Radix natalensis

28. Radix natalensis (Krauss, 1848) Distribution and year: Chobe River at Ngoma [SMWN 76314] and Ihaha [SMWN 76351] 1986 (Brown et al. 1992); Thamalakane River near Maun [ETD4293] 1984 (Brown et al. 1992); Lake Ngami N/A (Connolly 1912; 1939); Boro River and Channel, and Nxaraga Lagoon, Chief’s Island, Okavango Delta [ETD4293] 1984 (Brown et al. 1992), 2000 (Appleton et al. 2003); Guma Lagoon, Okavango Delta 2000 (Appleton et al. 2003); Upper panhandle, Okavango Delta 2000 (Jansen van Rensburg 2001; Appleton et al. 2003); Okavango Delta 1983, 2000, 2018, 2019 (GBIF 2023 b); Limpopo River N/A (Appleton & Miranda 2015; Albrecht et al. 2018 e). Geographic range: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Habitat: Freshwater. Notes: Radix natalensis is a highly variable species across its wide range in Africa, suspected to contain cryptic species (Kristensen et al. 2009). The species is abundant in the Okavango River and East Caprivi (Brown et al. 1992). The mollusc is the main intermediate host of the liver flukes Fasciola gigantica Cobbold, 1855 and Fasciola hepatica (Linnaeus, 1758) in Africa (Appleton et al. 2003). Type locality: KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Krauss 1848). Sources: Connolly (1912: 233; 1939: 476); van Bruggen (1966 a: 109); Brown & Kristensen (1989: 26); Brown et al. (1992: 26); Jansen van Rensburg (2001: 29); Appleton et al. (2003: 58–68); Appleton & Miranda (2015: 128) (all as Lymnaea natalensis); GBIF (2023 b). Conservation status: Least Concern.