Carnarvoncochlea exigua facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jardinella exigua |
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Jardinella exigua Ponder & G. A. Clark, 1990 (basionym) |
Carnarvoncochlea exigua is a tiny freshwater snail. It used to be called Jardinella exigua. You can find this snail in North East Queensland, Australia, especially near Carnarvon Gorge. Its name, Carnarvoncochlea, comes from where it lives. The word exigua is Latin for "small," which perfectly describes this little snail.
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About This Tiny Snail
C. exigua is a very small snail. Its shell is only about 1.2 to 1.7 millimeters long. That's less than the width of a penny! The shell is thin and you can almost see through it. It can be a pale orange-brown or even completely clear. It feels smooth, not bumpy like some other snail shells.
The shell has a special shape called "trochiform." This means it looks like a cone with a flat bottom. The snail's foot is shaped like a triangle. It's usually clear, but it has a black spot behind its eye. There are also a few small dark spots near its snout. The sides of its foot are grey.
Inside its mouth, the snail has a tongue-like part called a radula. This radula has simple, curved teeth. It helps the snail scrape up food.
One special part of C. exigua is its operculum. This is like a little trapdoor that closes the shell opening. It's very thin and pale yellow. It's also quite narrow compared to other snails, only about 0.7 to 0.92 millimeters long.
Male and female C. exigua snails look exactly the same. They have the same shell shape, color, and size. The only way to tell them apart is by looking at their reproductive organs.
Where This Snail Lives
This snail lives only in North Eastern Queensland, Australia. This means it is endemic to that area. You can find it especially near the Carnarvon Gorge National Park and Carnarvon Station Reserve. This region is part of the Brigalow Belt bioregion.
In 1984, scientists first found C. exigua in three small springs. These springs were between Dooloogarah, Carnarvon Gorge National Park, and Carnarvon Station Reserve. Later, in 2007, more snails were found in other springs. These included Fig Tree Spring, Orange Tree Spring, Long Gully Spring, and Ti Tree Spring.
These snails live in isolated areas with many trees. Their homes are short, shallow streams. These streams have soft, muddy bottoms and a gentle current. The water in these streams comes from underground. This means the water is usually very clean and unpolluted. This area is also home to many different kinds of insects and plants.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Reproduction
Compared to other similar snails, C. exigua has simpler body parts for reproduction.
Unique Adaptations
Female C. exigua snails have some unique features related to reproduction. Scientists are still studying why this happens. It's a special trait not often seen in snails from this type of environment.
Protecting This Snail
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that C. exigua is an endangered species. This means it is at high risk of disappearing forever. This is because the snail lives in a very small area. It also faces many threats.
One big threat is from livestock, like cattle. The area near Carnarvon Station was used for cattle for over 140 years. Poop and waste from cattle can get into the streams where the snails live. This can cause too much algae to grow and pollute the water. Cattle can also stomp on plants and damage the banks of the small springs.
Digging new water sources, like bores, near the streams is another problem. This can change how water flows underground. It has caused some springs to dry up. Digging up local springs also harms the snail's home by eroding the banks.
New species that are not native to the area also cause problems. These include plants like Urochloa mutica, fish like mosquitofish, and wild animals like pigs. They can disrupt the natural balance of the streams. Wildfires are also a risk in this region.
But there are people working to help! They are talking to local farmers and landowners. They want to find ways to protect the springs on their land. Efforts are being made to keep livestock away from the springs. Researchers are also watching the snails and their habitats closely. Policies are being put in place to control new species that could harm the ecosystem.
Snails That Look Alike
There are other snails that look very similar to C. exigua. For example, C. carnovornensis shares many physical traits. The main differences are in some reproductive organs, the thickness of their operculum, and their overall size.
C. exigua used to be in a different group called the Jardinella genus. Because of this, it shares many similarities with snails in that group. These include where they live, their shell size, color, and other general features. However, scientists changed its classification. This was because C. exigua has a unique arc-shaped rectum, which is not found in the Jardinella genus.
For now, all snails in the general area near Carnarvon National Park and Dooloogarah are considered C. exigua. But scientists think there might be other types of snails in this group. More research is needed to find out!
See also
