{{Short description|Species of gastropod}} {{Speciesbox | name = Mimic cavesnail | image = | status = VU | status_system = IUCN2.3 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Bogan, A.E. |year=1996 |title=''Phreatodrobia imitata'' |article-number=e.T17077A6797152 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T17077A6797152.en |access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = G1 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=NatureServe>{{cite NatureServe |title=''Phreatodrobia imitata'' |id=2.119860 |access-date=4 June 2023}}</ref> | genus = Phreatodrobia | species = imitata | authority = [[Robert Hershler|Hershler]] & Longley, 1986<ref name="Hershler 1986">Hershler R. & Longley G. (1986). "Phreatic hydrobiids (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) from the [[Edwards Aquifer|Edwards]] ([[Balcones Fault]] Zone) Aquifer region, south-central Texas". ''[[Malacologia]]'' '''27'''(1): [https://archive.org/stream/malacologia271986inst#page/126/mode/2up 127]-172. [https://archive.org/stream/malacoloia271986inst#page/150/mode/2up page 151].</ref> | synonyms = }} The '''mimic cavesnail''', [[scientific name]] '''''Phreatodrobia imitata''''', is a [[species]] of very small or minute [[freshwater snail]] with a [[gill]] and an [[Operculum (gastropod)|operculum]], an aquatic [[gastropod]] [[mollusk]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Hydrobiidae]].<ref name="Hershler 1990">Hershler R. & Thompson F. G. (1990). "''Antrorbis breweri'', a new genus and species of hydrobiid cavesnail (Gastropoda) from Coosa River Basin, northeastern Alabama". ''[[Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington]]'' '''103'''(l): 197-204. [http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/11322/1/iz_HershlerThompson1990.pdf PDF].</ref>

== Distribution== This species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Texas]] in the [[United States]],<ref name=IUCN/> where it is known from three [[well]]s that penetrate the [[Edwards Aquifer]].<ref name=NatureServe/><ref name=fr88>{{cite journal|journal=Federal Register|title=Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Seven Species Not Warranted for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species|pages=83368–83377|author=((U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Species Assessment Team, Ecological Services Program))|volume=88|issue=228|date=29 November 2023}} {{Federal Register|88|83368}}</ref>{{rp|83373}} The [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] is Verstraeten Well, [[Bexar County, Texas]].<ref name="Hershler 1986"/>

== Description == The [[gastropod shell|shell]] has 3.3 to 3.5 [[whorl (mollusc)|whorls]].<ref name="Hershler 1986"/> The average height of the shell is 1.01 to 1.03&nbsp;mm.<ref name="Hershler 1986"/> The operculum is thin and the [[radula]] is trapezoidal.<ref name=fr88/>{{rp|83373}}

==Conservation== The mimic cavesnail was denied federal listing as an endangered species in 2023.<ref name=fr88/> Threats to the snail include physical expulsion via wells, loss of aquifer water due to imbalances between recharge and extraction and [[groundwater contamination]].<ref name=fr88/>{{rp|83373-83374}} The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated that although [[climate change]] is likely to reduce aquifer recharge, human extraction will be reduced concomitantly due to existing regulations protecting the aquifer. The Fish and Wildlife Service was unable to conclude whether groundwater contamination will cause significant impacts, due to the snail's [[benthic]] habitat within the large volume of the aquifer and the uncertain magnitude of impact of [[urbanization]] around the city of San Antonio. Finally, as of 2023, two of the three wells that ejected snails were no longer functioning, and no new wells have been drilled since 1995 in the area of analysis (Bexar County, Texas).<ref name=fr88/>{{rp|83373-83374}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3169303}}

[[Category:Lithoglyphidae]] [[Category:Gastropods described in 1986]] [[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of Texas]] [[Category:Cave snails]] [[Category:Taxa named by Robert Hershler]]

{{Hydrobiidae-stub}}