Shaggy ghostsnail
Dasyscias franzi F. G. Thompson & Hershler, 1991
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Order | Littorinimorpha |
| Family | Hydrobiidae |
| Genus | Dasyscias |
| Species | Dasyscias franzi F. G. Thompson & Hershler, 1991 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Stygobiont
- Realm
- Aquatic
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
- Maximum length
- ~2 mm
Distribution
Type locality
Blue Spring Cave, Washington Co., FL
Range
Known from one county in Florida in the Florida Lime Sinks karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Florida
Counties
- Florida
- Washington
Karst regions
Florida Lime Sinks
Specimens
Type material
- Holotype
- 93964-Mollusca · Florida Museum of Natural History
- Paratype ×6
- Florida Museum of Natural History
- Paratype
- USNM 860468 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| Florida Museum of Natural History | 7 |
| National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution | 1 |
8 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 8 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G1 Critically Imperiled
Global rank last reviewed 28 February 2014.
Subnational ranks
- Florida
- 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.
Threats
- Recreational/Commerical Cave Activities
- Pollution -Sewage or Urban Wastewater
- Pollution - Commercial/Industrial
- Pollution - Agricultural & Forestry
Other resources
References
- Culver, D.C. & Hobbs, III, H.H. 2002. Patterns of species richness in the Florida stygobitic fauna. Hydrogeology and Biology of Post-Palaeozoic Carbonate Aquifers. Proceedings of the Symposium Karst Frontiers: Florida and Related Environments: 60–63. https://karstwaters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SP7-Florida-PostPaleozoic-carbonate-aquifers.pdf. details
- Franz, R., Bauer, J. & Morris, T. 1994. Review of biologically significant caves and their faunas in Florida and south Georgia. Brimleyana 20: 1–109. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/229726. details
- 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
- 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
- Morris, T.L. 2006. A biological inventory of aquifer caves in Florida with special emphasis on troglobitic crustaceans and salamanders. Final report S0057 to Florida Department of Environmental Regulation. Karst Environmental Services, Inc., High Springs, Florida, USA. 44 pp.
- Poucher, S. 2011. A Field Guide to the Critters of Florida's Springs. National Speleological Society, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. 124 pp. ISBN 978–1-879961–42–5.
- Poucher, S. 2022. Wildlife of Florida's Springs. An Illustrated Guide to over 150 Species. Pineapple Press, Palm Beach, Florida, USA. 196 pp. ISBN 9780000000000.
- Thompson, F.G. & Hershler, R. 1991. Two new hydrobiid snails (Amnicolinae) from Florida and Georgia, with a discussion of the biogeography of freshwater gastropods of south Georgia streams. Malacological Review 24: 55–72. https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/11343. details
- Walsh, S.J. 2001. Freshwater macrofauna of Florida karst habitats. Proceedings of the 2001 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group, USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 01–4011: 78–88. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_talks/101/. details
This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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