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Mud amnicola
Amnicola limosa
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G5
State (S-rank): SH
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Species range
This species is known in Utah from several localities in the central or north-central part of the state. Reports that are thought to represent historical occurrences (and not merely prehistoric material) are from Utah County (Pilsbry 1899, Henderson and Daniels 1917, Chamberlin and Jones 1929, Jones 1940b), Salt Lake County (Woolstenhulme 1942), Tooele County (Jones 1940a), and Juab County (Chamberlin and Jones 1929); however, populations at some of these historical localities are now known to be extirpated. It should be noted that many of the reports of this species from Utah are based upon subfossil or fossil material; for example, the species is well known from Box Elder County as fossils.
Habitat
Although Chamberlin and Jones (1929) stated that "[t]his species occurs ... in streams, rivers and more quiet bodies of water ... on muddy bottoms and aquatic plants", it appears that they were writing in general terms concerning the species rangewide rather than of the particular habitats that it utilizes in Utah; for example, no information has been found that suggests that the species has ever been identified from streams or rivers in Utah. The species formerly occurred in Utah Lake, a large, shallow, slightly saline, freshwater lake where Chamberlin and Jones (1929) clearly were familiar with it, but several reported Utah localites are named springs (see, for example, Jones 1940b) or salt springs (see, for example Woolstenhulme 1942), habitats that Chamberlin and Jones (1929) did not mention, though they were aware of spring localities.
Threats or limiting factors
Threats to this species in Utah have included and almost certainly continue to include alteration and degradation of aquatic sites, especially in the heavily populated region along the Wasatch Front. Draining of wetlands and development of these former wetlands for agricultural, industrial, and commercial and residential purposes has resulted in widespread loss of habitat for this species. Dewatering for agricultural irrigation may also be a threat. Pollution from agricultural chemical use, industrial effluent, sewage, and mosquito abatement activities are other likely threats to the species.
