Opacuincola dulcinella

Opacuincola dulcinella is a critically endangered species of freshwater snail endemic to New Zealand.

Opacuincola dulcinella
Type specimen from Te Papa
Conservation status
Nationally Critical (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Tateidae
Genus:	Opacuincola
Species:	O. dulcinella
Binomial name
Opacuincola dulcinella Martin Haase, 2008[2]
Synonyms
Hydrobiidae sp. 11 (M.174101)

Habitat

This snail has been found in two caves in very close proximity within a 1 km² area in Pōhara, near Tākaka. The population trend of this snail is unknown at present but it is regarded as potentially threatened by urban development and groundwater removal and contamination.^[3]

Conservation status

In November 2018 the Department of Conservation classified Opacuincola dulcinella as Nationally Critical under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.^[1] The species was judged as meeting the criteria for Nationally Critical threat status as a result of it occupying a total area of less than 1 hectare. It is found in what is regarded as one location and is also classified as Data Poor under the threat classification system.^[1]