phoenix Zoo TRAIL CARDS
Huachuca Springsnail Pyrgulopsis thompsoni
Range:
Found in the Huachuca Mountains in Santa Cruz, Pima, and Cochise Counties of Arizona as well as Sonora, Mexico. Believed to occur in 16 different sites in the upper San Pedro River drainage and the upper Santa Cruz River drainage.
Habitat:
Springs or ciénegas at 1,372 to 1,829 m (4,500 to 7,200 ft) in elevation. Typically found in shallow, marshy areas of springs or ciénegas, often in rocky seeps at the spring source. Note: ciénegas are freshwater, spongy, shallow wet meadows found in the American Southwest, often at valley bottoms.
Size: 1.7 to 3.2 mm (0.05 to 0.13 in) tall
Young:
Females lay eggs one at a time Diet (wild): Mixture of algae, bacteria, detritus (periphyton)
Life span (wild): About 1–1.5 years
Conservation status:
Not listed but considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Arizona. Listed as nearthreatened on the IUCN Redlist.
Threats:
Loss or degradation of spring and ciénega habitat due to overgrazing, timber harvest, drought, groundwater withdrawal, recreation, catastrophic fire resulting from human-caused alterations of fire regimes, etc. The most significant stressor, looking into the future, is climate change.
Predators: Fish, amphibians, crayfish
Did you know?
Springsnails are important because they help maintain good water quality and are indicators of aquatic environmental health. The number of whorls on a springsnail’s shell can be used as an indicator of its age; adult springsnails have 3–5 whorls, while younger springsnails have fewer.
At the Phoenix Zoo:
Beginning in April 2018, the Zoo collaborated with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and US Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a refuge population of Huachuca springsnails at our Johnson Conservation Center. Starting with only a couple hundred individuals, our population has grown to over 10,000 individuals. This has allowed us to begin reintroducing the species in Arizona, in collaboration with our partners at Arizona Game and Fish Department. Huachuca springsnails also serve as a “surrogate species”, helping us refine husbandry and reintroduction methods that will hopefully be useful for the more-imperiled members of its genus.