Bulinus nyassanus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Superorder: Hygrophila
Family: Planorbidae
Genus: Bulinus
Species:
B. nyassanus
Binomial name
Bulinus nyassanus
Synonyms

Physa nyassana E. A. Smith, 1877

Bulinus nyassanus is a species of small air-breathing freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies. This species is endemic to Lake Malawi in Africa, where found both in shallow and relatively deep water.[1] Its shell generally reached a size of up to around 14 mm × 11 mm (0.55 in × 0.43 in).[3]

This detritus-feeder typically burrows slightly into the sediment, no more than 2 cm (0.8 in), unlike some of its relatives like B. globosus, which usually live on rocks or aquatic vegetation.[4] Although only a minority of these snails are infected (generally 2% or less in B. nyassanus), they do play an important role in the spread of bilharzia (schistosomiasis), a parasite that causes "snail fewer" in humans.[4] The snail-eating cichlid fish Trematocranus placodon has a preference for B. nyassanus.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Albrecht, C.; Clewing, C.; Kaunda, E.; Mailosi, A. (2018). "Bulinus nyassanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T3318A120114450. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T3318A120114450.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Smith E. A. (1877). "On the shells of Lake Nyasa, and on a few marine species from Mozambique". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1877: 712–722. pages 717–718, plate 75, figure 16–17.
  3. ↑ Brown D. S. (1994). Freshwater Snails of Africa and their Medical Importance, p. 238. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-7484-0026-5.
  4. 1 2 Madsen, H.; Stauffer, J.R. Jr. (2012). "The burrowing behaviour of Bulinus nyassanus, intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium, in Lake Malaŵi". African Journal of Aquatic Science. 37 (1): 113–116. doi:10.2989/16085914.2012.666383.
  5. ↑ Evers, B.N.; Madsen, H.; McKaye, K.M.; Stauffer, J.R. Jr. (2006). "The schistosome intermediate host, Bulinus nyassanus, is a 'preferred' food for the cichlid fish, Trematocranus placodon, at Cape Maclear, Lake Malawi". Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 100 (1): 75–85. doi:10.1179/136485906X78553. PMID 16417717.


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