Editing Lake Tanganyika (section)

===Molluscs and crustaceans===
[[File:Tiphobia horei 01.JPG|thumb|The shell of the endemic thalassoid freshwater snail ''[[Tiphobia horei]]'' with its elaborate shape and spines.]]
A total of 83 [[freshwater snail]] species (65 endemic) and 11 [[bivalve]] species (8 endemic) are known from the lake.<ref name=Darwall2011>{{cite book |editor1=Darwall, W. |editor2=Smith, K. |editor3=Allen, D. |editor4=Holland, R. |editor5=Harrison, I. |editor6=Brooks, E. |year=2011 |journal=The Diversity of Life in African Freshwaters: Under Water, Under Threat. An Analysis of the Status and Distribution of Freshwater Species Throughout Mainland Africa |author1=Seddon, M. |author2=Appleton, C. |author3=Van Damme, D. |author4=Graf, D. |title=Freshwater molluscs of Africa: diversity, distribution, and conservation |publisher=IUCN |pages=92–119 |isbn=978-2831713458}}</ref> Among the endemic bivalves are three [[monotypic]] genera: ''[[Grandidieria burtoni]]'', ''[[Pseudospatha tanganyicensis]]'' and ''[[Brazzaea anceyi]]''.<ref name=Darwall2011/> Many of the snails are unusual for species living in freshwater in having noticeably thickened shells and/or distinct [[Sculpture (mollusc)|sculpture]], features more commonly seen in marine snails. They are referred to as thalassoids, which can be translated to "marine-like".<ref name=Snail>Brown, D. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails Of Africa And Their Medical Importance.'' 2nd edition. {{ISBN|0-7484-0026-5}}</ref> All the Tanganyika thalassoids, which are part of [[Prosobranchia]], are endemic to the lake.<ref name=Snail/> Initially they were believed to be related to similar marine snails, but they are now known to be unrelated. Their appearance is now believed to be the result of the highly diverse habitats in Lake Tanganyika and [[evolutionary pressure]] from snail-eating fish and, in particular, ''[[Platythelphusa]]'' crabs.<ref name=LTBP/><ref name=Snail/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=West |first1=K. |last2=Cohen |first2=A. |year=1996 |title=Shell microstructure of gastropods from Lake Tanganyika, Africa: adaptation, convergent evolution, and escalation. |journal=Evolution |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=672–682 |doi=10.2307/2410840 |jstor=2410840 |pmid=28568935}}</ref> A total of 17 freshwater snail genera are endemic to the lake, such as ''[[Hirthia]]'', ''[[Lavigeria]]'', ''[[Paramelania]]'', ''[[Reymondia]]'', ''[[Spekia]]'', ''[[Stanleya neritinoides|Stanleya]]'', ''[[Tanganyicia]]'' and ''[[Tiphobia]]''.<ref name=Snail/> There are about 30 species of non-thalassoid snails in the lake, but only five of these are endemic, including ''[[Ferrissia tanganyicensis]]'' and ''[[Neothauma tanganyicense]]''.<ref name=Snail/> The latter is the largest Tanganyika snail and its shell is often used by small [[Shell dwellers|shell-dwelling cichlids]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koblmüller |last2=Duftner |last3=Sefc |last4=Aibara |last5=Stipacek |last6=Blanc |last7=Egger |last8=Sturmbauer |year=2007 |title=Reticulate phylogeny of gastropod-shell-breeding cichlids from Lake Tanganyika — the result of repeated introgressive hybridization. |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-7-7 |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=7 |page=7 |pmid=17254340 |pmc=1790888 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Crustaceans are also highly diverse in Tanganyika with more than 200 species, of which more than half are endemic.<ref name=LTBP/> They include 10 species of [[freshwater crab]]s (9 ''Platythelphusa'' and ''[[Potamonautes platynotus]]''; all endemic),<ref name=crabs>{{cite journal |last1=Marijnissen |last2=Michel |last3=Daniels |last4=Erpenbeck |last5=Menken |last6=Schram |year=2006 |title=Molecular evidence for recent divergence of Lake Tanganyika endemic crabs (Decapoda: Platythelphusidae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=628–634 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.025 |pmid=16647274}}</ref> at least 11 species of small [[Atyidae|atyid]] shrimp (''[[Atyella]]'', ''[[Caridella]]'' and ''[[Limnocaridina]]''),<ref name=Atyid>{{cite journal |last1=Fryer |first1=G |year=2006 |title=Evolution in ancient lakes: radiation of Tanganyikan atyid prawns and speciation of pelagic cichlid fishes in Lake Malawi. |doi=10.1007/s10750-006-0322-x |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=568 |issue=1 |pages=131–142 |s2cid=44127332}}</ref> an endemic [[Palaemonidae|palaemonid]] shrimp (''[[Macrobrachium]] moorei''),<ref>{{cite iucn |author=De Grave, S. |date=2013 |title=''Macrobrachium moorei'' |volume=2013 |page=e.T196882A2477768 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T196882A2477768.