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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaMolluscaGastropodaLittorinimorphaHydrobiidaeAntrorbis

Manitou cavesnail
Antrorbis breweri Hershler & Thompson, 1990

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Order Littorinimorpha
Family Hydrobiidae
Genus Antrorbis
Species Antrorbis breweri Hershler & Thompson, 1990

Synonyms

  • Antrobia breweri Hershler & F.G. Thompson, 1990 [orth. error] (prior combination, CoL)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Stygobiont
Realm
Aquatic
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic
Maximum length
1.5-1.7 (diameter) mm

Distribution

Type locality

Manitou Cave, DeKalb Co. AL

Range

Known from two counties in Alabama in the Appalachians karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama

Counties

Alabama
De Kalb, DeKalb

Karst regions

Appalachians

Genetics

Molecular resources

MarkerMoleculeSequences LengthExemplar
COI mitochondrial 1 658-658 bp MN366029.1

1 sequence, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.

Download all 1 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.

Specimens

Type material

Holotype
USNM 860429 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Paratype
135984-Mollusca · Florida Museum of Natural History
Paratype
USNM 860430 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution 6
Florida Museum of Natural History 1

7 cataloged lots in 2 collections. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.

Download all 7 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

VU Vulnerable B1+2c

EXEWCRENVU▲NTLC

Assessed in 2000.

NatureServe

G1 Critically Imperiled

G1▲G2G3G4G5

Global rank last reviewed 16 October 2008.

Subnational ranks

Alabama
S1 Critically Imperiled

Ranks looked up 23 August 2026. Conservation status changes, and a rank here is as current as that date and no more.

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
F4MK
GBIF
2300133
ITIS
567236
iNaturalist
213819
NCBI Taxonomy
2697103

References

  • Gladstone, N.S., Niemiller, M.L., Hutchins, B., Schwartz, B., Czaja, A., Slay, M.E. & Whelan, N.V. 2022. Subterranean freshwater gastropod biodiversity and conservation in the United States and Mexico. Conservation Biology 36: e13722. doi:10.1111/cobi.13722
  • Gladstone, N.S., Perez, K.E., Pieper, E.B., Carter, E.T., Dooley, K.E., Shoobs, N.F., Engel, A.S. & Niemiller, M.L. 2019. A new species of stygobitic snail in the genus Antrorbis Hershler & Thompson, 1990 (Gastropoda, Cochliopidae) from the Appalachian Valley and Ridge of eastern Tennessee, USA. ZooKeys 898: 103–120. doi:10.3897/zookeys.898.46917
  • Hershler, R. 1985. Systematic revision of the Hydrobiidae (Gastropoda, Rissoacea) of the Cuatro Cienegas Basin, Coahuila, Mexico. Malacologia 26: 31–123. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13134858. details
  • Hershler, R. & Longley, G. 1986. Phreatic hydrobiids (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) from the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer region, south-central Texas. Malacologia 27: 127–172. https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11313/iz_HershlerLongley1986a.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. details
  • Hershler, R. & Thompson, F.G. 1990. Antrorbis breweri, a new genus and species of hydrobiid cavesnail (Gastropoda) from Coosa River basin, northeastern Alabama. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 103: 197–204. https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/11322. details
  • Hubricht, L. 1940. A subterranean snail from an artesian well. Nautilis 54: 34–35. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8519181. details
  • Johnson, P.D. & Garner, J.T. 2017. Manitou Cavesnail Antrorbis breweri Hershler and Thompson, 1990. In: Shelton-Nix, E. (ed), Alabama Wildlife, Volume 5, p. 23. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA.
  • Kabat, A.R. & Hershler, R. 1993. The prosobranch snail family Hydrobiidae (Gastropoda: Rissooidea): review of classification and supraspecific taxa. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 547: 1–94. https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/5560/SCtZ-0547-Lo_res.pdf. details
  • Miller, B.V. 2020. The use of dye-tracing studies to delineate the recharge area for Manitou Cave in northwestern Alabama. 2019 National Cave and Karst Management Symposium Proceedings, Bristol, Virginia, 7–11 October 2019: 56–74.
  • Miller, B.V. 2021. Recharge area delineation for Manitou Cave, DeKalb County, Alabama. U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, October 19–20, 2021. Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5019: 82.
  • Stein, C.B. 1976. Gastropods. In: Boshung, H. (ed), Endangered and threatened plants and animals of Alabama. Alabama Museum of Natural History Bulletin 2, pp. 21–41. Alabama Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA.
  • Thompson, F.G. 1975. Final report on the endangered/threatened mollusk species of streams of the Coastal Plain region of southeastern United States. Report to the Office of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of Interior, Washington, DC, USA.

This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.

How to cite this account

Antrorbis breweri Hershler & Thompson, 1990. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1393. https://cavebiology.org/species/antrorbis-breweri/ (accessed 18 October 2026).
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Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

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Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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