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Galba parva

(I. Lea, 1841)

Pygmy Fossaria

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.121046
Element CodeIMGASL1130
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderBasommatophora
FamilyLymnaeidae
GenusGalba
Synonyms
Fossaria parva(I. Lea, 1841)Lymnaea parvaI. Lea, 1841
Other Common Names
Fossarie amphibie (FR)
Concept Reference
Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Fossaria Westerlund, 1985 is a junior objective synonym of Galba Schrank, 1903, based on ICZN Opinion 1896 (ICZN 1998). All species previously recognized as Fossaria are now in genus Galba following Johnson et al. (2013).

Lymnaeids are the most diverse pulmonate group in the northern United States and Canada (Pyron and Brown 2014). Taxonomy is confusing, with redundancies in nomenclature and constant revisions in species definitions (Standley et al. 2013).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2015-03-08
Change Date1999-09-14
Edition Date2015-03-08
Edition AuthorsCordeiro, J. (2008), Ormes, M. (2015)
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
This is a widespread species, with many occurrences and no significant threats at a global level.
Range Extent Comments
This species occurs thoughout most of North America, north of 36ºN latitude and south of the tree line; it is absent from both the eastern and western coastal drainage systems (Clarke 1981, Burch 1989).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations). Literature reports since 2000 include: St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, Minnesota (Malizio et al. 2004) and Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio (Smith et al. 2002).
Threat Impact Comments
Given the large geographic distribution of this species, it is unlikely that any major threat is impacting its global population. However, some sub-populations may be experiencing localized declines due to habitat loss and degradation and its amphibious nature makes it more susceptible to livestock trampling (Lee 2001).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is amphibious and is found in shallow water in vegetation, on wet mud flats, lakeshores and riverbanks, and in marshes (Clarke 1981, O'Neal and Soulliere 2006).
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
NunavutSUYes
Northwest TerritoriesSUYes
British ColumbiaS4Yes
ManitobaS4Yes
OntarioS5Yes
AlbertaS4Yes
QuebecSNRYes
SaskatchewanSUYes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
TexasSNRYes
ConnecticutS2Yes
OhioSNRYes
VermontSNRYes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
ColoradoS5Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
New MexicoSNRYes
WyomingS3Yes
VirginiaS4Yes
KentuckySNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
New YorkS3Yes
UtahS2Yes
MichiganSNRYes
IdahoS4Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
MontanaSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
ArizonaSNRYes
KansasSNRYes
Roadless Areas (3)
Nevada (3)
AreaForestAcres
Arc Dome - Secret BsnHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest74,782
Mt. ArdiveyHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest37,984
Rat Trap SpringHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest6,156
References (31)
  1. Baker, F.C. 1911. The Lymnaeidae of North and Middle America[,] Recent and fossil. Chicago Academy of Sciences, Special Publication No. 3, i-xvi + 1-539, 58 pls
  2. Burch, J.B. 1989. North American Freshwater Snails. Malacological Publications: Hamburg, Michigan. 365 pp.
  3. Clarke, A.H. 1981a. The freshwater mollusks of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, D. W. Friesen and Sons, Ltd.: Ottawa, Canada. 446 pp.
  4. Dexter, R.W. 1961. Changes in the gastropod populations in the Salt Fork of the Big Vermilion River in Illinois, 1918-1959. Sterkiana, 3: 15-18.
  5. Dillon, R. T., Jr., M. Ashton, M. Kohl, W. Reeves, T. Smith, T. Stewart and B. Watson. 2013. The freshwater gastropods of North America. Online. Available: http://www.fwgna.org.
  6. Dillon, R.T., Jr., W.K. Reeves, and T.W. Stewart. 2006b [2007]. The freshwater gastropods of Georgia. Created 26 August 2003. Last updated September 2007. Available online: http://www.cofc.edu/~fwgna/FWGGA/index.html.
  7. Evans, R.R. and S.J. Ray. 2010. Distribution and environmental influences on freshwater gastropods from lotic systems and springs in Pennsylvania, USA, with conservation recommendations. American Malacological Bulletin 28:135-150.
  8. Flowers, J.R. 1996. Notes on the life history of <i>Fascioloides magna</i> (Trematoda) in North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 112(3):115-118.