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> about 100 [[ostracod]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martens |last2=Schön |last3=Meisch |last4=Horne |year=2008 |title=Global diversity of ostracods (Ostracoda, Crustacea) in freshwater |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=595 |pages=185–193 |doi=10.1007/s10750-007-9245-4 |s2cid=207150861}}</ref> including many endemics,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gitter |first1=F. |last2=Gross |first2=M. |last3=Piller |first3=W.E. |year=2015 |title=Sub-Decadal Resolution in Sediments of Late Miocene Lake Pannon Reveals Speciation of Cyprideis (Crustacea, Ostracoda) |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=10 |issue=4 |page=e0109360 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0109360 |pmid=25902063 |pmc=4406499 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1009360G |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schön |first1=I. |last2=Martens |first2=K. |year=2012 |title=Molecular analyses of ostracod flocks from Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=682 |issue=1 |pages=91–110 |doi=10.1007/s10750-011-0935-6 |s2cid=14831643}}</ref> and several [[copepod]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cirhuza |first1=D.M. |last2=Plisnier |first2=P.-D. |year=2016 |title=Composition and seasonal variations in abundance of Copepod (Crustacea) populations from the northern part of Lake Tanganyika |url=https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/248670 |journal=Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=401–410 |doi=10.1080/14634988.2016.1251277 |hdl=2268/248670 |s2cid=90502032 |access-date=30 August 2020 |archive-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722064916/https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/248670 |url-status=live }}</ref> Among these, ''Limnocaridina iridinae'' lives inside the [[Mantle (mollusc)|mantle]] cavity of the [[Unionidae|unionid]] mussel ''[[Pleiodon spekei]]'', making it one of only two known [[commensal]] species of freshwater shrimp (the other is the sponge-living ''[[Caridina spongicola]]'' from [[Lake Towuti]], Indonesia).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=De Grave |first1=S. |last2=Cai |first2=Y. |last3=Amnker |first3=A. |year=2008 |title=Global diversity of shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) in freshwater |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=595 |pages=287–293 |doi=10.1007/s10750-007-9024-2 |s2cid=22945163}}</ref><ref>{{cite iucn |author=De Grave, S. |date=2013 |title=''Limnocaridina iridinae'' |volume=2013 |page=e.T198058A2510158 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T198058A2510158.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>

Among [[Rift Valley lakes]], Lake Tanganyika far surpasses all others in terms of crustacean and freshwater snail richness (both in total number of species and number of endemics).<ref name=Mollusc>Segers, H.; and Martens, K; editors (2005). ''The Diversity of Aquatic Ecosystems.'' p. 46. Developments in Hydrobiology. Aquatic Biodiversity. {{ISBN|1-4020-3745-7}}</ref> For example, the only other Rift Valley lake with endemic freshwater crabs are Lake Kivu and Lake Victoria with two species each.<ref>Cumberlidge, N.; and Meyer, K. S. (2011). ''[http://commons.nmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=facwork_journalarticles A revision of the freshwater crabs of Lake Kivu, East Africa.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725112334/http://commons.nmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=facwork_journalarticles |date=25 July 2014 }}'' Journal Articles. Paper 30.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cumberlidge |first1=N. |last2=Clark |first2=P.F. |year=2017 |title=Description of three new species of Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838 from the Lake Victoria region in southern Uganda, East Africa (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae) |journal=European Journal of Taxonomy |issue=371 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.5852/ejt.2017.371 |doi-access=free|hdl=10141/622400 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>