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Field Guide


Creeping Ancylid

Creeping Ancylid (Ferrissia rivularis)

Ferrissia rivularis

NatureServe conservation status

Global (G-rank): G5
State (S-rank): S2

Utah Wildlife Action Plan status

  • SGCN

External links


Species range

Creeping ancylid is distributed throughout much of North America; however, it is the only freshwater limpet in Utah.

Habitat

This species inhabits cold water high elevation streams and rivers, and is found primarily attached to midsize rock substrate.

Threats or limiting factors

Threats to creeping ancylid include: pollution, water development and management, improper grazing practices, habitat shifting and alteration, and increased temperatures.

Taxonomy

Call (1884) referred a specimen, almost certainly this species, from Utah to the genus ANCYLUS as "Ancylus, sp. undt." Russell (1971) called his Utah specimens, again almost certainly this species, Laevapex californica. Taylor (1986) called Utah specimens Ferrissia californica.

Many authors (e.g., Jones 1935, Jones 1940, Chamberlin and Roscoe 1948) have referred to the species in Utah by its currently accepted name. Chamberlin and Jones (1929) referred to this species in Utah by its currently recognized name, except for its spelling in the text, where it appeared three times (p 170) as: "Ferrisia [sic] rivularis"; however, this appears to have been either a lapsus or a printer's error, for in their accompanying figure (Fig. 29, p 171) the name was hand-written correctly, and the name appeared correctly spelled in the table of contents (p ix), in their overview of molluscan classification (p 14), and in the index (p 197).