In Tyhee Lake, near Telkwa in the Bulkley Valley, there are freshwater snails belonging to the genus Stagnicola that are remarkable for their strangeness. Shells are very long, often turreted, and don’t really resemble any Stagnicola species. I presume that they are a (perhaps) environmental form of Stagnicola elodes, which most resembles the shell on the far left in the photograph (though not so slender). I recall that there are similar-looking snails in Dragon Lake (there are a couple in British Columbia but I mean the one near Quesnel). Is there “something in the water”?
Tag Archives: Bulkley Valley
Smithers’ first bioblitz
Two terrestrial molluscs added to the Glacier Gulch list
Recently, July 30 and 31, 2011, the first ever Smithers’ bioblitz was held at Glacier Gulch on Hudson Bay Mountain. I participated, looked for snails and took photographs. Turn out was excellent although the weather was inclement, as it has been for much of the summer.
Five species of land snails were known from Glacier Gulch: Euconulus fulvus, Vertigo modesta (photographed), Discus whitneyi, Punctum randolphii, and Columella edentula. One additional species of snail, Vespericola columbianus (below), and an introduced Arion slug were found by bioblitzers, bringing the total to seven species. Vespericola columbianus has been found before on Hudson Bay Mountain, and more unusually, in the valley.
Vertigo modesta.
Vespericola columbiana.
Bulkley Valley Mollusca
A checklist of species
Over a decade ago, I published a paper on the snails of this area (Forsyth 2001), comparing what I found in the valley to the (rather wetter) mountain slopes. The results are pretty much unchanged, though I have since made many additional collections and observations from more sites. Here is the updated list that for completeness also includes the freshwater (aquatic) molluscs known to me (the Bivalvia and the gastropod families Lymnaeidae, Physidae, and Planorbidae).
CLASS BIVALVIA
Family Unionidae [aquatic]
- Anodonta kennerleyi – Western Floater
Family Sphaeriidae [aquatic]
- Musculium securis – Pond Fingernailclam
- Pisidium spp. – Peaclams
CLASS GASTROPODA
Family Lymnaeidae [aquatic]
- Galba galbana – Boreal Fossaria
- Galba modicella – Rock Fossaria
- Lymnaea stagnalis – Swamp Lymnaea
- Stagnicola catascopium – Woodland Pondsnail
- Stagnicola elodes – Marsh Pondsnail
Family Physidae [aquatic]
- Physella gyrina – Tadpole Physa
Family Planorbidae [aquatic]
- Gyraulus circumstriatus – Disc Gyro
- Gyraulus deflectus – Flexed Gyro
- Gyraulus parvus – Ash Gyro
- Helisoma anceps – Two-ridge Rams-horn
- Planorbella trivolvis – Marsh Rams-horn
- Promenetus exacuous – Umbilicate Sprite
- Ferrissia fragilis – Fragile Ancylid
Family Succineidae
- Oxyloma sp. – Ambersnail
Family Cochlicopidae
- Cochlicopa lubrica – Glossy Pillar
Family Valloniidae
- Vallonia excentrica – Iroquois Vallonia
- Vallonia gracilicosta – Multirib Vallonia
- Vallonia pulchella – Lovely Vallonia
- Zoogenetes harpa – Boreal Top
Family Vertiginidae
- Columella columella – Mellow Column
- Columella edentula – Toothless Column
- Vertigo columbiana – Columbia Vertigo
- Vertigo cristata – Crested Vertigo
- Vertigo modesta – Cross Vertigo
- Vertigo ovata – Ovate Vertigo
Family Punctidae
- Paralaoma servilis – Pin-head Spot
- Punctum randolphii – Conical Spot
Family Discidae
- Discus whitneyi – Forest Disc
Family Pristilomatidae
- Pristiloma arcticum – Northern Tightcoil
- Pristiloma chersinella – Black-foot Tightcoil
- Pristiloma lansingi – Denticulate Tightcoil
Family Euconulidae
- Euconulus fulvus – Brown Hive
- Euconulus praticola – Marsh Hive
Family Gastrodontidae
- Zonitoides arboreus – Quick Gloss
Family Oxychilidae
- Nesovitrea binneyana – Blue Glass
- Nesovitrea electrina – Amber Glass
Family Vitrinidae
- Vitrina pellucida – Western Glass-snail
Family Agriolimacidae
- Deroceras laeve – Meadow Slug
- Deroceras reticulatum – Grey Fieldslug
Family Arionidae
- Arion subfuscus – Dusky Arion
Family Helicidae
- Cepaea nemoralis – Grovesnail
Family Polygyridae
- Vespericola columbianus – Northwest Hesperian
Family Thysanophoridae
- Microphysula cookei – Vancouver Snail
Further reading
- Forsyth, R.G. “2001″ [2002]. New records for land snails from the mountains of northwestern British Columbia. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 115 (2): 223–228. [pdf here or at Biodersity Heritage Library]