Fluminicola fuscus, the Ashy Pebblesnail, is distributed within the Snake River, Columbia River, and their large tributaries within western North America (Hershler & Frest, 1996). This species has recently been extirpated from much of its historic range (Frest & Johannes, 1995). The current global conservation status rank is G2 - critically imperilled, at high risk of extinction (NatureServe, 2015).
This species was first reported from British Columbia as Amnicola hindsii by Baird (1863), based on collections made by Lord from the Kootenay and Wigwam Rivers in southeast British Columbia (Natural History Museum Collections). The species was not reported in the province again until 2014 when Lepitzki & Lepitzki (2014) reported it from the Columbia River at Trail.
This species is found in small to large rivers, in swift current on stable gravel to boulder substrate in cold, unpolluted, highly oxygenated water, generally in areas with few aquatic macrophytes or epiphytic algae (Frest & Johannes, 1995).
Note Author: Ian Gardiner