New snail discovered in Harpeth River
Although the snail, called Lithasia spicula, was found in the mid-1990s, it wasn’t until this year that the new species became official.
Russell L. Minton, an assistant professor in biology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, co-wrote a paper describing the new species in Zootaxa, a scientific journal.
“It looked weird, not like anything we had seen before,” Minton said.
Minton heard about the new snail in a dissertation and went down to the Harpeth River to find them. Under the Highway 100 bridge in southwestern Davidson County, Minton found several of the new species.
Minton said that snails use their radula, a kind of tongue lined with teeth, to scrape algae and food off surfaces.
After inspection, Minton said that the teeth on these new snails were much sharper than previously found on Lithasia species. DNA tests proved that the snails Minton had gathered were unlike any other species.
The discovery is good news for the Harpeth River Watershed Association, which works to preserve and restore the ecological health of the river.
“This is one of the most exciting things ever,” said John McFadden, the organization’s director of science and restoration projects. “We know the river is special, and this is just another bit of information that says it is.”
Many conservation groups across the state have worked to discover and publicize all the new species found in the state.
The Tennessee chapter of the Nature Conservancy has helped to find 24 new species since 2003 through the funding of cave research in the state.
Discover Life in America works to identify all species that live in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through their partnership with the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, they have identified 565 new species since 1998.
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On the Web:
http://www.discoverlifeinamerica.org
http://www.harpethriver.org