Bithynia leachii

Bithynia leachii is species of small freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic prosobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Bithyniidae.

Bithynia leachii
A live Bithynia leachii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Extinct  (IUCN 3.1)(North Africa)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Truncatelloidea
Family:	Bithyniidae
Genus:	Bithynia
Species:	B. leachii
Binomial name
Bithynia leachii (Sheppard, 1823)[2]
Synonyms
Bithynia leachi (Sheppard, 1823) Codiella leachii Sheppard, 1823

Distribution

It is a Palearctic species found in North Africa and Europe to East Siberia.

• Czech Republic – near Morava River and near Thaya river in the southernmost Moravia near Hlohovec, Kostice and Tvrdonice,^[3][4] critically endangered (CR)^[5]
• Germany – high endangered (Stark gefährdet)^[6]
• Netherlands^[7]
• Poland
• Slovakia – in Danube drainage basin (mainly in Žitný ostrov) and in Tisza drainage basin^[4]
• Sweden
• Great Britain
• Ireland
• Hungary^[8]

Shell description

The width of the shell is 3–7 mm. The height of the shell is 4–8 mm. The colour is brown or grey. There are 4 to 4.5 very convex whorls forming a short cone with a very deep suture in comparison to Bithynia tentaculata. The spire is shorter and less sharp than in Bithynia tentaculata. The aperture and operculum upside are smoothly rounded. The aperture is without a sharp point on the upper corner.^[9]

Shells of Bithynia leachii

Drawing of shell and operculum of Bithynia leachii

Operculum of Bithynia leachii

Habitat

This species requires clean, calcium-rich water, which is slow-running and thickly weeded.^[10]

Parasites

Parasites of Bithynia leachii include:

• Prosthogonimidae: Bithynia leachii can act as first intermediate host for Prosthogonimus ovatus.^[11]
• Opisthorchiidae: Bithynia leachii serves as the first intermediate host for Opisthorchis felineus.^[12]