There are two nerites listed as occuring in the Caspian Sea - or rather the
river deltas flowing into the sea.

The first is Theodoxus pallasi Lindholm, 1924; a small, 5-7 mm shell with
brown axial stripes on a cream base.  It also occurs in the Aral and Azov
Seas.  I have specimens from the Volga River delta that are so corroded that
none of the pattern shows.  Luckily I was able to borrow some decent
specimens from Harry Lee for the book.

The second species is Theodoxus schultzii (Grimm, 1877).  It is another
small shell, solid cream to yellow in color and seems to only be found in
the Caspian.  We were unable to obtain any specimens of this species and had
to rely upon the original description and illustrations by Grimm.  In fact,
I have yet to see it pictured except as a copy of that original drawing.  It
has an open spiral shape and looks almost like a deformed shell.  So its
status is a bit questionable.

By the way, a paper by Zhadin of the Academy of Sciences of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics titled Mollusks of Fresh and Brackish Waters of
the U.S.S.R. (1952), translated in 1965, lists only these two nerite species
plus Planorbis eichwaldi as found in the Caspian.  The area has a rich
fossil history, but like many areas in that part of the world has suffered
ecologically.  Many of the freshwater nerites like Theodoxus danubialis and
Theodoxus fluviatilis that were once widespread in Eastern Europe are now
found only in islated populations - if at all.  For instance, Theodoxus
danubialis was once a common snail in the river systems of what is now the
Czech Republic - but is now extinct in these same rivers.

In a 1997 volume by Butakov, Chuhchin, Cherkasova, & Lelekov, Gastropoda of
the Black Sea, they only list Hydrobia ventrosa Montagu, 1803; Caspia
gmelini Dybowski, 1888; Clessiniola variabilis (Eichwald, 1838); and
Micromelania caspia lincta Milachevitch, 1874 as also occuring in the
Caspian Sea.

Tom Eichhorst

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Patty Jansen
> Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 7:04 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Caspian Sea?
>
>
> Dear All,
>
> Following a sad family occasion three weeks ago, I found myself
> in a Boeing
> 747 flying about 10km up in the air over a completely cloudless central
> Asian continent. As we left the snowy mountains of Afghanistan behind, and
> the little villages of Georgia, we flew over the Caspian Sea. I found
> myself wondering, peering out of the window, are there any shells in this
> utterly desolate place? On the shores of this inland sea, I did not spot a
> single village, on the water, I did not see a single boat (admittedly, it
> must have been about 5am..). The shores and the water looked so
> lifeless it
> seemed like the ocean equivalent of a desert.
>
> Has anyone ever seen any of these shores close up, or know anything about
> them? Are there any shells in the Caspian Sea?
>
> just wondering
>
> Patty
>
>
> Dr. Patty Jansen
>
> Bookshop: http://www.booksofnature.com
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