Bithynia leachii ( Sheppard, 1823 )

Marković, Vanja, Gojšina, Vukašin, Novaković, Boris, Božanić, Milenka, Stojanović, Katarina, Karan-Žnidaršič, Tamara & Živić, Ivana, 2021, The freshwater molluscs of Serbia: Annotated checklist with remarks on distribution and protection status, Zootaxa 5003 (1), pp. 1-64 : 16

19. Bithynia leachii ( Sheppard, 1823)

Findings in Serbia.

Bithynia leach: Tomić (1959) .

Bithynia (Codiella) leachii : Karaman & Karaman (2007).

Bithynia leachii: Frank et al. (1990) ; Karaman (2001); Gojšina (2021 pers. comm.).

Common name. Globose bithynia, Leach’s bithynia.

Morphology: Small-sized snails (conical shell up to 8–9 mm high). Glossy yellowish shell has 4–4.5 convex whorls with deep suture. Operculum and aperture are oval, umbilicus is slit like open. For more details see Welter-Schultes (2012: 37, figure at the bottom of the page).

Distribution and ecology. Palearctic species inhabiting slow-flowing rivers and stagnant waters across Europe. More common in central and south-eastern parts of the continent ( Vavrova et al. 2010). In Serbia, the recent findings are scarce and mostly related to the Danube (the Iron-Gate part and Kovin Municipality). In the past the species was more common, and it was recorded from Zasavica (near the Sava River), Lepenica River, and few ponds and swamps along the Danube.

Other remarks. Though widespread across Europe, this species is considered sensitive to water pollution, so in some parts of its distribution range it is considered critically endangered ( Austria and Czech Republic) and endangered in Germany ( Welter-Schultes 2012). On the IUCN Red List of threatened species it has been assessed as LC ( Vavrova et al. 2010).