Can anybody help me with this freshwater snail? It was collected on 25.ix.2018 in a Ditch at Papenveer, The Netherlands by Nick Kroese (lat 52.186 lon 4.722) In The Netherlands we only have Physella acuta (=heterostropha) but this one is untypical. There is a garden centre nearby, so maybe a non-indigenous one? Any suggestions? It is photographed on frogbit Hydrocharis morsus-ranae.
Many thanks in advance
Ton van Haaren
I agree with Mikhail. Conchologically, it looks like a variation of P. acuta. However, the shell morphology is not a good helper for the identification of the Physidae (and the Lymnaeidae as well). I guess a sequence of the COI gene fragment would help you to do a reliable identification of this sample.
Why genetics only? We forget about a copulative system of mollusks. That we should do: 1. Comparison of shells between your example and pictures of shells of Ph. acuta in illustrated books of freshwater Pulmonata. It is invasive specimen for Europe - use the books that made in countries where this specimen is a natural specimen fauna of local water bodies. 2. Autopsy of body of this snail - see the copulative system and compare with the same pictures in the same books (only mature snails, not juvenile - let it grow up if it small). Soo we have now two classical morphology criteria for species identification. And you are can use not books pictures with notes, but small scientific papers or the best variant: snails samples collected from other regions and sent to you from another continent if it possible. 3. Genetic analysis... if you are possible to use this technology (availability or possible to send samples), e.g. in Kaliningrad region (administrative island of Russia in EU) it is impossible simply - the strict border veterinary control. Restriction documents... etc. I send one book in Russian - see Phusa integra in page № 87 (especially synonymy with European authors used). DJVU - is Russian document viewer format - you are should download DJVU-viewer programme. Source: http://ashipunov.info/shipunov/school/books/stadnichenko1990_prudovikoobraznye_v2.djvu
Some maps of invasion of Ph.acuta in Europe:
Article Большое путешествие маленькой улитки [The big journey of a tiny snail]
http://www.isez.pan.krakow.pl/journals/azc/pdf/29/29_15.pdf
Article The history of an invasion: phases of the explosive spread o...
It is Physa acuta, this species has a large phenotypic variation. In Cuba you can find global and enlogated specimens with high variability in between.
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