Biomphalaria pfeifferi ( Krauss, 1848 )

Rapalai, Boikhutso Lerato, 2024, An annotated checklist of molluscs recorded from Botswana, Indago: Investigating nature and humanity in Africa (Oxford, England) 41 (10), pp. 15-44 : 26

31. Biomphalaria pfeifferi ( Krauss, 1848)

Distribution and year: Kwando River between Lianzulu and Chobe River [SMWN76089, 76366, 76372, 76376, 76382, 76391, 76528, 76538, 76562] 1986 ( Brown et al. 1992); Chobe River, Linyanti Channel [SMWN76306] 1986 ( Brown et al. 1992); Chobe River at Ngoma [SMWN76315] and Ihaha [SMWN76353] 1986 ( Brown et al. 1992); Boro River near Maun and Nxaraga Lagoon, Chief’s Island [ETD4296] 1984 ( Brown et al. 1992); Thamalakane River opposite Okavango River Lodge [ETD4297] 1984 ( Brown et al. 1992); “Botletle” (Boteti) River at Chanoga [ETD 4297] 1984 ( Brown et al. 1992); Okavango Delta 1999, 2000 ( Jansen van Rensburg 2001; Appleton et al. 2003), 2003 ( Dallas & Mosepele 2007).

Geographic range: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Habitat: Freshwater.

Notes: The species is ubiquitous across Africa, including the tropical regions ( Brown 1994). This is the commonest snail in the Okavango Delta ( Brown et al. 1992; Appleton et al. 2003). The species seems to be tolerant to anthropogenic activities such as pollution and habitat disturbance ( Brown 1994), but is not acclimatized to extremely hot or extremely cold conditions and does not favour sheltered habitats ( Brown 1994). The mollusc is an intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni Sambon, 1907 , the parasite causing human schistosomiasis ( Appleton et al. 2003).

Type locality: Umgeni Valley , KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa ( Krauss 1848) .

Sources: Connolly (1939: 484); van Bruggen (1966 a: 109); Brown et al. (1992: 29); Jansen van Rensburg (2001: 29); Appleton et al. (2003: 58–68); Dallas & Mosepele (2007: 4); Appleton & Miranda (2015: 130).

Conservation status: Least Concern.