Melanopsis letourneuxi is a species of freshwater gastropod[1] endemic to streams in coastal Morocco and Algeria.
| Melanopsis letourneuxi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Cerithioidea |
| Family: | Melanopsidae |
| Genus: | Melanopsis |
| Species: | M. letourneuxi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Melanopsis letourneuxi Bourguignat, 1880
| |
Distribution, ecology and threats
editMelanopsis letourneuxi is found almost exclusively in relatively shallow medium-sized streams with stony substrates, rarely occurring in stagnant sources. The species had historically been reported from several localities in north Africa, including a site in Algeria or (disputedly) Morocco - "in the source and the river Moulouya, west of Maghnia"[1] from which it has not been documented recently- and two confirmed adjacent Moroccan sites -Berguent and Ras el Ain at Aïn Beni Mathar - in which it is exceedingly rare. Remaining populations are threatened by water abstraction, pollution, and shell-collecting.[2]
Populations
editHistorically, several varieties (excluding the nominal var.) had been identified by Pallary and Bourguignat, including:[3]
- † Melanopsis letourneuxi var. semesa
- Melanopsis letourneuxi var. magna (Berguent at Aïn Beni Mathar)*
- Melanopsis letourneuxi var. minor (Ras el Aïn at Aïn Beni Mathar)*
- Melanopsis letourneuxi var. emaciata (Berguent at Aïn Beni Mathar)
- Melanopsis letourneuxi var. mattarica (Ras el Aïn at Aïn Beni Mathar)
† Denotes that the variety is not mentioned by the nomenclator of Neubauer 2016
*Denotes that the variety is considered invalid by the nomenclator of Neubauer 2016
References
edit- ^ a b "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Melanopsis letourneuxi Bourguignat, 1884". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
- ^ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
- ^ Neubauer, Thomas (2016-07-05). "A nomenclator of extant and fossil taxa of the Melanopsidae (Gastropoda, Cerithioidea)". ZooKeys (602): 1–358. doi:10.3897/zookeys.602.8136. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 4978033. PMID 27551193.