Desert Tryonia
Tryonia porrecta
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G3
State (S-rank): S2
Utah Wildlife Action Plan status
- SGCN
External links
Species range
Desert tryonia exists in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. Its distribution in Utah is limited to the central portion of the state.
Habitat
Desert troyonia inhabits warm water springs and spring outflows.
Threats or limiting factors
Threats to desert tryonia include: pollution, water development and management, improper grazing practices, habitat shifting and alteration, and increased temperatures.
Taxonomy
Until recently, the name Tryonia protea was used in reference to this species. Hershler (2001) considered T. protea to be a junior synonym of T. porrecta. The taxon protea has been allocated to various genera. It was described by Gould (1855), who placed it in the genus AMNICOLA. Works dealing specifically with Utah have assigned it to the genera MELANIA (see Yarrow 1875), PALUDESTRINA (see Chamberlin and Jones 1929, Jones 1940), HYDROBIA (see Chamberlin and Roscoe 1948), and more recently TRYONIA (see Russell 1971, Hovingh 1993, Hershler n.d.).
Old records of this species (e.g., Tryon in Ruschenberger 1873, Yarrow 1875) were listed using the name Tryonia exigua.
Chamberlin and Jones (1929) used the common name "the cornucopia snail" for the species.