Fossil record of Pomacea (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae) in Argentina

MARTÍN, PABLO; DE FRANCESCO, CLAUDIO

BIOCELL

Inca Editorial

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2006 vol. 32 p. 337 - 343

0327-9545

In many aspects Pomacea canaliculata is the best known native snail from Argentina, a fact that has been enhanced since its establishment as a serious rice plague in Asian rice fields. However, from a paleontological viewpoint the knowledge of this species is far from being sound or integrated. Our aims are to review the fossil record of Pomacea in Argentina, to analyze the preservation of its remains and their usefulness as paleoenvironmental indicators, and to highlight their contribution to the understanding of its present distribution. The fossils of Pomacea from Pleistocene and Holocene sediments in Argentina suggest a more restricted distribution and lower relative abundance in the past than nowadays. This may be the result of a combination of different local environmental conditions with megascale hydrographic changes that facilitated a southward expansion of many aquatic mollusks. The steadily increasing body of information about present populations of Pomacea canaliculata would bring new clues for paleoenvironmental reconstruction through the analysis of their Quaternary fossil assemblages. Nevertheless, a more rigorous testing of the origin of fossil evidence through actualistic experiments or surveys is still necessary in most cases before they can be applied to paleoenvironmental reconstruction. On the other hand, the contribution of the paleontological evidence on past distribution of P. canaliculata in the frame of the geomorphological evolution of the region would contribute to a better understanding of its present distribution and its possible range expansion in recent times. The understanding of many aspects of the biology and ecology of Pomacea would also benefit by the contribution of a chronological component provided by paleontological evidence.