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss