List of non-marine molluscs of Venezuela facts for kids

Shells of non marine molluscs from Venezuela. Bivalves: Anodontites trapesalis; Paxyodon syrmatophorus; Mycetopoda pittieri. Gastropods: Pomacea doliodes; Megalobulimus oblongus.

Location of Venezuela

The non-marine molluscs of Venezuela are a part of the molluscan fauna of Venezuela (which is part of the wildlife of Venezuela). Non-marine molluscs are the snails, clams and mussels that live in freshwater habitats, and the snails and slugs that live on land. Sea-dwelling molluscs are not included in this list.

A number of species of non-marine molluscs are found in the wild in Venezuela.

Historical background
Diversity
Distribution
List of non-marine molluscs of Venezuela
See also

Historical background

Studies on the knowledge of the Venezuelan malacofauna begin in the nineteenth century with the work of German malacologist Eduard von Martens around 1873 who published the first list of the mollusks Venezuela. Three years later the German-Venezuelan Adolfo Ernst, taking as its starting point and extending Martens list, published a second list in 1876. Subsequent to these two pioneering nineteenth century works, only sporadic descriptions were published in foreign publications. It took about half a century for new listings of malacofauna of Venezuela to be published, this time by American H. B. Baker in the mid-1920s.

Following Baker's work is beginning to make as many Venezuelan species descriptions and numerous national and regional listings including listings include: Adolfo Lutz, who in 1928 lists and makes observations on malacofauna Valencia lake and surrounding areas, H. Richards G. Hummelinck & P. W. Malacofauna 1940 describing the island of Margarita, Arias in 1952 and 1953 in which he describes the fauna of the regions of Baruta, El Hatillo and Perija region; Thompson, who in 1957 described the shellfish National Park Henri Pittier and surrounding areas; Martinez and Miranda in 1968 described pulmonate molluscs of Caracas and surrounding areas, Fernández in 1982, which describes sitecueros of slugs and Venezuela, Martinez et al. in 2004 which states bivalve fauna Venezuela freshwater, Lasso and collaborators in 2009 which describes the fauna of the basin of the Orinoco.

Diversity

Pomacea urceus family Ampullariidae member, one of the most diverse

The Venezuelan malacofauna not marine mollusks is composed of classes Gastropoda and Bivalvia, presenting a greater diversity of species in the gastropod.

In the freshwater gastropod families with more species are Ampullariidae (35 spp.) And Planorbidae (15 spp.). In terrestrial gastropods include Ortalicidae (35 spp.) and Subulinidae (16 spp.).

Among the bivalve families with more species are Mycetopodidade (17 spp.) and Hyriidae (10 spp.)

Regarding the introduced species, the largest number of species is between terrestrial mollusks, primarily on families Subulinidae (6 spp.), Limacidae (4 spp.) And Helicidae (3 spp.)

Distribution

Pomacea dolioides

The Venezuelan malacofauna marina not primarily distributed throughout the entire Venezuelan territory, but the greatest number of species and greater distribution has been reported for the river basin Orinoco. The vast majority of species usually live in areas calm water pipes or flooding of rivers and lakes. Many of the species usually have local distributions such as slugs and seven of leathers that often live primarily in the areas of cultivation in the north and the Andean region, However extend very widely distributed species that can be located throughout the country as in the case of molluscs Ampullariidae amphibians and within the family which include Marisa cornuarietis, Pomacea urceus (Guarura), Pomacea glauca, Pomacea dolioides. Among the highlights landshells Megalobulimus oblongus (Guacara).

In relation to introduced species is noteworthy that some of it was spread widely by middle natural environment among them are: Achatina fulica (Giant African Snail), Arion subfuscus Subulina octona, and Thiara granifera Melanoides tuberculata.

List of non-marine molluscs of Venezuela

The list of non-marine molluscs of Venezuela consists of:

Freshwater gastropods: 9 families, 19 genera, 82 species.
Terrestrial gastropods: 26 families, 58 genera, 116 species.
Freshwater bivalves: 5 families, 11 genera, 31 species.

In total 30 families are listed, 88 genera and 229 species.

Freshwater gastropods

Two shells of Marisa cornuarietis

A shell of Pomacea glauca

A shell of Pomacea interrupta

A shell of Pomacea glauca orinocensis

Freshwater gastropods include:

Ampullariidae

Asolene crassa (Swainson, 1823)
Marisa cornuarietis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pomacea amazonica (Revee, 1856)
Pomacea aurostoma (Lea, 1856)
Pomacea avellana (Sowerby, 1909)
Pomacea bridgesi (Reeve, 1856) (Introduced species)
Pomacea camena (Pain, 1956)
Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1819) (Introduced species)
Pomacea chemnitzii (Philippi, 1887)
Pomacea cingulata (Philippi, 1851)
Pomacea crassa (Swainson, 1823)
Pomacea dolioides (Revee, 1856)
Pomacea eximia (Dunker, 1853)
Pomacea falconensis Pain y Arias, 1958
Pomacea glauca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pomacea glauca crocostoma (Philippi, 1852)
Pomacea glauca gevesensis (Deshayes, 1801)
Pomacea glauca luteostoma (Swainson, 1822 )
Pomacea glauca orinocensis (Troschel, 1848)
Pomacea haustrum (Revee, 1856)
Pomacea interrupta (Sowerby, 1909)
Pomacea lineata (Spix, 1827)
Pomacea minuscula Baker 1930
Pomacea nobilis (Revee, 1856)
Pomacea oblonga (Swainson, 1823)
Pomacea papyracea (Spix, 1827)
Pomacea patula (Revee, 1856)
Pomacea semitecta (Mousson, 1873)
Pomacea superba (Marshall, 1928)
Pomacea swainsoni (Revee, 1856)
Pomacea tamsiana (Philippi, 1852)
Pomacea urceus (Müller, 1774)
Pomacea urceus guyanensis (Lamarck, 1810)
Pomacea urceus olivacea (Spix, 1827)
Pomacea vexillun (Revee, 1856)

Ancylidae

Gundlachia saulcyana (Bourguignat, 1853)
Hebetancylus moricandi (D’Orbigny, 1837)

Hydrobiidae

Over 30 individuals of Pyrgophorus coronatus

Pyrgophorus coronatus (Pfeiffer, 1840)
Pyrgophorus ernesti (Martens, 1873)
Pyrgophorus globulus (Baker, 1930)
Pyrgophorus parvulus (Guilding, 1828)
Pyrgophorus putialis (Baker, 1930)
Pyrgophorus platyrachis Thompson, 1968

Lymnaeidae
There are two native and four introduced species of Lymnaeidae in Venezuela:

Lymnaea meridensis Bargues, Artigas & Mas-Coma, 2011 - synonym: Galba cousini (Jousseaume, 1887) hitherto known from Venezuelan highlands - native
Galba neotropica (Bargues, Artigas, Mera y Sierra, Pointier & Mas-Coma, 2007) - native
Galba cubensis (Pfeiffer, 1839) - introduced from the Caribbean area
Pseudosuccinea columella (Say, 1817) - introduced from the Caribbean area
Galba truncatula (O. F. Müller, 1774) - introduced from the Old World,
Galba viatrix (D’Orbigny, 1835) from Venezuela was identified as Galba truncatula
Galba schirazensis (Küster, 1862) - introduced from the Old World