The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

ISSN 2307-8235 (online)

IUCN 2008: T155835A4851683

Hydrobia acuta
Assessment by: Van Damme, D.

View on www.iucnredlist.org

Citation: Van Damme, D. 2011. Hydrobia acuta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011:
e.T155835A4851683. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES

Taxonomy
Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Animalia

Mollusca

Gastropoda

Littorinimorpha

Hydrobiidae

Taxon Name:Hydrobia acuta (Draparnaud, 1805)

Synonym(s):
Hydrobia neglecta

Regional Assessments:
Europe

Taxonomic Notes:
Two subspecies are recognised, Hydrobia acuta acuta (Draparnaud 1805) and Hydrobia acuta neglecta
(Muus 1963). Synonyms include Peringia minoricensis Paladilhe, 1875; Paludestrina tetropsoides,
Paladihe, 1870; Obrovia salaria, Radoman, 1973; Obrovia testadura, Radoman, 1973 (D.V. Damme pers.
comm. 2011).

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2011

Date Assessed:

July 22, 2011

Justification:
Hydrobia acuta has been assessed as Least Concern. Whilst in parts of its range this species is known to
be undergoing localised declines, this species is widespread throughout the coastal zones of Europe and
the Mediterranean. In parts of its European range, the subspecies H. a. neglecta is listed on national
Red List assessments, and although it may be affected by localised threat processes, further research
into the species' population trends is needed to assess the impacts of these threats on a global scale.

Geographic Range
Range Description:
This species is found in the Sea of Azov, Black Sea and western Russia (Selifonova 2008). The subspecies
H. a. acuta is distributed throughout the western Mediterranean, whilst subspecies H. a. neglecta has a
scattered distribution across the eastern English Channel, North Sea, Baltic Sea and Norwegian Sea
(Wilke and Pfenninger 2002).

Country Occurrence:
Native: Algeria; Belgium; Denmark; France; Germany; Greece (Greece (mainland)); Ireland; Italy (Italy
(mainland), Sardegna, Sicilia); Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malta;
Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Russian Federation (Kaliningrad, Northwest European Russia);
Spain (Spain (mainland)); Sweden; Tunisia; Ukraine (Krym, Ukraine (main part)); United Kingdom (Great

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hydrobia acuta published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en

Britain)

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hydrobia acuta published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en

Distribution Map

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hydrobia acuta published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en

Population
This species is described as abundant in salt water lagoons (Britton 1985, Koutsoubas et al. 2000),
however H. a. neglecta is known to be undergoing large localised declines in Ireland and has suffered
large population losses, particularly in Northern Ireland (Byrne et al. 2009). The maximum density of
6,000 individuals per m2 was found in a hypersaline lagoon in the Camargue (France) (Britton 1985).
Current Population Trend:Unknown

Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)

This species is found in shallow brackish and saline coastal lagoons and estuaries, and in the littoral
zones of inland seas (Britton 1985, Pantazidou et al. 2006). This species is a deposit feeding herbivore,
and occurs on aquatic macrophytes, sandy and muddy substrates (Koutsoubas et al. 2000,
Evagelopoulos et al. 2009).

Systems:Freshwater, Marine

Threats (see Appendix for additional information)

Localised threats to this species include lagoonal salination, organic pollution, land reclamation and
infilling of coastal habitats (Oliver 2007).

Conservation Actions
Subspecies H. a. neglecta is listed as Endangered under B2ab(iii,iv) on the Irish Red List (Byrne et al.
2009), and as Endangered on the Red List of Malta (under pre-1994 criteria) (Schembri and Sultana
1989). Further research is required into the population trends of H. a. neglecta elsewhere throughout its
range.

Credits
Assessor(s):

Van Damme, D.

Reviewer(s):

Bhm, M. & Collen, B.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hydrobia acuta published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en

Bibliography
Britton, R.H. 1985. Life cycle and production of Hydrobia acuta Drap. (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) in a
hypersaline coastal lagoon. Hydrobiologia 122: 219-230.
Byrne, A., Moorkens, E.A., Anderson, R., Killeen, I.J. and Regan, E.C. 2009. Ireland Red List No. 2 NonMarine Molluscs. National Parks and Wildlife Service. Department of the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government,, Dublin, Ireland.
Evagelopoulos, A., Spyrakos, E., and Koutsoubas, D. 2009. Phytoplankton and macrofauna in the low
salinity ponds of a productive solar saltworks: spatial variability of community structure and its major
abiotic determinants. Global NEST Journal 11(2): 64-72.
IUCN. 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2011.2). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 10 November 2011).
Koutsoubas, D., Arvanitidis, C., Dounas, C., and Drummond, L. 2000. Community structure and dynamics
of the Molluscan fauna in a Mediterranean lagoon (Gialova lagoon, SW Greece). Belgian Journal of
Zoology 130(1): 131-138.
Oliver, G. 2007. Conservation Status Assessment Report - Coastal Lagoons (1150). Skibbereen, Co. Cork,
Ireland.
Pantazidou, A., Louvrou, I., and Economou-Amilli, A. 2006. Euendolithic shell-boring cyanobacteria and
chlorophytes from the saline lagoon Ahivadolimni on Milos Island, Greece. European Journal of
Phycology 41(2): 189-200.
Schembri, P.J. and Sultana, J. 1989. Red Data Book for the Maltese Islands. Department of Information,
University of Malta.
Selifonova, Z.P. 2008. Taxonomic composition and interannual variations in numerical density of
meroplankton in the Sea of Azov. Russian Journal of Marine Biology 34(5): 263-269.
Wilke, T., and Pfenninger, M. 2002. Separating historic events from recurrent processes in cryptic
species: phylogeography of mud snails (Hydrobia spp.). Molecular Ecology 11: 1439-1451.

Citation
Van Damme, D. 2011. Hydrobia acuta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011:
e.T155835A4851683. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en

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External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hydrobia acuta published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en

Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat

Season

Suitability

Major
Importance?

9. Marine Neritic -> 9.10. Marine Neritic - Estuaries

Suitable

Yes

13. Marine Coastal/Supratidal -> 13.4. Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal

Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes

Suitable

Yes

Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Threat

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact Score

7. Natural system modifications -> 7.3. Other

ecosystem modifications

Ongoing

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Stresses:

1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion

Ongoing

Unknown

Stresses:

1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation

2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality

9. Pollution -> 9.1. Domestic & urban waste water ->

9.1.1. Sewage

Unknown

Unknown

Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Research Needed
1. Research -> 1.2. Population size, distribution & trends

Additional Data Fields

Population
Population severely fragmented: No

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hydrobia acuta published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T155835A4851683.en

The IUCN Red List Partnership

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.

THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES