Home/Species/ Green River Pebblesnail

Fluminicola coloradoensis

Morrison, 1940

Green River Pebblesnail

G3Vulnerable (G3G4) Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G3VulnerableGlobal Rank

UnknownThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.943084

Element CodeIMGASG3590

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumMollusca

ClassGastropoda

OrderLittorinimorpha

FamilyLithoglyphidae

GenusFluminicola

Synonyms

Fluminicola coloradensisMorrison, 1940

Concept Reference

Liu, H.P., Walsh, J. and Hershler, R. 2013. Taxonomic clarification and phylogeography of Fluminicola coloradensis Morrison, a widely ranging western North American pebblesnail. Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist 6(1):87-110.

Taxonomic Comments

The genus Fluminicola is in need of revision because genetic analyses show that the genus is paraphyletic (Hershler and Liu 2012).

The taxonomic treatment of Fluminicola coloradoensis Morrison 1940 has undergone several changes since its description (Taylor 1966, Hershler and Frest 1996, Hershler 1999, Frest and Johannes 2000). In an ongoing effort to resolve the taxonomy, Liu et al. (2013) conducted mtDNA analyses, which resulted in the unassigned Snake River basin populations being assigned to F. coloradoensis, as well as the re-assignment of the lower Salmon River (Idaho) populations of Fluminicola fuscus to F. coloradoensis.

Hershler and Frest's (1996), Hershler's (1999), and Liu et al.'s (2013) use of "Fluminicola coloradensis" is an unjustified emendation.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x

Review Date2015-02-19

Change Date2015-02-19

Edition Date2015-02-19

Edition AuthorsFrest, T. (2000), Ormes, M. (2015)

Threat ImpactUnknown

Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences21 - 300

Rank Reasons

This species has a moderate number of occurrences, but is apparently abundant at some locations.

Range Extent Comments

This species is found in the Upper Green River and Bonneville basin in western Wyoming, Idaho and northeastern Utah. It also extends into the upper Snake River basin and lower Salmon River of Idaho (Liu et al. 2013).

Occurrences Comments

This species is represented by a moderate number of occurrences (subpopulations). Based on Hershler (1999), about 15-22 sites were estimated as extant in the Upper Green River and Bonneville basins in Wyoming, Idaho and Utah; this estimate excluded vague, subfossil, and overlapping sites. The inclusion of populations from the upper Snake River basin in Idaho greatly increases the total number of occurrences.

Threat Impact Comments

Threats have not been assessed, but there is localized habitat degradation in the Bonneville and Upper Green basins (Liu et al. 2013). The upper Snake River basin populations may be affected by fish farming and related activities. Stockton et al. (2012) tested the potential toxicity to Fluminicola fuscus (re-assigned to F. coloradoensis by Liu et al.2013) to the Fluorescein dyes that are used to trace groundwater flows that supply springs used in fish farming and conservation aquaculture operations and found it be minimal.

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN2

Province	Rank	Native
Utah	S3	Yes
Idaho	S3	Yes
Wyoming	S4	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
Unknown/undetermined	—	—	—

Roadless Areas (1)

Utah (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
418024	Uinta National Forest	51,699

References (10)

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
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.
Hershler, R. 1999. A systematic review of the Hydrobiid snails (Gastropoda: Rissooidea) of the Great Basin, Western United States. Part II. Genera Colligyrus, Eremopyrgus, Fluminicola, Pristinicola, and Tryonia. The Veliger, 42(4): 306-337.
Hershler R., and H.-P. Liu. 2012. Molecular phylogeny of the western North American pebblesnails, genus Fluminicola (Rissooidea: Lithoglyphidae), with description of a new species. Journal of Molluscan Studies 78(4):321-329.
Hershler, R. and T. J. Frest. 1996. A review of the North American freshwater snail genus Fluminicola (Hydrobiidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 583: 1-41.
Liu, H.P., Walsh, J. and Hershler, R. 2013. Taxonomic clarification and phylogeography of Fluminicola coloradensis Morrison, a widely ranging western North American pebblesnail. Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist 6(1):87-110.
Morrison, J.P.E. 1940. A new species of Fluminicola with notes on "Colorado Desert" shells and on the genus Clappia. The Nautilus 53(4):124-127.
Taylor, D.W. 1966. Summary of North American Blancan nonmarine mollusks. Malacologia 4(1):1-172.
Tronstad, L.M. and M. D. Andersen. 2018. Aquatic snails of the Snake and Green River Basins of Wyoming. Report prepared by the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database for the Wyoming Fish and Wildlife Department. 44 pp.
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.

Fluminicola coloradoensis

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