  9. Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society (FMCS). 2021. The 2021 checklist of freshwater gastropods (Mollusca: Gastropods) of the United States and Canada. Considered and approved by the Gastropods Names Subcommittee December 2020. Online: https://molluskconservation.org/MServices_Names-Gastropods.html
  10. Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society (FMCS). 2023. The 2023 checklist of freshwater gastropods of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Considered and approved by the Gastropod Names Subcommittee December 2023. Online: https://molluskconservation.org/MServices_Names-Gastropods.html
  11. Frest, T.J. and E.J. Johannes. 2000a. An annotated checklist of Idaho land and freshwater mollusks. Journal of the Idaho Academy of Science, 36(2): 1-51.
  12. Fullington, R.W. 1978. The Recent and fossil freshwater gastropod fauna of Texas. PhD Dissertation, North Texas State University, Denton, Texas. 279 pp.
  13. Goodrich, C. and H. van der Schalie. 1944. A revision of the Mollusca of Indiana. The American Midland Naturalist, 32: 257-326.
  14. Hubendick, B. 1951. Recent Lymnaeidae. Their variation, morphology, taxonomy, nomenclature, and distribution. Kunglica Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar Series 4, 3(1): 1-223.
  15. International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). 1998. Opinion 1896. <i>Galba</i> Schrank, 1803 (Mollusca, Gastropoda): <i>Buccinum truncatulum</i> Müller. 1774 designated as the type species. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 55:123.
  16. Jass, C.N., J.I. Mead, A.D. Morrison, and L.D. Agebroad. 2002. Late Pleistocene mollusks from the southern Black Hills, South Dakota. Western North American Naturalist, 62(2): 129-140.
  17. Johnson, P.D., A.E. Bogan, K.M. Brown, N.M. Burkhead, J.R. Cordeiro, J.T. Garner, P.D. Hartfield, D.A.W. Lepitzki, G.L. Mackie, E. Pip, T.A. Tarpley, J.S. Tiemann, N.V. Whelan, and E.E Strong. 2013. Conservation status of freshwater gastropods of Canada and the United States. Fisheries 38(6):247-282.
  18. Lee, J. S. 2001. Freshwater molluscs of British Columbia: assessments for all recorded or potential taxa. Prepared for the British Columbia Conservation Data Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, revised. 109 pp.
  19. Lepitzki, D.A.W. 2001. Gastropods: 2000 preliminary status ranks for Alberta. Unpublished report prepared for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fish and Wildlife Division, Edmonton, Alberta. 126 pp.
  20. Malizio, G.M., Karns, B.N., Hove, M., Slaght, J., and Strong, E. 2004. A survey of aquatic snails in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway: are they native, exotic, invasive or just great bio-indicators? University of Minnesota and U.S. National Park Service. Poster Presentation
  21. MolluscaBase eds. 2026. MolluscaBase. Accessed at https://www.molluscabase.org
  22. Neck, R.W. 1990. Ecological analysis of the living molluscs of the Texas panhandle. American Malacological Bulletin 8(1): 9-18.
  23. O'Neal, R.P. and Soulliere, G.J. 2006. Conservation guidelines for Michigan lakes and associated natural resources. Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Fisheries Special Report, 38.
  24. Pip, E. 2000. The decline of freshwater molluscs in southern Manitoba. Canadian Field Naturalist 114(4):555-560.
  25. Pyron, M. and K.M. Brown. 2014. Introduction to Mollusca and the Class Gastropoda. Pages 381-506 in J.H. Thorp and D.C. Rogers (eds.), Thorp and Covich's freshwater invertebrates: ecology and general biology, 4th edition, volume 1, Academic Press, San Diego, California.
  26. Pyron, M., J. Beaugly, E. Martin, and M. Spielman. 2008. Conservation of the freshwater gastropods of Indiana: Historic and current distributions. American Malacological Bulletin, 26: 137-151.
  27. Sanabria, R., Mouzet, R., Pankrác, J., Djuikwo Teukeng, F. F., Courtioux, et al.  2013. <i>Lymnaea neotropica</i> and <i>Lymnaea viatrix</i>, potential intermediate hosts for <i>Fascioloides magna</i>. Journal of Helminthology, 87(4):494-500.
  28. Smith, D.C., M.A. Gates, R.A. Krebs, and M.J.S. Tevesz. 2002. A survey of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) and other molluscs in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Ohio Biological Survey Miscellaneous Contribution, 8: 1-31.
  29. Standley, C. J., Prepelitchi, L., Pietrokovsky, S. M., Issia, L., Stothard, J. R., and Wisnivesky-Colli, C. 2013. Molecular characterization of cryptic and sympatric lymnaeid species from the <i>Galba</i>/<i>Fossaria</i> group in Mendoza Province, Northern Patagonia, Argentina. Parasites &amp; vectors 6(1): 304.
  30. Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
  31. Wu, S.-K., R.D. Oesch, and M.E. Gordon. 1997. Missouri Aquatic Snails. Natural History Series, No. 5. Missouri Department of Conservation: Jefferson, Missouri. 97 pp.